Ticket Barriers

[themeone]

I recently used a Super Off Peak Return, Croydon Stations to Newcastle, route Any Permitted, and valid on the tube to cross London.

I was intrigued to find it didn't operate the barriers at East Croydon, or at St Pancras International (I did this leg via FCC), though did operate the barriers at Kings Cross and Newcastle.

Just wondered if anyone knows why.

 

[LexyBoy]

Could be a multitude of reasons. Generally barriers will only recognise tickets which have that station as origin/destination, unless specifically programmed otherwise. Sometimes the magnetic strip is weakly encoded, in which case some barriers will recognise it whilst others will not. Barriers do not understand time restrictions either, using a much simplified set of rules - if your journey was during the week this could be why the barriers at Croydon rejected your ticket.

 

[talldave]

Gatwick barriers don't let you through with an off-peak ticket to Victoria until 09:14 weekdays, which is OK if you want to catch the 09:23. But not sure what you're meant to do if you wanted to catch the 08:57!

 

[bb21]

Ask to be let through at the manual gate, provided that your ticket is valid?

 

[yorkie]

Gatwick barriers don't let you through with an off-peak ticket to Victoria until 09:14 weekdays, which is OK if you want to catch the 09:23. But not sure what you're meant to do if you wanted to catch the 08:57!

In some cases ticket barriers may be programmed to reject all tickets of a certain type e.g. Super Off Peak, so what you have to do is show the ticket to the gateline asisstant.

Most gateline assistants are well-trained and will quickly identify that a ticket with an origin within the Network Area, with a destination outside the Network Area, is valid on any train from origin to London.

In the unlikely, but not unknown, event that a gateline assistant is not well trained, and incorrectly asserts that the ticket isn't valid, you have several options open to you, depending on what your priorities are...

 

[talldave]

Ask to be let through at the manual gate, provided that your ticket is valid?

That works as long as the member of staff manning the gate understands the "09:50 rule". I've come across some that don't in the past and they insist that Off-Peak tickets are not valid until 09:30.

I keep a screenshot in my 'phone of the Southern ticket booking system that shows which trains are valid for Off-Peak travel, although sadly it's out of date since the 08:56 became the 08:57.

 

[bb21]

I don't think there is much else you can do apart from taking a copy of the restriction text and/or a screenshot from a journey planner with you.

If a member of staff insists that he is correct and is unwilling to listen to the passenger, then it is not always possible to convince him that he is in actual fact wrong once you have shown him both of the above.