Fast ticket machines

[Ianmel1969]

Does it really take 2 hours from time of booking tickets online for them to be ready for collection from a fast ticket machine?

With Cross Country's website it says just 15 mins while others the full 2 hours. With technology nowadays, 2 hours seems pretty excessive.

 

[ooo]

Does it really take 2 hours from time of booking tickets online for them to be ready for collection from a fast ticket machine?

With Cross Country's website it says just 15 mins while others the full 2 hours. With technology nowadays, 2 hours seems pretty excessive.

I have always been able to pick up tickets from FGW who say 15 minutes immediately. I think it is just Train line based sites that say 2 hours. I would guess this is just to protect them if there is a problem with doing it immediately

 

[yorkie]

Does it really take 2 hours from time of booking tickets online for them to be ready for collection from a fast ticket machine?

With Cross Country's website it says just 15 mins while others the full 2 hours. With technology nowadays, 2 hours seems pretty excessive.

If you use thetrainline sites, such as CrossCountry (XC), it can take quite a while.

The Atos WebTIS ones, such as FGW, are instant.

 

[kieron]

I have always been able to pick up tickets from FGW who say 15 minutes immediately. I think it is just Train line based sites that say 2 hours. I would guess this is just to protect them if there is a problem with doing it immediately

I just had a look, and FGW now say "shortly after booking", without mentioning any specific time to wait. Crosscountry say 15 minutes, as do Northern. Arriva Trains Wales (for one) say 2 hours.

 

[SickyNicky]

I think that this depends on the method used by the retailer to load the data into the CTR database. Some of them do it in realtime (like WebTIS, TrainSplit etc) and others seem to do it in batches (like thetrainline).

The former is instant (TrainSplit tickets are available to collect immediately). The latter must depend on how their back-end systems process the batches, which may be quite random depending on volumes. However, it might allow thetrainline to complete a transaction with slightly fewer steps online, which may mean a few less seconds for the passenger to wait for the confirmation page.

It's more likely, however, that it's a legacy thing dating back from when the database wasn't able to process transactions in real time.

 

[talldave]

The thread title's a little misleading. Even when the booking is instantly available, I've never encountered a fast ticket machine.

Southern's are slow to use due to their hopeless touchscreens.

And Southeastern's machines give every impression that they're making the ticket from a freshly cut tree, it takes so long.

 

[fandroid]

I have always been able to pick up tickets from FGW who say 15 minutes immediately. I think it is just Train line based sites that say 2 hours. I would guess this is just to protect them if there is a problem with doing it immediately

I too use FGW's website, but it always quotes '1 hour' to me. I wonder if that's because I normally nominate Basingstoke for collection, which although it has FGW services, is an SWT station? Does anyone have any direct experience of time differences between an operator's own TVMs and other operators'?

 

[yorkie]

FGW uses WebTIS by Atos so it will be instant.

 

[Mojo]

I booked a ticket on the Great Western App earlier this week and it was collected within about 60 seconds of the CTR being displayed on my mobile screen.

 

[fandroid]

I booked a ticket on the Great Western App earlier this week and it was collected within about 60 seconds of the CTR being displayed on my mobile screen.

Was that collection at an FGW station?

 

[headshot119]

Was that collection at an FGW station?

Doesn't make a difference. I regularly buy tickets on EastCoast and pick them up instantly at a none East Coast station.

 

[furlong]

Last time I tested this 30 seconds was too short but about 45 seconds was sufficient.

 

[sn1975]

Does anyone know how long it takes for tickets purchased on the London Midland website to be available for collection from a London Midland TVM?

 

[Hadders]

Does anyone know how long it takes for tickets purchased on the London Midland website to be available for collection from a London Midland TVM?

Should be immediate as LM use Webtis.

 

[Mojo]

Was that collection at an FGW station?

No, it was collected on an S&B machine at a Scotrail station.

 

[fandroid]

It's not an issue worth exploring in great detail, but the reason I asked about where people were collecting their tickets was due to me being given '1 hour' to collection by the FGW site and others apparently being given '15 minutes'. I am registered on the FGW site so it's not a case of different time being given to those who are not registered.

The site always tells me to present the payment card for ticket collection, whereas I know that I have always been successful using any other of my bank cards. It's a bit like not telling us that we can pick the tickets up anywhere with an appropriate TVM (as well as the nominated one). Before I became wise to that one, I even once bought a second set of tickets when I realised that I had forgotten to retrieve the first set at the nominated station. More fool me, but 99% of the public don't know that, and various TOCs are probably very grateful for those unnecessary £10 admin fees that drop into their laps when passengers go for refunds.

 

[thealexweb]

I always use First Hull Trains when booking tickets due to their offer of 2% Quidco and double nectar points. What is their minimum collection time?

 

[cool110]

I always use First Hull Trains when booking tickets due to their offer of 2% Quidco and double nectar points. What is their minimum collection time?

All parts of First group use WebTIS, so almost instantly.

 

[thealexweb]

All parts of First group use WebTIS, so almost instantly.

Thank you

 

[gray1404]

I've collected a ticket from Hull Trains 5 minutes after booking online at a SN station.

 

[talldave]

I always use First Hull Trains when booking tickets due to their offer of 2% Quidco and double nectar points. What is their minimum collection time?

I use Southern for 4% Quidco cashback, instant collection and easy refund in case of no travel (for most ticket types). No Nectar points though. On Quidco you select Gatwick Express then jump direct to a previously saved bookmark for Southern's mixing deck. Every now and then the cashback increases to 6% for a few days.

 

[gray1404]

I use Southern for 4% Quidco cashback, instant collection and easy refund in case of no travel (for most ticket types). No Nectar points though. On Quidco you select Gatwick Express then jump direct to a previously saved bookmark for Southern's mixing deck. Every now and then the cashback increases to 6% for a few days.

This is helpful info thank you! What is the link exactly? You do just go to Quidco and select Gatwick Express and book from there or there is something else you have to do.... I am a bit confused.

 

[talldave]

This is helpful info thank you! What is the link exactly? You do just go to Quidco and select Gatwick Express and book from there or there is something else you have to do.... I am a bit confused.

One time preparation: go to tickets.southernrailway.com/sn/en/journeyplanning/mixingdeck and save it as a browser bookmark.

When you want to book tickets, log into quidco and choose Gatwick Express. When the new browser window opens on the Gatwick Express site don't do anything other than select the Southern bookmark you made previously. You now book any ticket you want and quidco tracks the purchase. The important thing is to make the purchase in the browser window that opens to the Gatwick Express site...just after you've redirected it to the Southern site (which is where a GatEx ticket purchase would have ended up anyway!)

 

[gray1404]

One time preparation: go to tickets.southernrailway.com/sn/en/journeyplanning/mixingdeck and save it as a browser bookmark.

When you want to book tickets, log into quidco and choose Gatwick Express. When the new browser window opens on the Gatwick Express site don't do anything other than select the Southern bookmark you made previously. You now book any ticket you want and quidco tracks the purchase. The important thing is to make the purchase in the browser window that opens to the Gatwick Express site...just after you've redirected it to the Southern site (which is where a GatEx ticket purchase would have ended up anyway!)

Thanks so much Dave! I'll do that. I am using Firefox... does that make any difference? Also, when I've used Hull Trains they've not always tracked and I've had to submit a cashback claim to Quidco - which of course was approved. With the above method though, is a cashback claim likely to get rejected if it didn't track as its going (slightly) against the spirit of the GX cashback offer?

 

[talldave]

Thanks so much Dave! I'll do that. I am using Firefox... does that make any difference? Also, when I've used Hull Trains they've not always tracked and I've had to submit a cashback claim to Quidco - which of course was approved. With the above method though, is a cashback claim likely to get rejected if it didn't track as its going (slightly) against the spirit of the GX cashback offer?

I use Internet Explorer for Quidco stuff but I can't think of any reason why Firefox wouldn't work. I find tracking very reliable. GatEx cashback can be a bit slow at being paid but they tend to do them in batches covering a few weeks at a time. I've never had to submit a claim for GatEx. Look out for the occasional 6% offers - you can get quidco to email you notification of these, I think it's done by favouriting or following GatEx.

 

[gray1404]

Thanks just done that so signed up for alterts when it is upped to 6%. My only concern is that would not pay out if a cashback claim needed submitting. I shall do it on IE too just to be safe as this is what works for you.

 

[Clip]

Thanks just done that so signed up for alterts when it is upped to 6%. My only concern is that would not pay out if a cashback claim needed submitting. I shall do it on IE too just to be safe as this is what works for you.

Cashback is never guaranteed from these sites so be aware of that

 

[gray1404]

Cashback is never guaranteed from these sites so be aware of that

Your totally correct. Its not your until its in your bank account (let alone even approved on the cashback site its self). That said, I have never had a cashback claim refused by Quidco when its not been tracked. But they might refuse one if it does not relate to GX travel and dones't track by default.

 

[talldave]

I've had £1700 cashback through Quidco, with very few problems. Southern purchases have never failed to track and are all paid OK. But I treat it for what it is, a bonus on purchases I was going to make anyway.

 

[Ianmel1969]

The time it takes to book tickets online to collect at the station is definitely getting longer with most companies.

I tried to book a return ticket Fratton to Weymouth 90 mins before departure. Only CrossCountry would let me book, offering collection in 15 mins.
Virgin, FGW, SWT and Southern all said pick a later train as we can't deliver your tickets in time.

Pretty poor in this day and age.