This, South Western Railway alleges, amounts to around £40 million in lost revenue annually due to an estimated 6.5 million invalid journeys. Across the South Western Railway and Network Rail Wessex network, serving approximately 172 million journeys each year, this ongoing issue continues to take a financial toll. South Western Railway has been credited for reducing fare evasion by more than two thirds (67 per cent) since 2017, with a further 11 per cent reduction reported for the past year. To address this, a trial was initiated at London Waterloo in June 2026, focusing on a station marked by persistent misuse. However, the crackdown has resulted in fare evaders shifting their activity, with stations across London reporting spikes in barcode ticket sales.