Northern Station Improvements & New Ticket Machines

[Howardh]

Forum meet suggestion to use the TVM at Ardwick?

If Denton or Reddish South then yes, yes, a thousand times yes!! But all you have to do, it seems, is get Geoff Marshall to turn up and there'll be hundreds in tow! Personally - as it's off peak, if the Parliamentary Flyer is still running on Good Friday we could do a big turn-out for that. Would a GM Ranger be good for all day on a Bank Holiday?

 

[Starmill]

Not saying they shouldnt be putting the TVM's there but surely makes sense to put them on stations with a higher footfall and bigger service first.

Yes, exactly. Maybe someone has a cunning plan? Or maybe I'm trying to convince myself...

Mauldeth Road's TVM is just gone. Some warning might have been nice. I had some tickets to collect, so I got on the train and went to find the guard and said that the TVM was gone. She looked aghast and said "Wait, gone? You mean, literally gone?" I said yup! It's just a hole in the ground with some fence over it.

I can only assume it's being replaced with a new one. Lets hope these are more reliable eh.

 

[Starmill]

Would a GM Ranger be good for all day on a Bank Holiday?

It would, but I rather doubt you'll be able to use the ticket machine if one of those is what you want...

 

[Starmill]

Deansgate will have manual checks on match days, while Oxford Rd is barriered and Piccadilly will have manual checks on the non-barriered platforms.

While this is generally true, there are not often checks in place at the entrance to platform one at Manchester Piccadilly, or the lift from Fairfield Street.

 

[Howardh]

Blimey, so that means the Wayfarer can't be bought also?

So if you want either ticket, and it's not available by the ATM at an unstaffed station, I assume you can legally board the train and buy at the first opportunity?

 

[Starmill]

If you can find me a TVM that sells a Wayfarer I will be very impressed.

As for the second point, we haven't had that debate in ages! You may as well create a new thread to have it all over again

 

[Intercity 225]

They are going to put one at Denton - as well as Reddish South and Manchester United!

Is this for real? Or am I missing some form of joke?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Yes, exactly. Maybe someone has a cunning plan? Or maybe I'm trying to convince myself...

Mauldeth Road's TVM is just gone. Some warning might have been nice. I had some tickets to collect, so I got on the train and went to find the guard and said that the TVM was gone. She looked aghast and said "Wait, gone? You mean, literally gone?" I said yup! It's just a hole in the ground with some fence over it.

I can only assume it's being replaced with a new one. Lets hope these are more reliable eh.

Was it a cash TVM? If so, in that neck of the woods I'd say it's been nicked!

 

[Starmill]

It hasn't been nicked. :roll:

 

[Howardh]

Quick question - the answer is probably yes and the latter - but do ATM's recognise railcards, and if so do you have to put in your number/whatever - or does it just print out the ticket and you show your card to whomever requests it?

 

[northwichcat]

You mean TVMs - yes they do most railcard discounts but no you don't have to validate your railcard to get one.

On the subject of the reliability of the new Northern TVMs a new one installed at Knutsford a few weeks ago is already showing an out-of-order message.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Why do Northern find this all a bit too difficult when other TOCs seem to manage fine?

 

[323235]

Out of interest where have you heard Poynton is getting 2 machines?

Glyn in the ticket office told me about it - he's expecting it to result in the ticket office being boarded up and abandoned.

 

[Intercity 225]

Hi,

Could somebody confirm whether Reddish South, Denton and/or Manchester United are getting TVMs installed or not please? Genuinely not sure whether posters earlier in the thread were joking or not.

Thanks

 

[northwichcat]

Hi,

Could somebody confirm whether Reddish South, Denton and/or Manchester United are getting TVMs installed or not please? Genuinely not sure whether posters earlier in the thread were joking or not.

Thanks

Have a scan through the franchise agreement for requirements on TVMs and you'll find some Greater Manchester stations with very few services listed as stations to get TVMs: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/northern-rail-2016-rail-franchise-agreement Remember the franchise agreement lists the minimum requirements, so a station not being listed doesn't automatically mean it's not going to get one.

 

[LOL The Irony]

You mean TVMs - yes they do most railcard discounts but no you don't have to validate your railcard to get one.

On the subject of the reliability of the new Northern TVMs a new one installed at Knutsford a few weeks ago is already showing an out-of-order message.

Nothing new there then

 

[northwichcat]

Why do Northern find this all a bit too difficult when other TOCs seem to manage fine?

Maybe because other TOCs have more sense than to get Parkeon TVMs? Getting a higher specification product from a budget manufacturer doesn't mean it's a better product than the standard spec TVM from a better manufacturer.

 

[Geeves]

The S&B machines that Northern have dotted about are just as unreliable (if not more unreliable) than the Parkeon machines. The is an S&B engineer out at Vic and Oxford Road every single day.

 

[Chrisyd]

between Friday morning and today, Bromley Cross outside ticket machine has been upgraded to a large screen machine.

It appears to be working this morning.

 

[LowLevel]

I've noticed them on the platforms of West Allerton and Mossley Hill as well - cunningly placed so you have to walk past the booking office to get to them. Conspiracy much?

 

[skyhigh]

View media item 12The ticket machine at Headingley has also gone - at least they've left a roll of tickets behind though...!

 

[northwichcat]

I've noticed them on the platforms of West Allerton and Mossley Hill as well - cunningly placed so you have to walk past the booking office to get to them. Conspiracy much?

It won't be long before you have RPIs insisting you present a ticket when you are trying to access the machine for ToD. That's already the case at stations like Knutsford and Wilmslow.

 

[Starmill]

Earlestown now has three ticket machines!

 

[sheff1]

Earlestown now has three ticket machines!

Is there one on Platform 5 ?

 

[Starmill]

Is there one on Platform 5 ?

Nope. Not unless there is or will be a fourth.

 

[skyhigh]

Bramley got a new machine this week... less that 24 hours later the screen has been completely smashed. Wonder how easy that is to repair?

 

[northwichcat]

Bramley got a new machine this week... less that 24 hours later the screen has been completely smashed. Wonder how easy that is to repair?

I imagine it'll depend whether it's just a broken screen or if the damage extends beyond the back of the screen.

Bramley must be the worst on the Northern network for anti-social behaviour then. Even Flowery Field didn't manage to get it's TVM vandalised less than 24 hours after installing, even if it did get vandalised enough for old Northern to decide to remove the facility.

 

[chrissawer]

Northern have tweeted that the shelters at Moston are being replaced (with better models?):

Shiny new shelter at #Moston station and another one to come later this month #BetterStations

https://twitter.com/northernassist/status/918109927926910976

There have been contractors at Hebden Bridge and Todmorden installing what look like bases for new ticket machines.

 

[skyhigh]

According to JourneyCheck, there are currently 13 stations where the ticket machines are out of order:

• Bramley, Brough, Burley-In-Wharfedale, Chapeltown, Crossflatts, Dore & Totley, Goole, Guiseley, Ilkley, New Pudsey, Prudhoe and Saltburn - machines not working.
• Bridlington - unable to collect ToD.

That's not very good, is it? Normally it's only 1 or 2 stations. How many of these stations have the new machines? At least 2 to my knowledge.

 

[Bletchleyite]

And why are Northern having so much difficulty with something that LM seem to be able to get to work, by and large, just fine?