Sheffield ticket barriers plans rejected

[Lampshade]

Wahey, BIG respect to Sheffield City Council and the planning commission for this, it's absolutely fantastic to see people power and common sense prevailing against the narrow mindedness and stubborn demeanour of Stagecoach. I think this, as well as York, has set two HUGE precedents against the installation of barriers and this message should be understood by TOCs all over the country - barriers are not the answer.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/8374527.stm

Plans for ticket barriers at Sheffield railway station have been refused on the grounds that they would affect the character of the listed building.
East Midlands Trains wanted to install the barriers to combat fare evasion.
The move was widely opposed because it would have led to the closure of a pedestrian footbridge which links homes behind the station to the city centre.
Councillors agreed with a report which said the barriers would be detrimental to the station's Victorian facade.
The report said the barriers did "not provide sufficient width to cater for disabled access" and would "adversely affect the open character of the stone faced arches"....

 

[Mike395]

They aren't the answer at Sheffield, especially due to the bridge being a useful walking route, so that's excellent news!

(Barriers can sometimes be the answer at metro-frequency stations IMO, but that's for another thread.... )

 

[brompton rail]

Stagecoach EMT trains journey shortest journey time to/from Sheffield is 12 minutes, so a ticket check using more than 1 staff member is not impossible on 6 or 7 car Class 222. Northern's trains only have a 5 minute journey from / to the last / first stop (Meadowhall or Dore or Darnall). It is the local services where "travelling free" is most common.

 

[madannie77]

They aren't the answer at Sheffield, especially due to the bridge being a useful walking route, so that's excellent news!

(Barriers can sometimes be the answer at metro-frequency stations IMO, but that's for another thread.... )

And not forgetting that the renovation of the station and the footbridge was partially funded by the Council.

In my opinion East Midland Trains did themselves no favours with the way they went about trying to get the barriers installed. Great news for several reasons, as stated by 91107.

 

[bengolding]

This serves the silly operator right. Just look at the barriers they have put in at Nottingham, Leicester, Loughborough and Derby. The character of the station buildings has been degraded by the ticket barriers, particularly the monstrosity at Derby.

That said, barriers at Sheffield are essential. There are far too many short distance journeys, e.g. to Meadowhall and Chesterfield where full ticket checks (esp on CrossCountry and St Pancras services) are rare due to the short journey times.

What I don't understand is why no barriers have also been installed at Chesterfield, for the same reason above. The only major staions on their network without barriers are now Market Harborough, Kettering, Wellingborough, Chesterfield and Sheffield.

And talking about their barriers, it is ridiculous that they go to all the effort of installing ticket barriers, only for them to be open from 6am to 7:45pm (according to a friend). We all know that ticket checks on late evening trains are increasingly rare, so many people get a free ride at times when barriers are all set open and the operator loses (potentially lots of) lost revenue as a result. Where is the rationale in that? Maybe due to no staff owing to recent East Midlands cutbacks.

 

[ivanhoe]

Stagecoach EMT trains journey shortest journey time to/from Sheffield is 12 minutes, so a ticket check using more than 1 staff member is not impossible on 6 or 7 car Class 222. Northern's trains only have a 5 minute journey from / to the last / first stop (Meadowhall or Dore or Darnall). It is the local services where "travelling free" is most common.

EMT along with Northern, should do their homework, workout the extent of ticketless travel and see if the problem is on certain trains at certain times of the day. Then they should instigate strict revenue control at stations for those periods on a regular basis. Does not have to be for a year, but in say two week slots per month. The 'regulars' will either learn their lessons and buy tickets or travel on buses instead. Barriers at stations such as Nottingham, Derby , Leicester and Sheffield would not be needed if people new there was a good chance of being caught. However, lets see the extent of the problem first ! Most people in my view are honest!