A DAWLISH resident is upset and angry at ticket prices for the train to Exeter and the 'laziness' of some ticket inspectors.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, works in Exeter University and has to commute from Dawlish on a daily basis.

What angers him is the fact that he can only buy a seven-day railcard costing him £16.20, while if you are travelling from Exmouth to Exeter – roughly the same distance – then you can buy a five day railcard for £13.20.

'I was told that the Exmouth ticket price was meant to be a trial period,' he said, 'but it's been going on for bit too long for that now.

'The price doesn't seem like much of a difference during the week but, over the year it adds up.'

And add up it does. Just that £3 difference a week for one year totals £156.

He is also says it is out of order that the Exmouth train has four carriages and Dawlish only gets two, sometimes three.

'I'm not happy with the 'laziness' of some of the ticket inspectors as well,' he continued. 'Sometimes my ticket never gets checked.

'It amazes me that Dawlish Town Council has not done anything about it and tried to sort this out.'

Andrew Griffiths, Wessex Trains business manager for Devon and Cornwall, said:

'The Exmouth line is the only one at the moment that has the five-day railcard. It was introduced as a pilot to make it flexible for commuters and to see how it went.

'We are looking at the possibility of rolling it out, so the people of Dawlish might be getting it in the near future.'

When Mr Griffiths was asked about the laziness of some ticket inspectors he replied: 'All of the guys that I know on the trains enforce ticket checks. It may be the case that the train is too crowded and the inspector doesn't get all the way down the carriages before reaching the station.

'We have increased the number of inspectors during the last 18 months and in that time have caught 333 fare dodgers.

'In regards to the number of carriages, the Exmouth line does normally have three, but, they occasionally attach one more if it is spare. That, though, is very rare.

'At the peak times most of our rolling stock is busy, so it is almost impossible to find another carriage.

'Maybe we could try to sort something out in the future, but at the moment the maximum is three.'