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List of ticket offices due to close / reduce hours

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oversteer

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This was asked in Parliament last week and the minister duly replied..
http://www.publications.parliament..../cm120614/text/120614w0001.htm#12061455000032

Ticket offices proposed to close
London Midland
Adderley Park
Bescot Stadium
Cheddington
Duddeston
Jewellery Quarter
Lye
Small Heath
Witton
Wythall

TIcket offices proposed to have reduced hours

Chiltern Railways

Aylesbury Vale Parkway
Aylesbury
Banbury
Beaconsfield
Bicester North
Birmingham Moor Street
Denham
Gerrards Cross
Great Missenden
Haddenham and Thame Parkway
High Wycombe
London Marylebone
Northolt Park
Princes Risborough
Seer Green and Jordans
Stoke Mandeville
Warwick
Warwick Parkway
Wendover
[isn't that EVERY Chiltern station with a ticket office?]

East Coast

Darlington
Durham

East Midlands Trains

Melton Mowbray

London Midland

Acocks Green
Apsley
Aston
Berkhamsted
Bletchley
Berkswell
Birmingham Snow Hill
Blake Street
Bournville
Butlers Lane
Canley
Chester Road
Coleshill Parkway
Coseley
Cradley Heath
Droitwich Spa
Dudley Port
Edrington
Five Ways
Four Oaks
Gravelly Hill
Great Malvern
Hall Green
Hampton-in-Arden
Hamstead
Hartford
Hemel Hempstead
Kidderminster
Kings Langley
Kings Norton
Langley Green
Lea Hall
Leighton Buzzard
Lichfield City
Lichfield Trent Valley
Longbridge
Long Buckby
Malvern Link
Marston Green
Northfield
Nuneaton
Old Hill
Olton
Perry Barr
Redditch
Rowley Regis
Sandwell & Dudley
Selly Oak
Shirley
Smethwick Galton Bridge
Smethwick Rolfe Street
Spring Road
Stechford
Stourbridge Junction
Stourbridge Town
Stratford upon Avon
Sutton Coldfield
Tame Bridge Parkway
Telford Central
The Hawthorns
Tile Hill
Tipton
Tyseley
University
Walsall
Wellington
Widney Manor
Winsford
Wolverton
Worcester Foregate Street
Worcester Shrub Hill
Wylde Green
Yardley Wood

Northern Rail

Halifax
Northwich
Mexborough
Thorne North
Wilmslow
Worksop

Southeastern

Canterbury East
Sittingbourne
Tunbridge Wells


South West Trains

Feniton
Sherborne
Templecombe



It remains to be seen what "reduced opening hours" entails. I guess we will eventually end up with TVMs everywhere and everything else, main terminii or online/via post. Even LM are offering season tickets by post..
 
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pemma

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I'm actually quite shocked by that - number of rail users has more than doubled in the last 10 years - what do you have to do to keep your local ticket office hours?

What's even more surprising - Northwich as Northern recently extended the hours of the ticket office due to higher demand and have just refurbished it.
 

Schnellzug

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Yup, that's what happens, see, when Politicians are responsible for everything. But there are still people who believe that the railways should be run by these fools who see only the cost of everything and the usefulness of nothing.
 

pemma

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Yup, that's what happens, see, when Politicians are responsible for everything. But there are still people who believe that the railways should be run by these fools who see only the cost of everything and the usefulness of nothing.

If you look at the question and the response on the link it shows that these are a list of requests made by the train operators over the past 2 years. It is not what the government are proposing in response to the McNulty review but what the operators are asking the government to do.
 

hluraven

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Yup, that's what happens, see, when Politicians are responsible for everything. But there are still people who believe that the railways should be run by these fools who see only the cost of everything and the usefulness of nothing.

This is the exact opposite, this is a list of stations the TOCs are proposing to reduce, now that the Department has been told to be less prescriptive.
 

MidnightFlyer

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Aylesbury Vale Parkway
Aylesbury
Banbury
Beaconsfield
Bicester North
Birmingham Moor Street
Denham
Gerrards Cross
Great Missenden
Haddenham and Thame Parkway
High Wycombe
London Marylebone
Northolt Park
Princes Risborough
Seer Green and Jordans
Stoke Mandeville
Warwick
Warwick Parkway
Wendover
[isn't that EVERY Chiltern station with a ticket office?]

I believe Dorridge, Leamington Spa and Solhiull are the only ones that are untouched there.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
East Midlands Trains

Melton Mowbray

South West Trains

Feniton
Sherborne
Templecombe



It remains to be seen what "reduced opening hours" entails. I guess we will eventually end up with TVMs everywhere and everything else, main terminii or online/via post. Even LM are offering season tickets by post..

Haven't this set already happened? I'm sure some on SWT (including Pokesdown and Christchurch I think) were cut back in early spring, ditto EMT at Melton Mowbray.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Nothing from FGW land?

No if anything, a booking office (well, a plastic box plus bloke with Avantix) opened at Worle in spring!
 

yorksrob

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I'm surprised at Canterbury East - but maybe Canterbury West has superceeded it as the main station since HS1. Also Tunbridge Wells !
 

ANorthernGuard

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This was asked in Parliament last week and the minister duly replied..
http://www.publications.parliament..../cm120614/text/120614w0001.htm#12061455000032

Ticket offices proposed to close

Northern Rail

Halifax
Northwich
Mexborough
Thorne North
Wilmslow
Worksop

[

Northwich is only open in the mornings, but Wilmslow! Virgin/Arriva and us of course all stop there, its a busy station, TVM's will be everywhere and so many people will be out of jobs, but hey thats Progress! :-x:-x:-x
 

Greeby

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The London Midland "proposals" were, until recently, available on their public website. They involve slashing some stations in the West Midlands to the bone, down to two or three hours in some cases.

I'm also waiting for the backlash that will come when Milton Keynes Council realise they spent the best part of a decade and £2 million of government money for what will be a white elephant at Wolverton. As not only are hours not being expanded, LM want the current times cut by two hours.
 

exile

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Northwich is only open in the mornings, but Wilmslow! Virgin/Arriva and us of course all stop there, its a busy station, TVM's will be everywhere and so many people will be out of jobs, but hey thats Progress! :-x:-x:-x

I don't think Wilmslow is actually proposed for closure.....
 

pemma

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Northwich is only open in the mornings,

I checked on this a bit earlier. The Mon-Sat opening hours used to be 07.15-14:30 but Mon-Fri got an earlier opening time of 06:15 on Mon-Fri due to increased patronage. However, Northern then applied to close the ticket office an hour earlier Mon-Fri, which has been implemented and the ticket office now closes at 13:30.


but Wilmslow!

Wilmslow has a 20:40 closing time Mon-Sat but a 21:00 closing time on Sunday. How does that make sense?

Northern do need to revise Sunday opening hours. For Knutsford the ticket office is open on Sunday 12:10-19:30, while the departure times are 11:49 (Southport), 12:00 (Chester) then 13:49 (Southport), why open the ticket office at 12:10? It reminds me of when the first weekday departure from Knutsford was just before 06:30 and just as the train left you saw the ticket office being opened.

I don't think Wilmslow is actually proposed for closure.....

No apart from the first list of LM stations they are stations that will have / do now have ticket offices open for a shorter period of time.
 

Deerfold

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Northern do need to revise Sunday opening hours. For Knutsford the ticket office is open on Sunday 12:10-19:30, while the departure times are 11:49 (Southport), 12:00 (Chester) then 13:49 (Southport), why open the ticket office at 12:10? It reminds me of when the first weekday departure from Knutsford was just before 06:30 and just as the train left you saw the ticket office being opened.

Makes me think of Keighley - first train 0556 North 0601 South, booking office opens 0610. Sunday first train 0848, booking office opens 0900.
 

John55

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Makes me think of Keighley - first train 0556 North 0601 South, booking office opens 0610. Sunday first train 0848, booking office opens 0900.

Perhaps the ticket office staff arrive on the first train! Two out of three regular staff at my local station come on the train.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I checked on this a bit earlier. The Mon-Sat opening hours used to be 07.15-14:30 but Mon-Fri got an earlier opening time of 06:15 on Mon-Fri due to increased patronage. However, Northern then applied to close the ticket office an hour earlier Mon-Fri, which has been implemented and the ticket office now closes at 13:30.

This reflects the employment of one member of staff for one full shift. To have longer opening hours than this would require another member of staff and that would require a step change in costs.
 
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RPM

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So many of these proposals assume that it doesn't matter about closing the ticket office or reducing the hours because the revenue will be collected elsewhere. Well, some of it will be and some will be lost, but the books will balance because the shortfall can be made up. You just have to use the bylaws to trap unwary passengers who innocently try to use the railway network but can't make sense of TVMs or the nebulous terms and conditions of advance tickets. We are heading in a hideous, destructive direction and whilst in the short term it all looks great to the money men; it will benefit neither the passenger nor the railway industry in the long term.
 

Clip

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Makes me think of Keighley - first train 0556 North 0601 South, booking office opens 0610. Sunday first train 0848, booking office opens 0900.

Plenty of stations around the country where this occurs its not a novelty and as someone has said the forst trains probably have the staff arriving on them.
 

HSTEd

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Out of interest, do TVMs count towards the "walk past open ticket office" requirement?

If not, won't this lead to increases in fare evasion?
 

mattyb1405

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Out of interest, do TVMs count towards the "walk past open ticket office" requirement?

If not, won't this lead to increases in fare evasion?

Our local station (LM) is supposed to be open nearly 6am - 11.30pm, however for the last few months there is only generally one person working the station, so when they are off it is usually closed, likewise the afternoons / evenings it is closed (manning the morning / early afternoon shift).

No ticket machine and no permit to travel machines, I've had some 'fun' with LM on ticket issues in the past, guess I will be having more in the future (note I always buy a ticket and never try to avoid buying one). The last one was about a validity of a LM only ticket in to London Euston with one train about 8.21 from Cov being off peak (correct at least at the time and in this instance I couldn't get at the departure station as no TVM, permit to travel and the ticket machine in the booking office wasn't working!) but the Guard was unwilling to shift on only selling a peak ticket. It was reported to LM and they apologised..eventually...however.........
 

quarella

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Twoonthebuzzer View Post
Nothing from FGW land?
No if anything, a booking office (well, a plastic box plus bloke with Avantix) opened at Worle in spring

Second time Worle has reopened I think.
 

IanXC

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Perhaps the ticket office staff arrive on the first train! Two out of three regular staff at my local station come on the train.

Or a booking office I know of where the keys often arrive on the first train of the day!

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Out of interest, do TVMs count towards the "walk past open ticket office" requirement?

If not, won't this lead to increases in fare evasion?

If the ticket and payment method you require are available at the TVM I think you'd have a poor case to argue you should be able to buy an unrestricted range of tickets on board.
 

pemma

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This reflects the employment of one member of staff for one full shift. To have longer opening hours than this would require another member of staff and that would require a step change in costs.

Interesting. That would mean they work 7.25 hour days, allowing for the fact they start work before the ticket office opens and finish work after it closes. Why not have the standard working day of 8.5 - 9 hour days with a scheduled hour closure at a quiet time for a lunch hour?
 

barrykas

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Interesting. That would mean they work 7.25 hour days, allowing for the fact they start work before the ticket office opens and finish work after it closes. Why not have the standard working day of 8.5 - 9 hour days with a scheduled hour closure at a quiet time for a lunch hour?

Depending on the TOC, the "average" week is generally between 35 and 37 hours, which results in a shift length of between 7 hours and 7 hours 24 minutes. You generally get 10 minutes to book on, 20 minutes to book off and a 20 minute break.

Sundays are usually outside the normal working week, thus attract a higher rate of pay, and tend to be between 8 and 10 hours.

Cheers,

Barry
 

317666

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I'm glad that the proposals to close some of the West Anglia ticket offices haven't happened (no Greater Anglia stations are listed anymore). Many of the smaller stations have a ticket office which is only open on weekday mornings, and from my experience the TVMs either won't accept payment properly (Shelford) or you quite literally have to punch the screen to get it to do anything (Whittlesford).
 

Masboroughlad

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I am very much against closures of ticket offices. I also think the MaNulty review just doesn't tackle the real problem-the structure of the industry per re is where all the real costs lie-profits needed for far too many players.

However when I hear that ticket offices open a few minutes after the first trains have left, I am a it shocked. Even more so when I hear it's because that's when staff can get there! How many SERVICE industries open around the times the staff want to be there?! Customers should dictate the demand!
 

scrapy

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However when I hear that ticket offices open a few minutes after the first trains have left, I am a it shocked. Even more so when I hear it's because that's when staff can get there! How many SERVICE industries open around the times the staff want to be there?! Customers should dictate the demand!

Generally speaking, first trains are not so busy that a guard cannot sell tickets, so to me it would seem silly to have staff there to sell tickets when they could be better utilised later in the day.

Whilst it may seem daft that rail ticket offices should open for the convinience of their staff, it also seems daft that an unnecessary car journey is made because the member of staff opening the office has to open up for what may be a couple of passengers. Also if the regular staff are on holiday/sick relief staff would need to be sent from elsewhere in a taxi. It is also safer for staff to open an office (which contains a safe and cash) when people are around rather than before the first trains arrive.

Many service industries are flexible to their staffs' travel needs particularly when it is not really at any cost to the business. If the demand is here from customers, things may be changed (for example at Northwich, mentioned earlier in thread).
 
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