Great Western Coffee Shop

Travelled from Redland to Portsmouth yesterday, intending to break my journey at Portsmouth & Southsea for a job interview, then continue onto Portsmouth Harbour to meet a friend for coffee.

Of course, in true Brucey style (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=6076.0), I purchased four tickets for my journey (which must have annoyed the guard on the train).

The final ticket was issued to PORTSMOUTH STNS when I asked for Portsmouth Harbour.  Guard insisted this was the only one available.  Checked on NFM since and this is true.

Got to Portsmouth & Southsea, ticket barrier gobbled up my ticket even though it is still valid for a journey to PMH within the same day.  Spoke to the man there and he basically said there wasn't anything he could do now and I should have asked to be let through the barriers.  So basically, he admitted their ticket barrier had retained a ticket which was perfectly valid for another journey.  Didn't have time to argue as I had to get to the interview.

Returned later to make the rest of my journey and they [SWT] want ^1.70 for what can't be more than a 2 minutes journey, which I held a valid ticket for.  Refused to pay (out of principle) and made the journey on foot.

Does anyone know the purpose of grouping these two stations together and is there any way of getting a ticket that is actually issued to PMH?

I think you'd only get a ticket issued to Portsmouth Harbour if you buy at Fratton or Portsmouth and Southsea.

Surely though it was fairly predictable that a ticket with 'Portsmouth Stations' on it would be swallowed at the 'town station'? You'd finished one of the possible journeys it allows?

The purpose of grouping stations for fares purposes was historically to reduce the number of pre-printed tickets held in ticket offices, when fares to the destinations were the same. But as every ticket is printed at the time of issue nowadays, it would seem possible to print them to an explicit destination, but that brings up other problems. You'd then get people complaining when they were told they couldn't get out at Southsea because their 'Advance' ticket was to the Harbour...

Paul

My experience is that barriers are unpredictable about swallowing / not swallowing tickets at the end of the journey.

At Newcastle, tickets to Newcastle get given back to you.

At St Pancras, on the East Midlands platforms, tickets to London Stations get given back to you.

A bit off of the gateliner to basically tell you tough t***y, though. There was something he could do; open the hopper door and retrieve your ticket. I've asked for and had this done for me at Temple Meads with no problem.

Why can't the TOCs install barriers that actually work?

The SWT ones at Waterloo don't work, and the NXEC ones at Durham and Newcastle are a pile of crap! All the LU ones seem to work so it can't be that difficult.

Grouping stations is good. If I want to travel from KID to WOF and return from WOS I can buy a return to Worcester Stns. They just need to put barriers in that work - pretty simple!

The barriers can probably be more accurate. The problem lies with the amount of information that can be stored on ticket stock magnetic strips. A massive 192 bits!

    * Header : 16 bits
    * Rail Settlement Plan Data : 72 bits
    * London Underground Data : 80 bits
    * Checksum : 8 bits
    * Trailer : 16 bits

When I worked on gates I would only do this if it was quite, there is no way I would open up the hopper going through old tickets when there were loads of people coming off as by doing so takes that gate out of use whilst you mess around!

SWT at Waterloo 'don't work'? That's a bit of a generalisation surely.  Exactly what ticket did you have that didn't work?

Paul

probably a Freedom Of Scotland rover  :D

Interesting replies ;)

I honestly didn't expect the barrier to retain my ticket as I expected it to continue to be valid.  I would have argued further and made sure my ticket was returned to me, but I just didn't have the time as I needed to get to the interview.

Didn't get the job anyway.  It was completely unsuitable for me ... another* example of a job agency sending someone to an interview for a job which they can't do. ::)

* = Remember my post about Chichester recently?  Yes, that was yet another example of being sent to do a job which was misdescribed by the agency (albeit a different agency).

The newly installed barriers were programmed to let pretty much anything through to get people used to using the barriers before tightening up the perameters after a bedding in period!

True, true - but I don't expect to buy a ticket from a machine near the barrier, insert said ticket in barrier and have it rejected. Which is what has happened to me at Newcastle on a couple of occasions.

I had a ticket rejected at Exeter on Saturday; upon "seeking assistance" I was told to try it again when I had quite clearly had it rejected. Waste of time!

Probably wanted to see the error code. Means can track the problem then. Well in theory anyway.

I fell foul of this one at Exeter Central!

Bought a ticket to Exeter St Davids from Gillingham Dorset, and went to leave and the ticket machine ate my ticket... :o

I would have asked for it back, but fortunately I had a ticket labeled from Exeter Stations - Bruton for a journey I planned to make later that day. So I asked if that was valid for use between Central and St Davids, despite me planning to use it from St Davids?! Was suprised to hear that yes it was valid ;D

What ticket did I have?

A valid one.* The barriers did not open. Therefore they don't work!

As far as SWT were concerned it could have been a Scotland Rover - they just opened the gates, not checking the ticket or my railcard!

_{*If you really want to know it was a Advance Soton to Kidderminster. And yes, I was on the right train, route etc.}