Great Western Coffee Shop

I came across this whilst Googling for something else.

I've seen that Pembrey Station's ticket office is run by an agent: http://www.pembreystation.co.uk rather than directly by Arriva Trains Wales.

I was just wondering how they operate?  Are they simply an ATOC travel agent or do they just have a machine given to them by ATW?

Also, are there any other stations that have this sort of arrangement?  Its not something I've ever seen before, but seems like an incredibly good idea.

not too unusual

St Ives (Cornwall) has a private travel agent adjacent to the platform
Looe has the Devon & Cornwall Railpartnership people in an office on the platform during the summer
both have a Tribute ticket system

Add Llandrindod Wells, Chester-le-Street, Gobowen and Ledbury to the list as well!

Good to see that Pembrey has been taken over by a new station agent, I thought it was now a booking office run by ATW. I used to buy tickets from the previous station agent over the phone regularly because he always used to offer a great service and go the extra mile to help you save money with your travel plans. I'll have to give the current operators a try now!

Didn't there used to be a sign at Dilton Marsh which pointed potential passengers to a private cottage (or shop) down the lane where tickets could be purchased?

And Ludlow - and a more helpful ticket office I've never come across.

I don't know if it makes much difference to their profits etc but I often buy seasons/other tickets for journeys other than to/from ludlow if I'm there when it open

May well help them out quite a bit, since the sales commission on tickets is about 9% from memory.

That's an interesting piece of the 'jigsaw'.   On the other side of the coin, the equipment to issue tickets and ancilliary costs is somewhere in four figures - I'm not exactly sure how much it's up in the four figures, and what part of that is one off costs v annual charges.   

I've had a very interesting discussion about the possibility of rail tickets being sold somewhere in Melksham, with someone who has looked into it in detail.   Conclusion was that with the pathetic service we have at present, it's not viable but it could be if we had a service that attracted (say) 30,000 round trips journeys originating at Melksham each year where people bought tickets at a cafe at the station, average ticket price 12 pounds return. Income 360k; commission 33k; take off 4k for operating costs and you have a chunk of money which could fund part of a person for the long opening hours that would be needed ... not quite a "7 - 11" coffee shop but more a "6 - 8" coffee shop, two shifts per day ...

Put my name down for the job. I know me tickets and I can work one of those coffee machine jobbies. Dab hand at bacon butties as well...... ;D

Hmm.  ::)

The last figure I saw for the cost of purchase and installation of a Scheidt & Bachmann (I do love typing that!) machine was ^20,000.  On the other hand: how much would it cost to provide a local agent with just an Avantix machine?  After all, that's what our local chap in the cabin at Nailsea uses!

C.  ;D

At the risk of falling foul of the forum rules (I'll censor), I'm now going to refer to these TVMs as Sh*te & Cr*p, man.  :D

Very interesting replies - I never realised this was so widespread.

Only yesterday did I discover that Ryde Pier Head ticket office is run by Wightlink rather than SWT/Island Line.

has been for ages, Rydel Esplanade is run by ILT though (Island Line Trains) as they call themselves now, is nice to see that SWT have allowed the islands trains to retain a seperate identity, about time the 1938 stock was replaced though!

Victoria line stock is being disposed of soon. Would be new for the Island Line, only 42 years old.

I made my first purchase from The Ticket Hut at Pembrey a few days ago.  Very impressed with the service from Louise at the station.

Emailed a general enquiry to test the water.  Came back quickly so I sent a list of requirements (a rover plus some seats) plus my phone number.  Called back next day to take payment and confirm price.  Tickets arrived the following morning.

As a moderate fares geek, the comment "this is probably one of the least stressful ticket sales we've ever had" actually put a smile on my face!

Overall the experience was much easier than dealing with a call centre.  The ability to email them allowed me to forward specific dates/times without worrying about getting them wrong on the phone or holding up other customers in the shop.  I will certainly be using them again when I've got the next batch of dates confirmed and for any non-standard purchases in the future.