Ticket eaten by barrier on departure

[allotments]

I'm used to barriers retaining tickets on arrival at destination but today's valid Advance for the 13:46 Euston-Crewe was retained by barrier as I attempted to enter platform 11. I had put the ticket in a second time after it failed to open gate first time.

Barrier staff - who were already very busy - had to recover it.

How does that happen?

 

[ChewChewTrain]

Never heard of that and it’s obviously concerning. What if it happened to an infrequent traveller who assumed it meant they wouldn’t need it after that point?

 

[miklcct]

I'm used to barriers retaining tickets on arrival at destination but today's valid Advance for the 13:46 Euston-Crewe was retained by barrier as I attempted to enter platform 11. I had put the ticket in a second time after it failed to open gate first time.

Barrier staff - who were already very busy - had to recover it.

How does that happen?

I had a similar experience as well. The exit barrier malfunctioned after taken my season ticket (mechanical failure) and the staff had to recover it.

 

[gray1404]

Or it caused you to miss your train.

 

[RPI]

The ticket must have been jammed or something as entry barriers don't have the ability to retain tickets, they have no ticket bins, whereas the exit ones do.

 

[allotments]

That makes sense！

 

[Scott1]

At the end of the day it's a mechanical system, so it's not failure proof. Especially given its dealing with bits of card that get folded, torn, wet etc.

As RPI has stated there is no 'bin' on the entrance side of the gates, so it can't retain tickets even if that was desired, it can only accept or reject and ejected the ticket. The exception, as you've found, being if it gets stuck inside.