Great Western Coffee Shop

Glory be!   "I can't wait" for a TVM capable of issuing advance tickets to be installed at Melksham.

A newcomer to rail travel joins the train this morning with confirmations of his advance ticket to [somewhere in Wales] and asks conductor if he can collect them at Swindon where he changes.   Dispensation allowed, but newcomer is told that it's a concession being made this time and he should have had them delivered by post, or collected them the day before from Chippenham or Trowbridge.  A gentle reminder of how unfriendly the system is to people who want to book to travel a day or two ahead (when post isn't an option) from a station where tickets cannot be collected on departure ...

Of course, there are three stations on the TransWilts that don't have a TVM ... Trowbridge (where there is significant fare loss at time the ticket office is closed on journeys to Bradford-on-Avon and Westbury, as the train manager can't get round) and Dilton Marsh as well as Melksham, and I note that even if there's a TVM there can be problems. I note at Didcot today:


and then


Conductor on yesterday's TransWilts train ... again unable to get round to see all the passengers who needed tickets before the train arrived at the next station.  On lines where intermediate stations have just the occasional passenger, that may not be an issue.   On lines where there is a considerable passenger turnover at every stop, it's a real issue.

Sitting waiting at Trowbridge station, mid afternoon yesterday, I lost count of the number of people coming along to use the loo - only to find it was locked.  Yes, I know why ... but I don't know why there isn't a little sign on the door explaining that all trains that call have toilets on board.

Come to think of it, should there be information at Melksham station explaining the lack of toilets there?

Seems to be a few stations with various ticket office / machine problems today.

On the matter of collecting prepurchased tickets, in Italy, the train guards are issued with this revolutionary new device called a smartphone.  Just a standard Android phone with a camera.

Customers can buy their tickets online and either print the ticket or write down the code.  The barcode can be scanned using the telephone's camera or the code entered into an app on the phone.  The phone then uses the train's wifi (on intercity services) or 3G (on regional trains) to check the ticket validity.  Takes just a few seconds and no paper tickets are needed.  The system isn't particularly complex and I don't see why we can't have something similar here.

They also carry a small bluetooth printer (which just prints on normal till roll) and can offer a printed receipt for the journey (e.g. for business expenses).  They can even sell tickets and take credit/debit cards through the smartphone.

Out of interest when I arrived home at Plymouth last night at 2240 (Saturday 30 August) the ticket gates were closed and manned ;D.  Quite a few late night travellers caught out without tickets ;D ;D.
This is the first time I have ever come across the barriers being manned that late at night in 30 odd years of travelling through there!

You will start seeing this a lot more now that FGW collect 100% of the fare box/revenue and don't have to send any to the DaFT.

PAD has barriers on 34 24hrs now
RDG has had the hours extended (although why tell everyone via a public poster defeats the object)
Hearing rumours that BRI is to be extended as well.
talk of other major stations being permanently extended.

FGW have also been tweeting that additional Ticket Collection machines have been installed in the SW, specifically (that I've seen) Exeter SD & PLY

A 34 hour day - that should help with delay attribution  ;D


I don't agree - given the barriers are manned for the greater part of the day I think it is a good idea to advertise the fact so law abiding customers at least feel steps are being taken to stop those who openly abuse the system day in and day out.  In fact you could always be a bit sneaky and stick a few RPIs out during the "out of hours" period.

Are the gatelines at Newport and Cardiff the responsibility of ATW?  If so, do we know if they are also extending the hours of operation?

You will catch more people out by not advertising the 'real' closing (or opening up) times. Most of the scroats will see the sign and just hang around till the gates get opened up. If you dont advertise, like pad hasn't then the about of people you catch out will increase. I understand that the first 2 weeks were a purely educational exercise warning people and selling normal tickets. Then PFs, MG11s will be issued.

34 hour days may help with DA, but it wont help with OT payments!!! Same as when the clocks get adjusted staff will moan about loosing that extra hours pay so adjustments have to be manually added. Also when you work a premium day when does it start? 00:00? 04:00?

Of course, the railway day is already 28^ hours long for ticket validity purposes.  :P

And yes, Bristol Temple Meads gateline hours are to be (or may already have been) extended.

Ah but if you have a special staff boxes ticket anything after 22:00hrs is to be treated as the next day so you could add another 2 hours to that rule!!