Train ticket queue delays
8:55am Tuesday 19th March 2013 in Local
COMMUTERS have criticised rail bosses after a ticket machine broke down at the busiest time of the week.
Passengers arrived at Bolton train station yesterday morning to find the self-service facility was out of order, leading to longer than usual queues.
The station has a ticket-check barrier, so people wishing to travel were forced to wait for up to 40 minutes to buy a ticket.
The Monday morning rush hour is traditionally the busiest period for the station as passengers renew weekly passes.
John Sterling, aged 45, of Broadford Road, Ladybridge, said: “I’ve been waiting for about 20 minutes and I’m still not at the front. It’s made me late for work.
“They are more interested in checking tickets on the barrier than customer service.”
Amanda Dearden, aged 22, of Radcliffe Road, Bolton, added: “It’s pathetic, really. They knew this would cause problems but haven’t done anything to make it easier for us.
“It’s always the same when there’s a problem. There’s lots of staff but no-one willing to sort it out. The managers should be able to nip these problems in the bud, it’s no surprise that they can’t.”
Last week, The Bolton News reported how Northern Rail, which runs the station, published a leaflet apologising to customers for delays in January and offered to give them a weekend of free train travel.
A Northern Rail spokesman said: “Unfortunately, the ticket vending machine at Bolton was out of order and we would like to apologise to any of our customers who were inconvenienced due to this.
“Our engineers have been notified and will be working to rectify the fault as soon as possible.
“Two service windows were available at the ticket office for customers to buy tickets.”
Comments(9)
thealexweb
says...
5:59pm Tue 19 Mar 13
Love Bolton
says...
7:16pm Tue 19 Mar 13
Also, not sure why we need to have two (or sometimes three) staff checking tickets? If there were barriers you had to swipe through then you would only need one person to help with errors or those with large luggage.
I understand Greater Manchester transport are looking to introduce Oyster style cards similar to London. This is a good idea as it is ironically much cheaper to travel as they cap the amount paid per day for travelling around.
BWFC71
says...
7:20pm Tue 19 Mar 13
thealexweb wrote:Not at Bolton, you HAVE to have a ticket before getting to the platforms. There are ticket inspectors that do actually check the tickets!
If a ticket machine is broken / not available you can instead buy on the train and not pay any more.
thealexweb
says...
7:25pm Tue 19 Mar 13
BWFC71 wrote:I do not condone ticket dodging but if you use the car park exit you can access the platforms without a ticket.
thealexweb wrote:Not at Bolton, you HAVE to have a ticket before getting to the platforms. There are ticket inspectors that do actually check the tickets!
If a ticket machine is broken / not available you can instead buy on the train and not pay any more.
BWFC71
says...
7:36pm Tue 19 Mar 13
Love Bolton wrote:The 4 million quid spent on Bolton station seems to have been spent on paint!!!!!!!!
One self-serve ticket machine isn't really enough to be honest. If there were 3 then there would be fewer queues and potentially there could be some staff on the platforms who are able to deal with queries when there are delays impacting their onward journeys.
Also, not sure why we need to have two (or sometimes three) staff checking tickets? If there were barriers you had to swipe through then you would only need one person to help with errors or those with large luggage.
I understand Greater Manchester transport are looking to introduce Oyster style cards similar to London. This is a good idea as it is ironically much cheaper to travel as they cap the amount paid per day for travelling around.
Who were the contractors and have they ever appeared on Cowboy Traders????
Only 1 ticket machine instead of 3, NO cash machine, NO photo booth and NO news-stand/agent. Toilets only on one set of platforms and the outside of the station hasn't been touched. Still showing red paint and still has "pop-out" signs for Red Star Parcel services - which hasn't existed for over 20 years!!!!
Yep TfGM are looking at the Oyster Card but only for the buses and the trams, and unlike London they need the agreement of ALL bus companies and will not be able to use it on teh trains - due to the differing laws between London and outside London for public transport - also the card might not work on all bus companies or even selected routes due to teh differing prices between teh bus companies.
What is needed is the same law for outside London as what London has when it comes to public transport, or break London up to what the rest of the UK has!!!
You cannot have a decent public transport network in the UK whilst there is a two-tier law in place.
Holland has had a chip-card, "Oyster-style" for a few years now and works perfectly on all modes of public transport in all parts of the country - due to the fact its more regulated and has one-tier law for public transport!
BWFC71
says...
7:39pm Tue 19 Mar 13
thealexweb wrote:Not in the morning, or in the afternoon!!!
BWFC71 wrote:I do not condone ticket dodging but if you use the car park exit you can access the platforms without a ticket.
thealexweb wrote:Not at Bolton, you HAVE to have a ticket before getting to the platforms. There are ticket inspectors that do actually check the tickets!
If a ticket machine is broken / not available you can instead buy on the train and not pay any more.
I use the car-park and to get to Manchester there is a ticket inspector at the top of the stairs that lead from Platform 4 checking tickets of those going to Platforms 1-3
But agreed if going North of Bolton (excluding the Blackburn line) then there are no ticket inspectors when using the car-park - but there used to be, so why did they change it???
Love Bolton
says...
7:40pm Tue 19 Mar 13
BWFC71 wrote:I agree.
Love Bolton wrote: One self-serve ticket machine isn't really enough to be honest. If there were 3 then there would be fewer queues and potentially there could be some staff on the platforms who are able to deal with queries when there are delays impacting their onward journeys. Also, not sure why we need to have two (or sometimes three) staff checking tickets? If there were barriers you had to swipe through then you would only need one person to help with errors or those with large luggage. I understand Greater Manchester transport are looking to introduce Oyster style cards similar to London. This is a good idea as it is ironically much cheaper to travel as they cap the amount paid per day for travelling around.The 4 million quid spent on Bolton station seems to have been spent on paint!!!!!!!! Who were the contractors and have they ever appeared on Cowboy Traders???? Only 1 ticket machine instead of 3, NO cash machine, NO photo booth and NO news-stand/agent. Toilets only on one set of platforms and the outside of the station hasn't been touched. Still showing red paint and still has "pop-out" signs for Red Star Parcel services - which hasn't existed for over 20 years!!!! Yep TfGM are looking at the Oyster Card but only for the buses and the trams, and unlike London they need the agreement of ALL bus companies and will not be able to use it on teh trains - due to the differing laws between London and outside London for public transport - also the card might not work on all bus companies or even selected routes due to teh differing prices between teh bus companies. What is needed is the same law for outside London as what London has when it comes to public transport, or break London up to what the rest of the UK has!!! You cannot have a decent public transport network in the UK whilst there is a two-tier law in place. Holland has had a chip-card, "Oyster-style" for a few years now and works perfectly on all modes of public transport in all parts of the country - due to the fact its more regulated and has one-tier law for public transport!
thealexweb
says...
8:04pm Tue 19 Mar 13
BWFC71 wrote:Ah I use First's Transpennine Express to Edinburgh and get dropped off in the car, thats why I've never seen the guards, never mind.
thealexweb wrote:Not in the morning, or in the afternoon!!!
BWFC71 wrote:I do not condone ticket dodging but if you use the car park exit you can access the platforms without a ticket.
thealexweb wrote:Not at Bolton, you HAVE to have a ticket before getting to the platforms. There are ticket inspectors that do actually check the tickets!
If a ticket machine is broken / not available you can instead buy on the train and not pay any more.
I use the car-park and to get to Manchester there is a ticket inspector at the top of the stairs that lead from Platform 4 checking tickets of those going to Platforms 1-3
But agreed if going North of Bolton (excluding the Blackburn line) then there are no ticket inspectors when using the car-park - but there used to be, so why did they change it???
boltonnut says...
5:03pm Tue 19 Mar 13