Free ride with Virgin trains

LONG-suffering passengers on Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Trains are enjoying an unexpected windfall - free trips.

More than 500 Virgin guards are refusing to sell tickets on trains in a dispute over the introduction of new technology. Passengers without tickets are being told to pay at their destination.

But a source close to the dispute said: 'It's not living in the real world to expect people to walk up to ticket offices at the end of their journey and pay their fare. Quite a few people are cottoning on.'

The potential savings for long distance passengers are huge - a standard one-way ticket from Manchester to London thought to be losing thousands of pounds a day because of the row.

The Rail, Maritime & Transport union is stepping up action over the introduction of new ticketing machines. In a letter to members, Bob Crow, the union's general secretary, said: 'Virgin will not enter into any discussions that involve you or your colleagues receiving any payment for using a machine that will ultimately save the company huge amounts of money.'

From Wednesday, guards will refuse to carry out sales duties and nearly 2,000 RMT members are being balloted on industrial action following Virgin's refusal to start annual pay talks while the tickets row continues.

Virgin claims there has been no increase in ticketless travel as a result of the dispute.

'We've put extra teams on at station barriers, especially London Euston,' said a company spokesman. 'There has been no effect on revenues.'

The company also disputes the RMT's claim that other train operators have agreed to one-off payments for guards following the introduction of the new ticket machines.