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In rail transport, thepaid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible viaturnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checkedsmartcard or a pass. A system using paid areas is often calledfare control. Passengers are allowed to enter or exit only through a faregate. A paid area usually exists in rapid transit railway stations for separating the train platform from the station exit, ensuring a passenger has paid or prepaid before reaching the railway platform and using any transport service. Such design requires a well-organized railway station layout. In some systems, paid areas are named differently - for example, on railways in the United Kingdom they are calledcompulsory ticket areas.[1]
The paid area is similar in concept to theairside at an airport. However, in most cases entrance to the paid area requires only a validticket ortransit pass. The exception is in certain cases of international rail travel, where passengers must also pass through immigration control and customs to enter the paid area. Examples include theEurostar international platforms atSt Pancras railway station andGare du Nord,Woodlands Train Checkpoint inSingapore, where the only departures are to neighbouringMalaysia, as well asHung Hom station,Lo Wu station,Lok Ma Chau station andHong Kong West Kowloon station in Hong Kong.
In some rapid transit systems, passengers are banned from eating or drinking inside the paid area of every station.
Aplatform ticket allows non-travelers access to the paid area of a station to make a platform tour, seek for departures of friends or relatives, greet friends and family members or to assist them with their luggage without having to have a ticket for a journey. These are generally available only at major terminal stations, but other smaller stations occasionally grant platform tickets in exchange for a piece of identification.
Similarly, in some airports, such as thePittsburgh International Airport, non-ticketed members of the public can acquire an airside access pass to visit the shops and restaurants inside the restricted area, as long as they produce a valid piece of identification and go through the security checkpoint.
"compulsory ticket area" means any area at a station which a person must not enter or be present in without being able to produce— (a)a valid travel ticket authorising travel on a train arriving at or departing from that area; or (b)a platform ticket authorising their entry to or presence in that area;
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