Some small London Tube stations skip ticket barriers due to space, relying on staff and CCTV for fare validation
London: So, it turns out that not all Tube stations in London have ticket barriers. Can you believe it? There are a few smaller ones that just don’t have the room for them. Crazy, right?
Transport for London has confirmed that places like Mill Hill East, Roding Valley, and South Kenton are among these little stations. Instead of barriers, they use ticket validators and have staff keeping an eye on things with CCTV.
Roding Valley is a tiny spot in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, and it’s part of the Central line. Even though it’s usually packed with commuters heading to busy places like Oxford Circus, it only saw about 449,612 passengers in 2020. That’s just over a thousand a day!
Now, don’t think you can skip out on paying just because there are no barriers. Mill Hill East is another one without barriers, and it’s located in Barnet on the Northern line. It’s also one of the few stations in London with just one platform!
Then there’s South Kenton, which is nestled between Kenton and North Wembley. It’s on the Bakerloo line and, surprisingly, has no ticket gates even though there’s a ticket office.
There are a few other stations that also lack barriers at one entrance due to space issues. Some of these include Finchley Central and Waterloo. TfL is aware of the fare evasion concerns and is working on it.
A spokesperson from TfL made it clear that they take fare evasion seriously. They have a team of revenue inspectors working around the clock to catch anyone trying to ride for free.
They’re also partnering with the police to ensure that anyone caught fare evading faces tough penalties. After all, fare evasion means less money for maintaining and improving the transport network.
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