Ticket gates at Manchester Piccadilly not accepting GM traincard

[windswept]

As of last Friday, the ticket gates at Manchester Piccadilly have been rejecting my GM traincard* season ticket (issued from Glossop) with error code 116. I have seen several other people having the same problem.

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=48909 suggests the error code should be interpreted as "station not listed as allowed for entry and exit with this ticket"

Why might Piccadilly not be a valid station for use with a GM traincard?

*http://www.tfgm.com/journey_planning/Tickets/Pages/tickets_rail.aspx

 

[island]

Bad gate configuration.

 

[TC60054]

The gates at Piccadilly are next to useless in my experience. My usual train from Manchester leaves from a gated platform and it must be at least four months since the barriers last let me through without having to seek assistance.

 

[windswept]

The gates at Piccadilly are next to useless in my experience. My usual train from Manchester leaves from a gated platform and it must be at least four months since the barriers last let me through without having to seek assistance.

I'm not that surprised, but I thought I'd got away without having problems as recently as last Thursday! I'm intrigued as to what gate software update would forbid GM traincards, which will be a pretty common ticket type seen at Piccadilly.

I suppose there's no point getting in touch with Virgin/Network Rail...

 

[meridian2]

I bought a Day Rover ticket a few weeks ago, and none of the gates accepted it. From the resigned look on the security bloke's faces, it was not an uncommon experience.

 

[WatcherZero]

https://communications-crm.custhelp.com/app/stationcomplaint

 

[185]

Bad gate configuration.

Agree. The gates themselves are fine.

The train operator's back office staff are at fault. Happened at Merseyrail with Saveaway tickets for some years initially.

 

[northwichcat]

Unless they have the ability to read train+tram tickets issued on Metrolink stock, train+bus tickets issued on buses and by PayPoint machines, paper tickets and print at home tickets the gates are inadequate.

However, not being programmed to accept a commonly used type of ticket printed on NR stock which is valid for journeys to/from Manchester is nothing sort of incompetence by Virgin Trains.

 

[philjo]

I get the same error message with my season ticket at Welwyn Garden City (as does anyone else with a ticket that does not have WGC as origin or destination) - this has happened since the gates were installed. the ticket works at all other stations on the line. several years of reporting it to FCC and now GTR has not changed anything.

 

[tom1649]

GM Wayfarers do not work in the gates at Piccadilly either.

 

[Bungle965]

I have found that some barriers are set up to take any valid ticket.
A recent example is the barriers at Salford Crescent where they accept any ticket in date. Oddly enough the barrier staff use a standard orange printed ticket to open up the gates instead of the usual placing card on the reader approach. I wonder if that is also to do with TOC's not being bothered to set up the barriers properly.

The barriers at Leeds are another excellent example of it. Only a couple of days ago I entered a Leeds-Manchester advance into it only for it to tell me that it was not valid at this location!
It's all well and good northern going about saying that they are installing barriers at different locations, however if they cannot be bothered to set them up properly to accept tickets that are clearly valid at that location it's a bit of a poor show.
Sam

 

[Bevan Price]

I bought a Day Rover ticket a few weeks ago, and none of the gates accepted it. From the resigned look on the security bloke's faces, it was not an uncommon experience.

Few gates anywhere seem to recognise any type of rover or day ranger ticket.

 

[terryc]

I was pleasantly surprised when my Wayfarer ticked 'worked' the gates both on leaving and entering Manchester Oxford Road the other week.

 

[adamello]

However, not being programmed to accept a commonly used type of ticket printed on NR stock which is valid for journeys to/from Manchester is nothing sort of incompetence by Virgin Trains.

How come? it's a NR managed station

 

[northwichcat]

How come? it's a NR managed station

Virgin installed the barriers and Virgin manage the barriers.

 

[Pyreneenguy]

I bought a Day Rover last Sunday, it didn't work at either Victoria or Piccadily.

 

[Merseysider]

Had an advance from Man Picc to Donny rejected at Piccadilly only last Friday. Eye rolling galore.

 

[ag51ruk]

https://communications-crm.custhelp.com/app/stationcomplaint

The gates are programmed by Virgin Trains - nothing to do with Network Rail

 

[WatcherZero]

NR are station manager, their responsibility to deal with complaints about station and services even if it is passing it along they can apply pressure to speed up rectification.

 

[Tetchytyke]

GM Wayfarers do not work in the gates at Piccadilly either.

It's an issue with many rovers, due to how the ticket is encoded. A Northern manager on here explained on here that rovers present unique problems due to how they are encoded.

IIRC it's because they are encoded with the origin and destination as the same. Unless the barriers are encoded to accept any valid ticket, they will be rejected.

 

[sheff1]

The barriers at Leeds are another excellent example of it. Only a couple of days ago I entered a Leeds-Manchester advance into it only for it to tell me that it was not valid at this location!

That has been happening ever since the barriers were introduced at Leeds. A poster on here claimed to be involved in the introduction/management of the Leeds barriers and asked for info about issues so that they could be fixed. I reported this problem and nothing changed .... make of that what you will.

 

[tom1649]

It's an issue with many rovers, due to how the ticket is encoded. A Northern manager on here explained on here that rovers present unique problems due to how they are encoded.

IIRC it's because they are encoded with the origin and destination as the same. Unless the barriers are encoded to accept any valid ticket, they will be rejected.

I see, thank you. My Wayfarer worked in the barriers at both Manchester Victoria and Bolton.

 

[CentralTrainer]

Virgin installed the barriers and Virgin manage the barriers.

Just the same at Birmingham New Grand Street Central.

It's been about 8 months since I managed to get through the barriers there with a ticket that wasn't rejected (and these are standard normal NR Oranges)

 

[windswept]

It worked today, so only a problem for a week - wonder if they've had to set the barriers to accept any ticket?
The traincard is laid out like a standard season, except for having & GM TRAINCARD * in the destination field (with Glossop, where I bought it, as the origin). Don't know how they're encoded though.

 

[D6975]

That has been happening ever since the barriers were introduced at Leeds. A poster on here claimed to be involved in the introduction/management of the Leeds barriers and asked for info about issues so that they could be fixed. I reported this problem and nothing changed .... make of that what you will.

Funnily enough Leeds is one of the few places that I've got through a barrier with a rover ticket. It was a NE straight 7 and worked - once. Subsequently it was rejected.

 

[iainbhx]

Funnily enough Leeds is one of the few places that I've got through a barrier with a rover ticket. It was a NE straight 7 and worked - once. Subsequently it was rejected.

Last year I bought a Spirit of Scotland ticket, it worked where it was issue - Glasgow Queen Street, but that was about all.

Last week my season wasn't working at Birmingham New Street, this week it has been.

 

[faltskog36abba]

That has been happening ever since the barriers were introduced at Leeds. A poster on here claimed to be involved in the introduction/management of the Leeds barriers and asked for info about issues so that they could be fixed. I reported this problem and nothing changed .... make of that what you will.

I have just come back from Leeds city station to Manchester Victoria station today with an advanced ticket. The barrier accepted the ticket at Leeds but rejected it at Manchester.

 

[island]

I find Leeds station barriers never accept tickets with a Two Together discount, giving the message "ticket not valid at this location".