Station with ToD machine not on collection list

[trainophile]

Thetford station has a ToD machine, it is shown on NRE station facilities, but when booking tickets yesterday it was not on the list of stations that tickets can be collected from.

I was reluctant to pre-book tickets yesterday to collect there on arrival, but when I saw it with my own eyes I stood on the platform and did it, and collected them immediately. The ticket office closes at 13:30 weekdays and we will be in a hurry today, plus wanting seat reservations where available.

It doesn’t look like a new machine. First time I have come across this situation. Should someone be informed to update the ToD list?

 

[yorkie]

Many pages on NRE are out of date; this is normal.

Yes you could try contacting the company that manages the station to update NRE.

 

[alistairlees]

Thetford station has a ToD machine, it is shown on NRE station facilities, but when booking tickets yesterday it was not on the list of stations that tickets can be collected from.

I was reluctant to pre-book tickets yesterday to collect there on arrival, but when I saw it with my own eyes I stood on the platform and did it, and collected them immediately. The ticket office closes at 13:30 weekdays and we will be in a hurry today, plus wanting seat reservations where available.

It doesn’t look like a new machine. First time I have come across this situation. Should someone be informed to update the ToD list?

You don’t say on which website (or app) you were trying to book tickets, and that didn’t show Thetford as an available ToD location. Whichever company it was, that’s the company you need to contact to ask them to update their list.

 

[janb]

I had presumed that the ToD collection list was a central list that the TOCs would update when they made changes and was then pushed out to retailers. Notably none of the many new Northern machine locations appear to have been updated.

 

[alistairlees]

I had presumed that the ToD collection list was a central list that the TOCs would update when they made changes and was then pushed out to retailers. Notably none of the many new Northern machine locations appear to have been updated.

Updated where? On the NRE website, on one or more retailer (whether third party or TOC) websites? Somewhere else?

You are almost right in the way that it works:
- TOCs are responsible for updating their own stations in a system called Retail Control Service (RCS)
- RCS is available as a feed to all retailers, and its use is mandatory. It contains a lot more than just which stations have ToD facilities, but that's not relevant here
- retailers should download the RCS data daily (so not actually pushed; it's up to retailers to download it)

So in theory every retailer should have the same list.

In any case ToD is on its way out, so is rapidly becoming much less of an issue anyway.

 

[janb]

Updated where? On the NRE website, on one or more retailer (whether third party or TOC) websites? Somewhere else?

Retailer websites - multiple (NRE appears up to date). I just checked on Northern's own and I was unable to select Silverdale, Arnside, Carnforth, Morecambe etc.

 

[SickyNicky]

Thetford is on the ToD list and we are showing it as available for collection. So, as alistairlees says, this is a problem with whatever web site you were using not being properly updated. The standard is to update data within a maximum of 24 hours of it being released.

 

[JBuchananGB]

I have mentioned before that although there is a TVM at Meols Cop, this does not appear in the list of available stations for ToD collection on Northern's web site. I just checked it with a view to buying a ticket for travel tomorrow. ToD was the only option offered, but no nearby station with a TVM. the NRE web site says there is not TVM, but that Smartcards can be topped up there at the TVM!

 

[trainophile]

It was the TPE website. I didn’t mention that as like others I assumed it was a central database used by all online vendors.

 

[Saperstein]

This happened to me recently at Cardonald using the Southern website.

Saperstein.

 

[ashworth]

Hucknall in Nottinghamshire is not listed. When the TVM was originally installed it was listed, then the machine was out of order for a number of months and it was removed from the list. Now the TVM is working again, most of the time, it has not been put back on the list. I always opt for collection at Nottingham but still use the machine at Hucknall to collect my tickets.

 

[Joe Paxton]

...
In any case ToD is on its way out, so is rapidly becoming much less of an issue anyway.

Is it?

 

[alistairlees]

Is it?

Yes. Barcode, ITSO, PAYG etc.

 

[tarq]

Yes. Barcode, ITSO, PAYG etc.

ITSO is only really suitable for season ticket holders and PAYG only works in the SE so I don’t see paper tickets being replaced in the near future. What do you mean by barcode?

 

[alistairlees]

ITSO can also be used for singles and returns; though it is certainly more suitable for seasons. There are proposals to extend PAYG. And barcode is almost everywhere that doesn’t involve crossing London, or a few TOCs like SE and C2C now. By barcode I mean eTickets and m-tickets.

 

[tarq]

I can totally see why someone would switch to ITSO (for convenience / durability) and PAYG (usually cheaper, more convenient) but eTickets and mTickets, for me, there is no incentive.

It would save the rail industry a small fortune if they got rid of paper tickets but it doesn’t save me any money and it’s only more convenient if I’m running late and don’t have time to buy or collect. Otherwise why would I print something myself when I can use their machines to do it? Why risk carrying a barcode around on my phone and the battery dying?

They will either have to go for the TfL approach and make it financially advantageous to switch or go for the Ryanair and punish people that don’t, I hope it’s not the latter!