Plain-clothes police and TfL inspectors stopped 467 people and made 24 arrests in Operation Vector's first month. What it means for Ilford stations.

Ilford, Seven Kings and Goodmayes are Elizabeth line stations, and the Central line runs through Gants Hill, Redbridge, Wanstead and South Woodford, so most of Redbridge’s stations sit on the Transport for London (TfL) network. TfL and the British Transport Police (BTP) have spent a month on a new operation against people who keep travelling without paying, and today published the first figures.

Operation Vector started last month. In its first month, TfL says:

  • 467 people were stopped
  • 156 penalty fares were issued
  • 175 people were reported for possible prosecution
  • 24 arrests were made by BTP officers, for fare evasion and for other offences

TfL has not said which stations the teams have worked at. Its release says the checks change regularly and happen “at gatelines, onboard services and within stations, particularly at major transport hubs”, and that uncertainty about where and when is part of the point.

How it works

Plain-clothes BTP officers work alongside TfL’s Revenue Control teams and its uniformed Transport Support Enforcement staff. They use intelligence to pick out repeat offenders who routinely push through ticket barriers, and some officers are placed beyond the gateline, using coordinated communications to track and stop people who try to travel without paying.

Daniel Rushall, a BTP Chief Inspector, said many of the people stopped had more to hide than a missing fare:

“We know there are several reasons why people choose to fare evade and one of those is due to their links to more serious criminality.

“In its first month, this operation has already provided us with valuable opportunities to identify and apprehend criminals and high harm offenders using London’s transport network, including the seizure of weapons and drugs.

“This is just one of many operations and strategies we have in place across the rail network to disrupt criminality. You may not realise we are there because of the nature in which we conduct some of these operations, but we are determined to hunt out criminals blighting our network, which in turn is making it a safer place, both for staff and the public.”

Siwan Hayward, TfL’s Director of Security, Policing and Enforcement, said gate pushing makes stations feel unsafe:

“The vast majority of our customers pay the correct fare, and it is only right that those who deliberately avoid paying are identified and held to account. Fare evasion and gate pushing creates an intimidating atmosphere for our staff and customers, and is something we are determined to tackle.

“In its first month, Operation Vector has already delivered promising results, demonstrating the value of a targeted, intelligence-led approach. By bringing together plain-clothes police officers, Revenue Control teams and our uniformed enforcement officers, we are making it harder for repeat offenders to evade detection and helping to challenge the perception that fare evasion can take place without consequences.”

The bigger numbers since April

Operation Vector sits on top of TfL’s routine revenue checks. Since April 2026, TfL says, its revenue enforcement teams have:

  • issued more than 33,000 penalty fares
  • reported more than 11,000 people for prosecution consideration
  • reported more than 2,400 people for misusing ticket barriers

The work belongs to the fare evasion strategy TfL launched in April 2025, which aims to halve fare evasion to 1.5 per cent or less by 2030/31. TfL points out that fare evasion is a criminal offence and that every unpaid fare is money it cannot spend on services.

Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor of London for Transport, said:

“Fare evasion is a criminal offence and prevents essential funds being reinvested to improve our transport network. We have a clear message for the small but persistent group of people that aren’t paying the correct fare: we will not tolerate it, and you will be held to account.

“It’s great to see our targeted enforcement work already having such positive results, supporting our wider fare evasion crackdown across the network with cutting-edge technology and intelligence-led policing. The Mayor and I will continue to support TfL in protecting these vital funds as we build a fairer, safer, better London for everyone.”

For Ilford passengers

TfL has not published figures for Redbridge stations, so there is no count yet for Ilford or the Central line stops. Nothing changes for people who already pay: touch in and out with the same card or phone every time. Our Ilford train times guide has the Elizabeth line and Central line options from the borough’s stations.