How early can you enter the gate area with an Advance Ticket

[Ocean N.]

Hello, this is the first post from me at the forum. So I am Ocean N. and I am a BNO visa holder living in Wales previously, and currently travelling around Great Britain.

So, long stories short, how early can I enter the gate area with e.g. an Advance Single ticket while not being rejected by the ticket gates?

Since I am going to Manchester Piccadilly from London Euston this morning by train and I wanna spend some time earlier to trainspot.

Thanks.

 

[sir_gummerz]

This may vary by station, but from my experience the automatic barriers do not control the time you can access the platforms with advanced tickets. I'm sure staff will let you past if the barriers don't for some reason.

 

[Ocean N.]

this may vary by station, but from my experience the automatic barriers do not control the time you can access the platforms with advanced tickets. I'm sure staff will let you past if the barriers don't for some reason.

Thanks for your reply

 

[SuperLuke2334]

Hello, this is the first post from me at the forum. So I am Ocean N. and I am a BNO visa holder living in Wales previously, and currently travelling around Great Britain.

So, long stories short, how early can I enter the gate area with e.g. an Advance Single ticket while not being rejected by the ticket gates?

Since I am going to Manchester Piccadilly from London Euston this morning by train and I wanna spend some time earlier to trainspot.

Thanks.

The gate will reject your ticket I believe an hour before, but in most places, it depends on what the staff have set the gate settings to.

You can always get get rejected, but ask to be let through the gates, most staff are willing to allow you.

 

[Hadders]

There aren't any ticket gates on the majority of platforms at Euston but manual ticket checks take place instead. You won't get onto the platform at Euston until a few minutes before your train departs.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

There aren't any ticket gates on the majority of platforms at Euston but manual ticket checks take place instead. You won't get onto the platform at Euston until a few minutes before your train departs.

Presume the OP has an advance ticket with Avanti. Would the above necessarily still be the case if the ticket at Euston was "Route AP WMR/LNR/TFW"?

 

[The_Train]

There aren't any ticket gates on the majority of platforms at Euston but manual ticket checks take place instead. You won't get onto the platform at Euston until a few minutes before your train departs.

There's often some platforms that are not being managed by a human on the ramp and, providing you are not put off by the big red cross on the screen, are accessible

 

[30907]

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/guidance-for-rail-enthusiasts/
advises

If you are visiting a major station, please ask any member of station staff to tell the Duty Station Manager that you are there.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There's often some platforms that are not being managed by a human on the ramp and, providing you are not put off by the big red cross on the screen, are accessible

There's a reasonable chance the BTP will at least ask you questions if you go onto a platform other than 8-11 when it's showing as closed. 8-11 much less so as there's always something going on there even if it's only the Overground, but I did still once get asked where I was going (but they were fine when I said - I think they thought I was heading for the staff-only "tunnel").

 

[The_Train]

There's a reasonable chance the BTP will at least ask you questions if you go onto a platform other than 8-11 when it's showing as closed. 8-11 much less so as there's always something going on there even if it's only the Overground, but I did still once get asked where I was going (but they were fine when I said - I think they thought I was heading for the staff-only "tunnel").

There's a reasonable chance that you could be approached in such a way at any station, especially a major station. As long as you are polite about it and BTP exercise some common sense, then I don't see there should be an issue. That being said, as has been pointed out above, if you are planning to spend any lengthy time at any Network Rail managed station, you'd be best to get signed in or at least offering to (as I did at New Street, much to the confusion of the person I spoke to who just told me to crack on with my spotting haha)