More than 28,000 prosecutions brought by two rail firms for alleged fare evasions have been quashed.

Northern Rail, which covers large swathes of northern England, brought 28,631 prosecutions against passengers using the single justice procedure (SJP) between August 6, 2020 and May 21 2024, despite not being permitted to do so.

TransPennine Express, which operates in the North of England and in Scotland, brought 41 prosecutions in January 2024.

They were all declared null and void by Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring during a two-minute hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today

Mr Goldspring ruled in August that six ‘test cases’ of prosecutions for alleged fare evasion brought by train companies should be declared a ‘nullity’, adding that others would be dealt with in the same way.

Earlier this year, the rail firm was hyper-vigilantly policing the use of the 16-25 Railcard 33 per cent discount on ‘anytime’ tickets used before 10am on weekdays – which is only valid when the fare costs £12 or more.

Confusing rules around when the discount cards can be used in the mornings – such as during July and August and on weekends – meant wayfarers were being caught out without realising the tickets they have bought were invalid.

Passengers said staff refused to let them buy a correct ticket and insisted on issuing them with fines and later the court cases.

Northern and TransPennine Express welcomed Thursday’s outcome and apologised for the ‘errors’.

A spokesman said: ‘Customers affected by the issues raised in court will be contacted directly by HM Courts and Tribunal Service. We are unable to respond to individual queries at this time.

‘Northern remains committed to ensuring that all our customers are treated fairly, which means ensuring all passengers who board our trains have a valid ticket.’

TransPennine Express issued the same statement.

The SJP was set up in 2015 to allow magistrates to decide on minor offences, such as using a television without a licence or driving without car insurance, without defendants going to court.

Rail companies were permitted to use the SJP in 2016 to privately prosecute fare evaders, but many have been brought under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, which is not allowed under the procedure.

Further hearings will take place regarding thousands of other train fare prosecutions.

Affected cases were also prosecuted by Avanti West Coast, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, Arriva Rail Northern, Merseyrail and C2C, the Courts and Tribunals Service said.

The department said those affected by the ruling were prosecuted after 2018, with the ‘vast majority’ of cases prosecuted from 2020, under either section 5(1) or section 5(3) of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889.

Those affected should wait to be contacted directly by the Courts and Tribunals Service about their case, including if they have paid a financial penalty.

A Government spokesperson said: ‘While fare evasion should be tackled, the right process should be followed at all times. HMCTS will contact people affected to resolve their case in accordance with the Chief Magistrate’s judgment.

‘A consultation examining the Single Justice Procedure and regulation of private prosecutors will drive up standards.’

Law Society of England and Wales president Richard Atkinson said: ‘We welcome the Government’s commitment to review the Single Justice Procedure as we are aware concerns have been raised for some time about how fairly the fast-track system operates, particularly in regard to vulnerable people.’

In August, Mr Goldspring, said that six ‘test cases’ should be declared ‘void’, adding that thousands of cases could be dealt with in the same way over the coming months.

The judge said the Courts Service, the Department for Transport and the train operating companies – two of which have not yet been identified – would work to identify those affected.

He added that ‘a team will be put in place to begin the work of recovering the money paid and refund the money to individuals’ by November.

‘There are discussions ongoing with all the parties about how that may be paid,’ he added.

Neither the amount of money to be refunded nor the number of people affected has been confirmed, but Judge Goldspring said ‘over 74,000’ people is a ‘best guess at the moment’.

The SJP was set up in 2015 to allow magistrates to decide on minor offences, such as using a television without a licence or driving without car insurance, without defendants going to court.

Rail companies were permitted to use the SJP in 2016 to privately prosecute fare evaders, but many have been brought under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, which is not allowed under the procedure.

In June, Judge Goldspring said those convictions were ‘probably unlawful’, with lawyers for rail companies telling a further hearing last month they were ‘in agreement’ the prosecutions should be thrown out.

In his ruling, the judge declared the test cases a ‘nullity’, so it was ‘as if as though the proceedings never existed’.

He said: ‘Parliament did not envisage these offences being prosecuted through the SJP. They should never have been brought through that process.’

‘I’m satisfied that the correct approach is to declare each of the prosecutions void and a nullity,’ he continued.

He added that it was hoped that a list of those affected could be compiled by the end of September, with the cases listed as a ‘bulk’ hearing ‘by the end of October’ and declared void by a ‘similar direction’ so that ‘everybody is in the same position’.

Following the ruling, the Ministry of Justice, the Courts and Tribunals Service and the Department for Transport said that the seven companies who had privately prosecuted fare evaders under the SJP were Northern, TransPennine, Avanti West Coast, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, Arriva Rail North and Merseyrail