Truro Station refurbishment and installation of ticket barriers (merged topics)

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thank you very much for that positive and interesting first post, Snapper - and a warm welcome to the Coffee Shop forum! 

[Maxwell P]

There is no automatic right of entry to station platforms for non fare paying members of the public.  Why should there be? Try walking to the tarmac at Newquay airport or onto the ferry at Plymouth.

From a guard's viewpoint, it makes supreme sense to have barriers at Truro. I have lost count of the number of times I have had to abort dispatch of trains at ungated stations, due to last minute dashes or repeated lingering farewells. Even worse are those who board trains not intending to travel; a major cause of doors on the catch as the hapless helper struggles to leave.

At Truro, there are no grieving relatives seeing off the passenger and consequently fewer bodies to interrupt line of sight with signals and the dispatcher, absolutely vital from a safety standpoint.

With regard to revenue, gate-lines are a huge deterrent to ticket bilkers.  Thousands in unpaid revenue, which was previously waltzing off the station is now collected.

Sadly, cost prevents the adoption of gates at all larger stations, although an initiative  at Penzance, using a member of staff to control the manual gates recently installed there; has reduced delays and prompted a significant increase in revenue collected. Long may it continue.

[Snapper]

I  can't disagree with any of your observations about Truro.

However, having spent several hours on Pl 3 today, I would say that the unmanned access from the station car park is the source of frequent passenger frustration.

The sight of bemused passengers trying to discover which bit of the assistance point holds the camera with which the remote operator will examine their ticket and tell them which platform to use, suggests this facility is a technological step too far.

Still, in the interests of combating fare evasion and maintaining good time, both of which were high on my "wants" list, it may be a price we have to pay.

[vacmanfan]

Finally, the footbridge at the East End (by the LC^▸ (Level Crossing)) is getting an external makeover from NR^» (Network Rail - home page).   Soon.

[Umberleigh]

Have just started some work in Truro, and commute down from Exeter (with overnight stays). Station looking good, but:

Why is there virtually no signage from Truro city centre to the station? I have found myself yomping up the wrong hill twice now, and have had to ask for directions several times.