Date: June 5th
Category: Hidden Histories | Class & Transport | Early Passenger Resistance
Before there were fare dodgers, there were fare fighters.
Before angry tweets about delayed trains, there were full-blown riots on the platforms.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, working-class railway passengers fought back against rising fares, overcrowding, discrimination, and class barriers — not with letters to The Times, but with protests, strikes, and in some cases, full-on revolts.
Today, The Time Traveller’s Guild explores how Britain’s railway wasn’t just built by the working class — it was contested by them, too.
Because when the trains became a symbol of class division, resistance became a matter of public transport.
🚆 The Third-Class Problem
Early British railways were built with strict class divisions:
- 🛋️ First Class: Cushioned, enclosed, warm, and pricey.
- 🪑 Second Class: Basic seats, still with shelter.
- 🪵 Third Class: Often open-air wooden wagons — like cattle trucks, only colder.
In many cases, third-class passengers were refused access to waiting rooms, toilets, or covered platforms. They paid less, and so were treated less — despite trains being pitched as a public service.
But third-class passengers didn’t just grumble. They resisted.
📍 1830s–1850s: Early Protests on the Platform
As railways spread, so did complaints about excessive ticket prices, especially on monopoly routes where passengers had no alternatives.
- In 1844, public pressure led to the Parliamentary Train Act, which forced railway companies to provide one cheap, slow service per day with covered carriages and fixed pricing.
- This act only happened after public protests and petitions from factory workers, clergy, and civic groups.
🧾 “It is unjust,” wrote one 1843 Leeds letter to Parliament, “that the labourer should be excluded from the iron road for want of means, while it speeds the leisure of the rich.”
🔥 The 1865 Stalybridge Fare Riot
One of the most dramatic railway protests in Britain’s history unfolded in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, when:
- A sudden fare increase angered local workers
- Commuters refused to pay
- Crowds blocked the station
- The company called in the police and threatened mass arrests
The result? A standoff, smashed ticket windows, a few flaming rail sleepers — and eventually, fare reduction.
🚨 It’s one of the earliest known examples of fare refusal en masse, later echoed in 20th-century transport strikes.
✊ 1900s: Organised Fare Strikes
- In London and Glasgow, tram and rail fare strikes became tools for organised labour
- Groups of workers refused to pay, coordinated through unions
- They demanded flat fares, better service, and access for all classes of society
Some were even inspired by the French — where syndicalist movements called for “strike rides” (grève roulante), where whole communities refused to pay until prices were lowered.
🧳 How Resistance Worked
- Overcrowding was used as leverage — passengers refused to board unless more carriages were added
- Women led protests over fare hikes to markets or factories
- Children refused school train fares, leading to the “scholar strikes” of the 1880s
✨ Resistance didn’t always look like a mob. Sometimes, it looked like turning around and walking off the platform together.
🛤️ Lasting Impact
Many of today’s expectations — affordable off-peak tickets, travel concessions, and safety regulations — only came after decades of resistance. And the fight continues in:
- Modern fare strikes (e.g. “Don’t Pay UK” campaigns)
- Accessibility campaigns
- Climate activists demanding public transport over car subsidies
đź“š Want to Know More?
- All Change! Protest and the Railways by Jessica Kelly
- Ticket to Ride: The Untold Story of British Railway Class Warfare – Rail History Journal
- Parliamentary Trains and the Price of Progress – British Transport Archive
- National Railway Museum – Fare Archives
đź’¬ Share Your Platform Protest: #TicketResistance
Ever taken part in a fare protest? Have stories from your nan about dodging the inspector? Made any art based on old ticket stubs?
Share with #TicketResistance and tag @TimeTravellersGuild — we’ll feature your stories in this weekend’s round-up.
