Ely Station works

[transportphoto]

I feel a complaint to GA is in order about this at this point, given neither ticket machine has been accepting cash for two months now. Is there any better way to get in touch other than via their rather annoying-looking webform at

Pick up the phone and talk to them? 0345 600 7245

Alternatively via Freepost: Freepost GREATER ANGLIA CUSTOMER RELATIONS

Or via email: contactcentre@greateranglia.co.uk

 

[MikeWM]

Pick up the phone and talk to them? 0345 600 7245

Alternatively via Freepost: Freepost GREATER ANGLIA CUSTOMER RELATIONS

Or via email: contactcentre@greateranglia.co.uk

Yes, thanks, I'll probably send an email. Actually this page https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/contact-us/contact-directory is pretty good if you're competent enough to find it on their website - clearly I wasn't

 

[JOnTrack]

They seem to have knocked through space for the 'extra' door on both sides of the booking hall now, though very difficult to judge how much work has been done and how much is left to do, and I continue to think it is unacceptable they haven't communicated anything about how long they expect the works to take.

Also, the temporary ticket office was closed this morning, which meant that - as the ticket machines still are not taking cash for whatever reason - there was no way to buy a ticket with cash at all.

I feel a complaint to GA is in order about this at this point, given neither ticket machine has been accepting cash for two months now. Is there any better way to get in touch other than via their rather annoying-looking webform at

Customer Relations | Greater Anglia

www.greateranglia.co.uk

?

Hi Mike,
I spoke to a Cambridge station supervisor yesterday who said that works for Ely were planning to be finished by/around July. As for which year, that wasn't specified..... I do agree there has been a lack of communication especially considering how it affects standard passengers!
They already have open job positions for the Ely gatelin - applications close around 13th May so I'm guessing ATG staff will need to commute to Cambs/Cambs North until actual opening.

I will update here if I get any further information, hope the complaint goes well!

 

[MikeWM]

I spoke to a Cambridge station supervisor yesterday who said that works for Ely were planning to be finished by/around July. As for which year, that wasn't specified..... I do agree there has been a lack of communication especially considering how it affects standard passengers!

Thanks for the info - I suppose as long as it is July this year, that's not *too* bad

They already have open job positions for the Ely gatelin - applications close around 13th May so I'm guessing ATG staff will need to commute to Cambs/Cambs North until actual opening.

I still don't see how the costs of installing, maintaining and manning a gateline at Ely can be financially justified. I know there were differing views on this upthread, but I really don't see there is much fare evasion going on in the area.

 

[arb]

I caught a train from Ely for the first time in a few months this morning. I also discovered the ticket office closed, and I spent a while trying to force a fiver into both ticket machines' notes slot, much to the amusement of the people behind me, before I bothered to read the screen that told me cash wasn't being accepted . (Why not cover up the slots for money if it's not being accepted?! Or at least put a notice on the machine so you don't waste everybody's time trying to buy a ticket you can't then pay for!) I had no choice but to travel without a ticket, and found a very nice man from Great Northern waiting with a portable ticket machine by the barriers at Cambridge, who was more than happy to take money from me and several other people.

Have you always been able to enter/exit Ely station by the car park at the end of platform 1, or is that temporary whilst the ticket office work is being done? I knew about the entrace by the bike racks, but I'd never noticed the one at the other end of the platform into the car park.

 

[ashkeba]

Have you always been able to enter/exit Ely station by the car park at the end of platform 1, or is that temporary whilst the ticket office work is being done? I knew about the entrace by the bike racks, but I'd never noticed the one at the other end of the platform into the car park.

I think not always but the fence section has been removed before during works and the paving ramp is not new.

 

[ac6000cw]

Have you always been able to enter/exit Ely station by the car park at the end of platform 1, or is that temporary whilst the ticket office work is being done? I knew about the entrace by the bike racks, but I'd never noticed the one at the other end of the platform into the car park.

From memory, it's varied a bit over the years, but certainly in recent years - no, it was fenced.

There is/was a small grassed area on the car park side of the fence with (I think) a bench seat and paved path to it from the car park.

 

[MikeWM]

I caught a train from Ely for the first time in a few months this morning. I also discovered the ticket office closed, and I spent a while trying to force a fiver into both ticket machines' notes slot, much to the amusement of the people behind me, before I bothered to read the screen that told me cash wasn't being accepted . (Why not cover up the slots for money if it's not being accepted?! Or at least put a notice on the machine so you don't waste everybody's time trying to buy a ticket you can't then pay for!) I had no choice but to travel without a ticket, and found a very nice man from Great Northern waiting with a portable ticket machine by the barriers at Cambridge, who was more than happy to take money from me and several other people.

I do feel rather nervous getting on a train around here without a ticket, however justified (and permitted), so I've felt that I've had to use a card on occasion even though I strongly object to *having* to, especially for the princely sum of a £3.35 return to Cambridge.

Good to hear that it sounds like people at Cambridge are aware of the situation at least and that this is being accepted as an alternative.

Have you always been able to enter/exit Ely station by the car park at the end of platform 1, or is that temporary whilst the ticket office work is being done? I knew about the entrace by the bike racks, but I'd never noticed the one at the other end of the platform into the car park.

I moved to Ely in 2016 but can't say I recall either way pre-2020, so I defer to the answers above.

It was definitely open in 2020-2021 as part of the fairly pointless Covid one-way system they had in place - in through the ticket office, out through one or other of the platform ends. I say 'pointless' because most people appeared to ignore it and left through the ticket office anyway.

I don't think anyone will be too concerned about this entrance being closed (again?) once ticket gates are put in, but I can't imagine those wanting the bike racks being happy at having to use a non-trivial doubling-back, permanent diversion.

 

[dk1]

Have you always been able to enter/exit Ely station by the car park at the end of platform 1, or is that temporary whilst the ticket office work is being done? I knew about the entrace by the bike racks, but I'd never noticed the one at the other end of the platform into the car park.

I think you’ll find that the extra exits where opened as part of the one-way system introduced during the pandemic.

 

[arb]

I think you’ll find that the extra exits where opened as part of the one-way system introduced during the pandemic.

Thanks. My usual journey at the moment (which is still very rare) sees me arriving in Ely on platform 1 on a Kings Lynn-bound train. I always sit at the back of the train and head for the exit by the bike racks. It's only because I wanted to have a nosey at the building works that I headed further up the platform and saw the signs pointing to the car park exit.

It occurs to me that the current arrangement, directing everybody in via the bike rack entrance whilst the barriers are being installed, is effectively teaching people who want to fare-dodge how to avoid the barriers when they come into use! So surely something will have to be done about that entrance in the future? Personally I hope it stays, but I can't see that happening. It's not quite the same, but I'm reminded a bit of Cambridge, where they used to let you in/out via platforms 3 and 6 at peak times before they made the main ticket hall larger, but now don't let you do that.

 

[MikeWM]

The refurbished ticket hall reopened today - so September, which I suppose is about to be expected if they were aiming at July.

Didn't really have time to look much as rushing for a train - only comment so far is that my fleeting impression is the position of the ticket barriers (great joy - just what we needed) made it feel rather cramped, though that may have been more due to the large number of staff in the area. There are indeed four regular gates and one wide one, though the wide one is on the left when entering the station (as opposed to on the right on the plans shown earlier in the thread). They were in operation.

The previous entrance/exit at the northeast end of platform 1 is now a closed gate and some railings. There was a similar construction put in place at the southwest end last week, haven't looked yet but I assume that has been closed too - very inconvenient for cyclists trying to access the bike racks, who will now have to walk much further than before. Don't yet know what they've done with the access via the cafe.

 

[Magdalen Road]

Let's hope there's always staff at the station on time in the morning to unlock the doors, now the side access has been closed then. They've cut it close for the first train occasionally and another passenger told me that they'd missed trains in the past because of it.

 

[MikeWM]

I had a little more time last night to take a look around. If I had to sum it up quickly I suppose it would have to be 'functional but utterly soulless'. They seem to have eliminated pretty much any character that was there in the old ticket hall (not a great deal admittedly, but some!)

I still think the gateline is too close to the entrance, it isn't quite causing a bottleneck but I don't see why it couldn't be further in.

There is one ticket window, as on the plans posted earlier in the thread.

There are now four ticket machines, two of which now appear to be taking cash again. I never quite got around to complaining to GA about the lack of cash options when the machines were outside - yes, I'm rubbish, sorry - but the fact the option is back now the machines are back inside perhaps implies they were worried about having cash in the machines when they were outside, which is understandable given the terrible level of crime we suffer in Ely

The rack of tourist leaflets is back, but there doesn't seem to be much else - the engineering posters are all on the platform so you can't see them without going through the gateline. I don't recall seeing any timetables or similar useful information.

Basically I'm not terribly impressed. I don't see anything there that was actually worth the 7 months of work and disruption.

 

[Magdalen Road]

Caused a bottleneck yesterday afternoon, not least due to the hordes emerging from the infrequent northbound trains (a convergence of problems).
The additional door is too narrow to deal with the busy periods.
I hope the ticket machines have a better functionality rate now because most of the times I've been through recently at least one was out of order (not just not accepting cash).

 

[Wronskian]

Ely's been my local station for the last 20 years so I'll be interested to see how the changes pan out. Something that's been nice in the past is that Ely station has been very open - you can wander onto the platforms, use the cafes, see friends off or meet them off a train, maybe even spot unusual movements coming through. I haven't yet checked but I presume that's now not possible - platform tickets don't seem to be a thing any more? I will ask next time I'm at the station.

The Ely Food Station cafe (the one that's just to the left of the main entrance as you approach from outside) has now been segregated so you can no longer cut through, though you can enter and order from either side.

 

[LowLevel]

Ely's been my local station for the last 20 years so I'll be interested to see how the changes pan out. Something that's been nice in the past is that Ely station has been very open - you can wander onto the platforms, use the cafes, see friends off or meet them off a train, maybe even spot unusual movements coming through. I haven't yet checked but I presume that's now not possible - platform tickets don't seem to be a thing any more? I will ask next time I'm at the station.

The Ely Food Station cafe (the one that's just to the left of the main entrance as you approach from outside) has now been segregated so you can no longer cut through, though you can enter and order from either side.

The station staff at Ely are friendly enough. I'm sure if you ask nicely with a reasonable request they'd let you in and out, like most other places with barriers, provided people don't take the mick and abuse the privilege early on.

 

[dk1]

The station staff at Ely are friendly enough. I'm sure if you ask nicely with a reasonable request they'd let you in and out, like most other places with barriers, provided people don't take the mick and abuse the privilege early on.

Spot on. The staff at Ely have always been good as gold. Very proactive in times of disruption & helping with connections & the best place to wait with bikes what with the various stock & TOCs working through this busy little station.

 

[arb]

There are indeed four regular gates and one wide one, though the wide one is on the left when entering the station (as opposed to on the right on the plans shown earlier in the thread). They were in operation.

Why is the person controlling the gates at the opposite end of the gateline to the one wide gate?

Surely it's obvious that if you only have one wide gate, then that is the one gate that will most likely need manual overrides to let people through in the opposite direction to whichever way it is set up for! Yesterday I noticed a queue of people needing to use the wide gate in the "wrong" direction, with nobody needing it in the "right" direction, but the staff member at the opposite end of the barrier line hadn't noticed due the volume of people using the normal gates. In turn this unnecessary queue was blocking access to the ticket office and two of the ticket machines.

 

[MikeWM]

Why is the person controlling the gates at the opposite end of the gateline to the one wide gate?

Surely it's obvious that if you only have one wide gate, then that is the one gate that will most likely need manual overrides to let people through in the opposite direction to whichever way it is set up for! Yesterday I noticed a queue of people needing to use the wide gate in the "wrong" direction, with nobody needing it in the "right" direction, but the staff member at the opposite end of the barrier line hadn't noticed due the volume of people using the normal gates. In turn this unnecessary queue was blocking access to the ticket office and two of the ticket machines.

Yes, it doesn't seem especially well thought-through, but what's new there!

I'd say more than one wide gate should have been provided anyway, having seen some of the congestion being caused when lots of people with bikes get off a train at once.

 

[Magdalen Road]

Had fun with bike exiting the station yesterday, lots of people entering - ignoring the other gates in favour of the wide gate for no discernible reason.

 

[MikeWM]

The ticket office appears to be closed more often than it is open since the upgrade 'completed'. Which is remarkably unhelpful if trying to buy an Anglia Plus, as I was today. Are the ticket office staff being reallocated to help man the ticket gates, or are they short-staffed, or...?

(Cambridge happily and efficiently refunded the Ely-Cambridge single I bought from the ticket machines, unsurprisingly as I always find Cambridge ticket office to be excellent. But passengers shouldn't have to allocate time for this sort of thing).

 

[Magdalen Road]

Given I only see it for brief periods several times a week - my impression is that it is closed more often. Last Thursday afternoon there was one person on the ticket gates and ticket office closed. Last Friday morning, now there is only one window, queue of 5 people, moving very slowly. Had to look up online to work out whether a super off peak or off peak was valid for the return journey.

 

[MikeWM]

Given I only see it for brief periods several times a week - my impression is that it is closed more often. Last Thursday afternoon there was one person on the ticket gates and ticket office closed. Last Friday morning, now there is only one window, queue of 5 people, moving very slowly. Had to look up online to work out whether a super off peak or off peak was valid for the return journey.

Thanks, good to know it isn't just my experience. When it is open, there always seems to be a queue, so there certainly appears to still be a lot of demand for the ticket office. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be open half as often as it is supposed to be.

 

[arb]

My experience is the opposite: I've always found the ticket office open since the refurbishment finished, but the barriers are now being left unstaffed and wide open more and more often, which has left me wondering what the point of it all was! Also the first time I went in there after it re-opened there was a roving person on the floor going between ticket machines and offering help and advice to people (as well as an open ticket office and somebody on the barriers), but I haven't seen anybody in that role since. I do remember seeing job adverts for barrier staff and customer assistance roles just before the re-opening, which were basically offering the legal minimum wage, so a lack of people wouldn't entirely surprise me.

All that said, my travelling is no longer frequent, or at peak times, or even at the same time of day when I do travel, so I wouldn't take my data points as representative of anything in particular!

 

[dk1]

My experience is the opposite: I've always found the ticket office open since the refurbishment finished, but the barriers are now being left unstaffed and wide open more and more often, which has left me wondering what the point of it all was! Also the first time I went in there after it re-opened there was a roving person on the floor going between ticket machines and offering help and advice to people (as well as an open ticket office and somebody on the barriers), but I haven't seen anybody in that role since. I do remember seeing job adverts for barrier staff and customer assistance roles just before the re-opening, which were basically offering the legal minimum wage, so a lack of people wouldn't entirely surprise me.

All that said, my travelling is no longer frequent, or at peak times, or even at the same time of day when I do travel, so I wouldn't take my data points as representative of anything in particular!

I try and have a look when passing & on clear signals and I'd say they are operational around 70% of the time I see them. I know Ely has been a little short staffed of late.

 

[MikeWM]

My experience is the opposite: I've always found the ticket office open since the refurbishment finished, but the barriers are now being left unstaffed and wide open more and more often, which has left me wondering what the point of it all was! Also the first time I went in there after it re-opened there was a roving person on the floor going between ticket machines and offering help and advice to people (as well as an open ticket office and somebody on the barriers), but I haven't seen anybody in that role since. I do remember seeing job adverts for barrier staff and customer assistance roles just before the re-opening, which were basically offering the legal minimum wage, so a lack of people wouldn't entirely surprise me.

I've seen various combinations of all three - ticket office, roving person, barrier staff. Sometimes one of the above, sometimes two, sometimes all three. The 'roving person' is usually one of the ticket office staff - I've no idea what criteria they are using to determine whether to have someone roving and not staffing the ticket office, or vice versa.

I seriously wonder if the barriers are generating enough revenue to cover the cost of staffing (plus maintenance, etc.) even if the staff are only being paid minimum wage. As I said earlier in this thread, I don't believe it was exactly a massive source of fare evasion to begin with. One irritation is that they seem to vary almost day-to-day as to whether they return your ticket at the end of the journey, or not, which doesn't help throughput as people don't know whether they need to re-collect the ticket to open the barrier, or not.

I continue to be underwhelmed by the work that was done. Even without the ticket barriers, it seems remarkably soulless and characterless in the ticket hall now. I'm really not sure why they bothered.

In my experience, the barriers are ~75% in operation when I'm passing through in the morning, ~90% in the evening, but usually seem to be left open later in the night.

 

[Magdalen Road]

Backing up passengers leaving the platform this afternoon (about 3pm), gates seemed to be randomly opened up unseen member of staff. The one wider gate is difficult to see from the platform so people are frequently having to cross paths, as others are trying to pass through into the station.
It's rubbish.

 

[MikeWM]

Backing up passengers leaving the platform this afternoon (about 3pm), gates seemed to be randomly opened up unseen member of staff. The one wider gate is difficult to see from the platform so people are frequently having to cross paths, as others are trying to pass through into the station.
It's rubbish.

It is rubbish, I'd much rather they'd just left the whole thing as it was and saved whatever it cost to do all this work over 7 months (or however long it was). It hasn't made it a better station for passengers.

The gate situation isn't helped by people standing in front of the gates while they scroll through their phone trying to find the thing that they need to scan on the gates - the modern equivalent of fishing through your pockets to try to find your ticket, except this generally takes considerably longer. I see this happen quite regularly. There just aren't enough gates or enough room for that sort of thing.

I'm somewhat surprised that, having gone to the trouble of knocking through an extra door, they haven't marked one as 'in' and one as 'out', even though I suspect it would largely be ignored in practice. That works fairly well at Cambridge, but then Cambridge has a lot more room and a *lot* more gates. (Indeed, the work done at Cambridge 7-8 years or so ago is a great example of how to massively improve a station that desperately needed it. Ely didn't desperately need it, and they haven't improved it at all).

 

[ashkeba]

The gate situation isn't helped by people standing in front of the gates while they scroll through their phone trying to find the thing that they need to scan on the gates - the modern equivalent of fishing through your pockets to try to find your ticket, except this generally takes considerably longer. I see this happen quite regularly. There just aren't enough gates or enough room for that sort of thing.

This is partly the fault of train operators. None of their apps display the ticket barcode as the lock screen while the journey is in progress, unlike some other apps. It speeds things up massively if the ticket is just there as soon as you light the screen.

 

[MikeWM]

Another day trying to buy an Anglia Plus, and I find the Ely ticket office closed once again. Still seems to be closed about 50% of the time since the 'upgrade'.

Really not good enough when there are ticket gates, penalty fare notices and announcements about having to buy a ticket before you get on the train, and tickets you can't buy on the TVMs.