South Western Railway says it has uncovered widespread abuse of digital train tickets on one of Britain’s shortest rail journeys, with up to 95% of barcode tickets bought between Vauxhall and London Waterloo believed to be used fraudulently. During the first four weeks, revenue protection officers identified 153 cases of short-faring, compared with just seven during the same period last year. After checks increased on Vauxhall-Waterloo tickets, purchases of barcode tickets from another London station rose by 89%, suggesting some passengers attempted to move the scam elsewhere. The Vauxhall operation forms part of a wider revenue protection strategy across the SWR network. The railway’s revenue protection officers also feature in the new series of Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law, on Channel 5.