East Midlands Trains ticket collection machines

[sheff1]

Unfortunately the earlier thread on this is closed.

Anyway, at Sheffield the large TVMs have now been upgraded (sic) and no longer offer the facility to collect previously booked tickets. Instead 'ITSO' functionality has been introduced (not sure of the detail as I did not have time to investigate).

So now you have to use the TODler machines and, in view of the problems mentioned in the closed thread, I approached with trepidation. Sure enough, the tickets didn't print correctly . The booking office did issue the tickets without fuss but could not advise whether the situation was permanent or not. I really hope not, as I do not fancy having to queue at the booking office to collect tickets on a regular basis.

When I got to Derby the TVMs there were unchanged, so not an EMT-wide thing at the moment.

 

[WillPS]

I noticed the layout has been reconfigured today, I await to see how this new layout will cope in September. The words cattle and market spring to mind.

Is the Northern machine not present any more? I always used that one (just on the grounds that I prefer to award revenue to companies other than Stagecoach whenever possible).

 

[sheff1]

Is the Northern machine not present any more?

Not that I could see.... although Northern do have a habit of hiding ticket issuing facilities in places you would never think of looking

The Northern machine at the Supertram entrance is still there but as it seems to be OOU more often than not, it is not much use.

 

[WillPS]

That's not a Northern machine any more. It hasn't been since 2011, when it was turned off and for a couple of years there was no machine there at all.

 

[bb21]

Last time I was in Sheffield, there was one solitary Northern S&B machine in amongst a row of EMT S&B machines on the main concourse. Has that one gone as well?

 

[sheff1]

Yes that has gone and the removal of the TOD facility from the large machines would appear to permanent as completely new signage, without the collect option, is now in place.

So we have gone from 12 machines available for ticket collection in the main concourse to 5.

 

[causton]

Very odd as I wasn't in Sheffield too long ago and saw the old system as it was - worked quite well (as I had a ticket to pick up and there was nobody using the ToDlers )

...has anyone contacted EMT regarding the fact the ToDlers don't print things correctly though, and have other issues (don't they just give up when they run out of stock?) so they can't be 100% relied on for ticket collection?

 

[bb21]

...has anyone contacted EMT regarding the fact the ToDlers don't print things correctly though, and have other issues (don't they just give up when they run out of stock?) so they can't be 100% relied on for ticket collection?

EMT management live in cloud cuckoo land, if the words of certain EMT staff are to be believed.

 

[edwin_m]

They've also just started offering print at home, just for advances on their own trains I think.

 

[trentside]

...has anyone contacted EMT regarding the fact the ToDlers don't print things correctly though, and have other issues (don't they just give up when they run out of stock?) so they can't be 100% relied on for ticket collection?

Unlike the S&B TVMs, they won't transfer from one ticket roll to another while printing - so will give up if there aren't sufficient tickets left on the roll. If they do freeze mid-printing, they have to be reset so the booking can be released back into the system. They operate a Windows OS and resetting can take a good few minutes to complete.

 

[Qwerty133]

They've also just started offering print at home, just for advances on their own trains I think.

thought it was just for journeys to/from Nottingham from what I read a few months ago!?

 

[paulypaul]

Excuse my ignorance on various ticket machines, but these sort (see pic) at Leicester are useless.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/SME/html/NRE_LEI/images/photos/800/o2334-0012446.jpg

I order online from Redspottedhanky for collection at Leicester. If I order a ticket with Plusbus, they print my ticket but don't print the Plusbus ticket and I have to go to the ticket desk, they check my ref and see it's not been issued and they print it for me.

 

[maniacmartin]

Excuse my ignorance on various ticket machines, but these sort (see pic) at Leicester are useless.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/SME/html/NRE_LEI/images/photos/800/o2334-0012446.jpg

They are the ToDler machines being discussed here

I recently printed a load of tickets from a ToDler at another TOC and every one has a corrupt magstripe

 

[bb21]

Excuse my ignorance on various ticket machines, but these sort (see pic) at Leicester are useless.

If you speak to ticket office staff at Leicester, you will find out exactly what they think of them, and it's not positive.

 

[paulypaul]

If you speak to ticket office staff at Leicester, you will find out exactly what they think of them, and it's not positive.

I always find the ticket office staff in Leicester very helpful, but I do feel awful going in and explaining that my Plusbus ticket hasn't been printed, and putting them to the trouble of looking up my reference number to confirm it hasn't printed.

I tend to avoid those machines and use the TVM machines on the left of this pic. Will I still be able to collect pre-booked tickets from those machines in the future or not?

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/assets/0/72/4294967297/30064771362/30064773484/30064773485/30064773594/8f5d27ee-5fc7-4572-a132-bd3ac42947fc.jpg

 

[bb21]

Currently it would seem that this is only restricted to Sheffield. It may be because they want to separate out people collecting from those buying especially during busier times as the queues can be pretty huge at the moment so fingers crossed that things will remain the way they are elsewhere.

 

[paulypaul]

OK cool thank you and good luck to people in Sheffield!

 

[sheff1]

OK cool thank you and good luck to people in Sheffield!

Thank you. I suspect we will need it as the Ticket Office here is not at all like the one in Leicester :cry:

We will see what happens in September when the Uni terms start.

 

[edwin_m]

thought it was just for journeys to/from Nottingham from what I read a few months ago!?

May well be, all the ones I have seen are from Nottingham. There is a warning on the EMT website that print at home tickets can't be changed even under the limited circumstances permitted for advance tickets. So I'm hoping that ticket on departure will remain available without penalty, and that they don't do the same as the OP mentions for Sheffield and make us use the ToDdlers when the new station building opens.

 

[WillPS]

It's mental that nothing's been done about these ToDlers now. How long has this been going on? Must be well over a year by now.

I think Sheffield station are trying to win some kind of award for providing the most anti-customer experience on the network. Every time I've had problems with ToDlers they've squared the blame at me with ridiculous excuses like "redspottedhanky haven't activated our machines" and "you can't use clubcard vouchers for collection orders". Every time I've stood my ground, stated the facts and request that they make a formal note of the incident. On each occasion I was fobbed off.

I have since written on more than one occasion and on each been informed that the issue has been resolved.

Frankly, I despair of them as an organisation and I encourage everybody I can to use the facilities at Meadowhall whenever possible.