Maidenhead contactless tap out issue

[milzee]

Anyone know Maidenhead station and use contactless? Where do you tap out if you arrive on platform 1?

Last two times I've travelled back from Paddington to Maidenhead gone midnight, using contactless, the train has pulled up at platform 1 and the stairs from the platform go straight out of the station to the street without passing any gates.

There is no tap out terminal on the platform. I ended up going back into the under platform tunnel and tapping my card on the entrance gate but of course that is tapping in and I've ended up being charged to Reading and having to claim a refund. If I don't tap out at all I'll also be charged to Reading.

During the day trains from London arrive platform 3 and you exit via the under platform tunnel and the gates.

Looks like TfL/GWR or whoever have missed a trick here since they extended the TfL part to Reading and went contactless.

 

[Snow1964]

One way out of it is to lean over the wide gate and tap the reader on the wrong side.

It doesn’t normally work with normal gates, even if reversible, as the pads in wrong direction usually have (very small) red light so not in use in that direction.

Stations where a side gate is in use at night normally have a touch in/out reader, but the positioning often leaves lot to be desired, screwed to any convenient wall rather than obviously in line of sight of those arriving/departing a station. Maybe haven’t yet finished installing readers at Maidenhead.

 

[milzee]

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look round next time I travel late but at 1 am you usually just follow the crowds down the steps

Either they are all on paper tickets, they are all claiming refunds or they just don't know/care about the extra charge.

 

[Acton1991]

You should raise this with GWR as there should be a way for you to touch out and finish your journey at all exit points. Seems like an oversight to me.

 

[Starmill]

Are there really not readers on platform 1? There are quite a few services from London that stop there all the time e.g. generally the 1650 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway which is fast to Maidenhead.

 

[ess]

Access to/from Maidenhead platform 1 is through a gate (not barriers) which is often locked through the day unless a train is about to stop there. At night it can be left open for a late train. The station barriers cover the other platforms from both sides of the station, but the barriered tunnel has shutters which stop access from Shoppenhangers Road side at night. This is where the exit from Platform 1 leaves the station. So the only way to get to a barrier at night would be to walk to the A308, under the bridge avoiding the pigeons and pigeon poop, and back up to the main station entrance. (there is another exit from Platform 1 to the Shoppenhangers Road car park which probably also doesn't have a contactless reader).

 

[milzee]

I'll ask around one of the station staff and take a look round next time I'm heading in (if I remember). Coming back at 1am I'm just usually on a mission to get home and follow the crowd off the train. The station plan doesn't seem to show readers but you can clearly see the station layout and the platform 1 stairs bypassing the gates.

Access to/from Maidenhead platform 1 is through a gate (not barriers) which is often locked through the day unless a train is about to stop there. At night it can be left open for a late train. The station barriers cover the other platforms from both sides of the station, but the barriered tunnel has shutters which stop access from Shoppenhangers Road side at night. This is where the exit from Platform 1 leaves the station. So the only way to get to a barrier at night would be to walk to the A308, under the bridge avoiding the pigeons and pigeon poop, and back up to the main station entrance. (there is another exit from Platform 1 to the Shoppenhangers Road car park which probably also doesn't have a contactless reader).

Sounds about right.

 

[daniels]

There is no issue here. You simply walk through the open gates (gateline open from 2230), turn round and touch out. Either the regular or wide-aisle gate should be in exit or first come first served mode and allow the exit touch.
There is no barrier between the stairs and the gates.

Also - you are not charged 'to Reading'. Maximum fare charges at stations between Reading and Iver are charged at the origin - Z16 through fare - as they are at most gates and validators within Zones 1-6. E.g. at Maidenhead - £15.70 peak / £9.20 off-peak.

 

[Hadders]

There is no issue here. You simply walk through the open gates (gateline open from 2230), turn round and touch out. Either the regular or wide-aisle gate should be in exit or first come first served mode and allow the exit touch. Or walk through the open gates, through the tunnel and touch out at the main gateline.
There is no barrier between the stairs and the gates.

Also - you are not charged 'to Reading'. Maximum fare charges at stations between Reading and Iver are charged at the origin - Z16 through fare - as they are within the zones. E.g. at Maidenhead - £15.70 peak / £9.20 off-peak.

That isn’t really an acceptable solution. Under different circumstances touching out in the manner advised could be viewed as suspicious.

A platform validate or should be provided at the exit to platform 1.

 

[daniels]

That isn’t really an acceptable solution. Under different circumstances touching out in the manner advised could be viewed as suspicious.

A platform validate or should be provided at the exit to platform 1.

It is provided - there is a gate set for exit right next to the bottom of the stairs, or the main gateline where two of the four will be set for exit.

 

[milzee]

I was overcharged and had to claim a refund twice. Money came out of my bank account and money went back a week later. So I'm not making this up and clearly there is an issue here.



Also I was charged to Reading so please don't lecture people without having the facts.

 

[Starmill]

I was overcharged and had to claim a refund twice. Money came out of my bank account and money went back a week later. So I'm not making this up and clearly there is an issue here.

View attachment 103785

Yes. I think that daniels is wrong here, because it should be impossible to miss where you're supposed to touch in or out. That's kind of the point.

 

[Mag_seven]

You simply walk through the open gates (gateline open from 2230), turn round and touch out.

That is not the normal way that "touch in / touch out" works. What if the gateline is in operation? As stated above there are arrivals on the platform concerned during the day.

 

[Starmill]

That is not the normal way that "touch in / touch out" works

Precisely. If as a temporary solution this is what you're supposed to do then it would need to be clearly signed.

 

[milzee]

That is not the normal way that "touch in / touch out" works. What if the gateline is in operation? As stated above there are arrivals on the platform concerned during the day.

Agreed. I saw no one exiting the station do this and there was a crowd of passengers going down the stairs in front of me.

 

[daniels]

Given that platform 1 at Paddington remains ungated with no validators - good luck getting Maidenhead readers installed.

 

[Acton1991]

Given that platform 1 at Paddington remains ungated with no validators - good luck getting Maidenhead readers installed.

Is there not a validator on the side of the retail unit opposite Pret? Was there the last time I passed through platform 1

That is not the normal way that "touch in / touch out" works. What if the gateline is in operation? As stated above there are arrivals on the platform concerned during the day.

Completely agree. There is no way a customer should be expected to know this. Silly suggestion.

 

[ess]

Just to highlight a point I could have made clearer, at night there’s a shutter which stops access to the barriers on the Shoppenhangers Road side of the station. You can exit Platform 1 down the stairs but you can’t get to the barriers to perform the suggested ‘double back’ manoeuvre to go through the barriers, turn round and tap out when leaving

 

[Starmill]

Just to highlight a point I could have made clearer, at night there’s a shutter which stops access to the barriers on the Shoppenhangers Road side of the station. You can exit Platform 1 down the stairs but you can’t get to the barriers to perform the suggested ‘double back’ manoeuvre to go through the barriers, turn round and tap out when leaving

That is interesting.

I also wonder are you supposed to do if you arrive on platform 1 from the 1650 service, and the shutter you describe here is not closed, but the gates themselves are closed and in use?

 

[Hadders]

I was at Maidenhead station on Saturday afternoon so had a quick look at the problem.

Platform 1 is gated and ordinarily trains don't use it. The gate appears to be locked most of the time (there were staff passing through the gate when I took some photos). Looking at RTT five passenger trains called at platform 1 today between midnight and 04:30 and then trains called at 08:25 and 17:08.

The steps from the platform lead to the subway under the platforms. I did not see a standalone validator on the platform or at the top or bottom of the stairs. Walk down the stairs and turn immediate left at the bottom and there is an exit to Shoppenhangers Road. This exit is locked between 23:00 and 05:30. Turn right at the bottom of the stairs and you pass through the barriers to enter the station. Platform 1 is effectively outside the barrier line.

It is possible to arrive on platform 1 on the 08:25 or 17:08 arrival walk down the steps from the platform and exit to Shoppenhangers Road without passing an opportunity to touch out. If you turn right at the bottom of the stairs to leave the station via the main entrance again you pass through the barriers but you would end up touching in again to get through them and then touching out at the barrier line in the main concourse. I'm unsure what would happen if you did this, perhaps @MikeWh will know.

Starting a journey from platform 1 could be more problematic as it is perfectly possible to enter the platform without passing a validator. This could result in issues if you were to be inspected on the train. This is an entirely different situation to the DLR - as far as I know every entry and exit on the DLR has a validator adjacent to it.

It seems to me that a standalone validator needs to be installed on platform 1. I would locate it next to the gate at the top of the stairs.

 

[MikeWh]

If you turn right at the bottom of the stairs to leave the station via the main entrance again you pass through the barriers but you would end up touching in again to get through them and then touching out at the barrier line in the main concourse. I'm unsure what would happen if you did this, perhaps @MikeWh will know.

Unless any special arrangements have been made you'll get an unfinished journey and a zero charge same station exit. If the train has come from normal platforms (as opposed to HEx) at Paddington then GWR/TfL Rail will lose out on money.

 

[Acton1991]

I was at Maidenhead station on Saturday afternoon so had a quick look at the problem.

Platform 1 is gated and ordinarily trains don't use it. The gate appears to be locked most of the time (there were staff passing through the gate when I took some photos). Looking at RTT five passenger trains called at platform 1 today between midnight and 04:30 and then trains called at 08:25 and 17:08.

The steps from the platform lead to the subway under the platforms. I did not see a standalone validator on the platform or at the top or bottom of the stairs. Walk down the stairs and turn immediate left at the bottom and there is an exit to Shoppenhangers Road. This exit is locked between 23:00 and 05:30. Turn right at the bottom of the stairs and you pass through the barriers to enter the station. Platform 1 is effectively outside the barrier line.

It is possible to arrive on platform 1 on the 08:25 or 17:08 arrival walk down the steps from the platform and exit to Shoppenhangers Road without passing an opportunity to touch out. If you turn right at the bottom of the stairs to leave the station via the main entrance again you pass through the barriers but you would end up touching in again to get through them and then touching out at the barrier line in the main concourse. I'm unsure what would happen if you did this, perhaps @MikeWh will know.

Starting a journey from platform 1 could be more problematic as it is perfectly possible to enter the platform without passing a validator. This could result in issues if you were to be inspected on the train. This is an entirely different situation to the DLR - as far as I know every entry and exit on the DLR has a validator adjacent to it.

It seems to me that a standalone validator needs to be installed on platform 1. I would locate it next to the gate at the top of the stairs.

Gosh, looks like the station badly needs a touch-up! Still think it’s a shame TfL didn’t take over the management of Maidenhead and Slough - they certainly know how to tart a station up.

 

[swt_passenger]

Surely after the Shoppenhangers gate is closed 2300-0530, then the gateline at that end has to be both switched off and left open. That would prevent some of the problems?

 

[JonathanH]

Surely after the Shoppenhangers gate is closed 2300-0530, then the gateline at that end has to be both switched off and left open. That would prevent some of the problems?

Isn't the problem that the gateline is inside the shutters? There isn't another way of locking off the underpass on the railway side of the gates.

 

[swt_passenger]

Isn't the problem that the gateline is inside the shutters? There isn't another way of locking off the underpass on the railway side of the gates.

If the stairs and hopefully switched off gateline are both inside the shutters you just leave by the other side?

 

[JonathanH]

If the stairs and hopefully switched off gateline are both inside the shutters you just leave by the other side?

The stairs are outside the closed shutter though.

The default timetable does appear to be for the relief lines to be open. Presumably an exception should be made when that isn't the case.

 

[Hadders]

Surely after the Shoppenhangers gate is closed 2300-0530, then the gateline at that end has to be both switched off and left open. That would prevent some of the problems?

If the stairs and hopefully switched off gateline are both inside the shutters you just leave by the other side?

What about the trains that call at platform 1 at 08:25 and 17:08?

 

[swt_passenger]

I don’t know, I wasn’t trying to solve every problem. It’s a right mess really isn’t it…

 

[JonathanH]

I don’t know, I wasn’t trying to solve every problem. It’s a right mess really isn’t it…

All it needs is an extension on the front of the building to include a new gateline of the kind London Overground have installed at some of their older and more cramped stations. It looks like there might be room if the lay-by is shortened.

(However, if money is available for new gatelines, fitting one at Twyford might be better investment and we can go back to the idea of a standalone reader.)