MORE than 100 red-faced fare dodgers were caught attempting to leave Altrincham Interchange without paying for a ticket, during just one afternoon and evening.

Metrolink Inspectors, British Transport and Greater Manchester Police were out in force at the station last Wednesday (August 2).

About 3,500 passengers were checked entering and departing the station in just eight hours, between 1pm and 9pm. The operation led to busy officers issuing 86 people with standard fare charges while 19 other passengers escaped with warnings.

Serco Metrolink operations director Mark McCole said: "An evasion rate of less than three per cent, given the realities of people boarding an open system, is a reasonable rate but obviously we'd look to improve on that.

"Metrolink like any other open system has issues with fare evasion. Essentially passengers fall into three categories: the vast majority of people who always pay, those who won't and those who will take a chance.

"There's a small minority who take a chance depending on the circumstances and that is why we have these kind of operations.

"Revenue protection is aligned with crime prevention and security operations. We believe the presence of inspectors on trams is a positive deterrent and we take a serious stance with repeat non payment offenders."

The standard on the spot fare charge is £10. This penalty can rise to £80 if people are stopped on more than one occasion or refuse to pay and are taken to court.

Last week's initiative was part of an ongoing campaign to clampdown on knife crime.

During the operation more than 190 people passed through special mobile metal detectors, similar to those seen in airports, with officers on hand to arrest anyone found in possession of weapons.

No knives were recovered but two people were arrested on suspicion of drugs offences and a further seven were cautioned or received formal warnings.

Sgt Peter Kooper, from British Transport Police (BTP), said: "The operation was welcomed by the public who were reassured to see large numbers of police officers at the station proactively targeting crime on the railways."