How do I use internet tickets?

[MollyF]

I recently booked a journey from virgintrains.co.uk for Leamington Spa to Dundee. I decided to get them posted as I'd almost missed a train before trying to work the fast ticket collection machines. I was expecting to get the normal small orange boarderd tickets that I was used to but instead I recieved today a much larger white ticket with a pale patterned background. No instructions were included with it and I can find nothing on their website. How do I use this ticket? Do I go to the ticket office and exchange it for tickets or do I try and travel with it? It has a magnetic strip on the back but it looks far too big to fit in the ticket slots at the gates, will I have to find some one to let me though at every station? I am confused at best.

 

[yorkie]

..or do I try and travel with it?

yep!

It has a magnetic strip on the back but it looks far too big to fit in the ticket slots at the gates, will I have to find some one to let me though at every station? I am confused at best.

are there barriers at Leamngton? if so, show the ticket to the staff there.

I do hope you change at Brum for the HST (runs Mondays/Fridays), I'd hate to do that journey on a Voyager :neutral:

 

[D306]

are there barriers at Leamngton?

Yeh there are barriers at Leamington now. see here http://paulbigland.fotopic.net/p50974077.html

 

[MollyF]

yep!

are there barriers at Leamngton? if so, show the ticket to the staff there.

I do hope you change at Brum for the HST (runs Mondays/Fridays), I'd hate to do that journey on a Voyager :neutral:

Thank's for that, you've put my mind at rest. I travel on the trains relatively often and have never seen anyone use anything but the standard orange tickets. My main worries were getting through ticket barriers and why I only had one ticket when I had to change at birmingham and haymarket. The ticket barriers are usually always manned during the day time aren't they? I don't want to be rushing about trying to find someone while my trains about to leave.

 

[Jordy]

As far as I know the barriers must be manned or open at all times, so you should be fine.

 

[yorkie]

As far as I know the barriers must be manned or open at all times, so you should be fine.

That's what I thought, but Farce leave barriers unmanned at Aberdeen.:?

Although we all know that the staff at Aberdeen are known to not follow correct procedures from the rather unfortunate incident involving the blind man and the sleeper which made national news.

 

[me123]

In general, they're always manned. If not, I usually find that there's a staff member floating around somewhere. At Dundee, for example, I had to ask the dispatcher because no-one was there!

First Scotrail tend to man these barriers when trains are due which, although isn't the ideal situation, does let you thorugh (eventually).

 

[metrocammel]

In general, they're always manned. If not, I usually find that there's a staff member floating around somewhere. At Dundee, for example, I had to ask the dispatcher because no-one was there!

First Scotrail tend to man these barriers when trains are due which, although isn't the ideal situation, does let you thorugh (eventually).

That wasn't the case at Aberdeen last week. I got off a train from Dyce on the far platforms, and there was no staff on the barriers, or indeed that platform! Luckily, I had normal a 'point to point' ticket, which work thru' the barriers. A few weeks before that, I'd been on an All Line Rover (which don't work thru' any barriers), so, hypothetically, I may have struggled to make a tight connection. I was always under the impression that if there isn't enough staff to man barriers, they must be left open (and it states this in the Northern Rail guide on how to use their barriers).

Thank's for that, you've put my mind at rest. I travel on the trains relatively often and have never seen anyone use anything but the standard orange tickets. My main worries were getting through ticket barriers and why I only had one ticket when I had to change at birmingham and haymarket. The ticket barriers are usually always manned during the day time aren't they? I don't want to be rushing about trying to find someone while my trains about to leave.

They are actually quite common, If you use 'Intercity' services, there are generally a fair few pax with them, however, if your more used to regional trains, then orange tickets are the norm.
Also, when you are issued with the large (ATB Elgar) tickets, you should be issued with a gate pass- that is credit card sized, and fits thru' the barriers, however these only seem to be issued for tickets '+ London', the issuing system seems to assume that National Rail stations outside London do not have barriers (or that they will always be manned). It would be sensible if there was a 'gate pass' issued as standard with Elgar tickets, especially if you are booked to travel from or to a barriered station.
Of note, the large tickets (RSP 3597 /8597 equivalent) are very common throughout Europe, and are used in Ticket Vending Machines for Eurostar and also at SNCF stations in France.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Gate passes are issued for passengers to negotiate London Underground ticket barriers and usually have 'Zone U12' marked on them.

 

[Tom B]

I do believe that it is a H&S requirement that the gateline be either manned, or open, at all times. For example, if there were a fire or other emergency, somebody would need to open them, quite aside from the fact that people may need to buy tickets etc.

 

[Mojo]

When I used to travel between Aylesbury & High Wycombe (Chiltern Railways), the barriers rarely had a member of staff standing by them - you instead had to ask someone in the ticket office for assistance. Since Leamington is also managed by CH, it wouldn't surprise me if the same happens there.

The requirements for Automatic Ticket Gates at stations are set out in Railway Group Standard GI/RT7015.

"The station operator shall determine and document the minimum number of persons required to monitor the ATGs and auxiliary gate(s) in use at any one time in order to ensure that passengers can use the gates safely...If, at any time, it is not possible to monitor an array of ATGs and auxiliary gate(s), or to provide the minimum number of persons required to monitor that array, they shall be left in the open position..." [B13.1]

"The station operator shall ensure that persons who have responsibility for monitoring ATGs and auxiliary gates are subject to a documented competency management system..." [B13.2]

From the guidance notes:

There are three methods available by which an array of ATGs can be
continuously monitored:
  a) a person positioned at the ATG installation itself
  b) a person positioned in an office (for example ticket office) or at a control
point who can directly oversee the ATG installation
  c) a person positioned in either an office (for example ticket office) or at a
control point or at another ATG array remotely monitoring an ATG array at
that station by CCTV. This method of monitoring should include:
     i) an intercom facility to enable passengers to speak with the person
monitoring the ATG installation and vice versa
     ii) a ‘seek assistance’ or ‘help point’ facility for a passenger to attract the
attention of the person monitoring the ATGs
     iii) an instruction to the person monitoring the ATGs that priority is to be
given to the safety of passengers using the ATGs above any other
duties they may have (for example ticket sales)
     iv) signage on the action to be taken by passengers if they are not able to use the ATGs.
When considering remote monitoring, the risk assessment should address the
needs of passengers with disabilities, particularly those who are blind and/or
deaf.

So basically, they have to be monitored, but the person monitoring them does not have to physically be adjacent to the barriers.

 

[Chris B]

b) works in this case at Leamington as the ticket office overlooks the gates, being beside the barriers.

 

[metrocammel]

I do believe that it is a H&S requirement that the gateline be either manned, or open, at all times. For example, if there were a fire or other emergency, somebody would need to open them, quite aside from the fact that people may need to buy tickets etc.

Im not sure about older barriers (as found in ex-NSE areas), but the newer style barriers (for example, as recently fitted by Northern) seem to be connected to the station fire alarm system- opening if the alarm is activated. Again this information was from the 'Using the Northern Rail barriers' leaflet, it was a very informative little leaflet

 

[Mojo]

Im not sure about older barriers (as found in ex-NSE areas), but the newer style barriers (for example, as recently fitted by Northern) seem to be connected to the station fire alarm system- opening if the alarm is activated. Again this information was from the 'Using the Northern Rail barriers' leaflet, it was a very informative little leaflet

"At stations where a fire alarm system is installed, all ATGs shall be designed to open automatically, and manually operated auxiliary gates designed to release automatically, if the general evacuation stage of the fire alarm system is activated. All gates shall then remain open/released until the fire alarm system is reset and the person(s) responsible for monitoring the operation of the ATGs is permitted to reactivate them." [B8.4]

There are also requirements for an emergency open facility for the person monitoring the gates and for passengers to be able to push their way through the gates, the guidance document noting that the required force should be no more than 0.5kN.