Travel centres

[button_boxer]

Are travel centres ever the only way to buy a ticket from a counter (i.e. instead of a ticket office, but in addition to TVMs?)

York? I didn't notice a non-travel-centre booking office window when I was there a fortnight ago, and I can't see any evidence of one on the NRE "stations made easy" diagram.

 

[wintonian]

York? I didn't notice a non-travel-centre booking office window when I was there a fortnight ago, and I can't see any evidence of one on the NRE "stations made easy" diagram.

They are separated by a shutter that comes down in the evening I believe.

Yes it is a bit weird.

 

[bnm]

Bristol Temple Meads still has a Travel Centre, although FGW fail consistently to open it as advertised. In fact a recent query of mine one morning to the Station Manager got the reply first, "I don't know why its closed this morning", and when I asked if he wouldn't mind finding out why it was closed during advertised opening hours, I got the reply, "It's open 1100-1500 today, that's just the way it is, complain to Customer Services if you think it'll make a difference." That from the Station Manager, someone who it seems doesn't know what's going on under his charge and couldn't care less if facilities on his station are not available as advertised. :roll:

I didn't complain to Customer Services, I brought it to the attention of FGWs MD when I met him at a meeting.

Bristol Parkway arguably has a Travel Centre only and no ticket windows.

 

[fairysdad]

Are travel centres ever the only way to buy a ticket from a counter (i.e. instead of a ticket office, but in addition to TVMs?)

Depends really on how you define a 'Travel Centre', but Barnstaple sometimes is like that - there are two 'positions', one's a ticket window and the other is what I'd say is a travel centre (which, bizarrely, doesn't appear on the NR website) - although this was a few years ago now, I know that they were both open in the mornings and then one closed in the afternoons and it depended on the member of staff as to which one remained open; one preferred the ticket office, the other the travel centre counter. Having been there in the afternoon when the travel centre is open but the ticket window closed I can only assume a similar situation still exists!

 

[Drsatan]

Southampton Central used to have one inside the Platform 1 ticket office, but was removed when the ticket office was rebuilt in 2008.

There used to be one at Winchester station facing the taxi rank, but that closed in December 2007 and is now a Cafe Destino from memory.

 

[andyc20050]

Seem to remember Basingstoke had one about 10 years ago

 

[wintonian]

Southampton Central used to have one inside the Platform 1 ticket office, but was removed when the ticket office was rebuilt in 2008.

There used to be one at Winchester station facing the taxi rank, but that closed in December 2007 and is now a Cafe Destino from memory.

Correct on both counts.

The ticket office at Southampton was moved to where the travel centre was (after knocking it down) and a pastry shop thrown in where the ticket office was.

Personally I think it was better before all this mucking about, far to open now letting the weather in again like before the first extension 10 years ago.

 

[Greenback]

Yes Reading's Travel Centre has gone about 2 or 3 years ago I think now. They replaced it and the old Booking Office with one long continous Booking Office instead.

They moved it first to the old Customer Help Desk next to the ticket office, which I would have thought was much more convenient operationally! I shall have to have a good look, I'll be passing through for the beer festival in May!

Bristol Temple Meads still has a Travel Centre, although FGW fail consistently to open it as advertised. In fact a recent query of mine one morning to the Station Manager got the reply first, "I don't know why its closed this morning", and when I asked if he wouldn't mind finding out why it was closed during advertised opening hours, I got the reply, "It's open 1100-1500 today, that's just the way it is, complain to Customer Services if you think it'll make a difference." That from the Station Manager, someone who it seems doesn't know what's going on under his charge and couldn't care less if facilities on his station are not available as advertised. :roll:

I didn't complain to Customer Services, I brought it to the attention of FGWs MD when I met him at a meeting.

Bristol Parkway arguably has a Travel Centre only and no ticket windows.

Not a very professional response, nor one that will inspire any confidence from the passenger.

My guess, though, is that First are running the travel centre down qith a view to closure (as Reading), and the manager did not want to say this.

 

[Ivo]

Not a very professional response, nor one that will inspire any confidence from the passenger.

My guess, though, is that First are running the travel centre down qith a view to closure (as Reading), and the manager did not want to say this.

It never seem to be open when I go there :roll:

For the most part though only the Travel Centre will sell APs at BRI. The main windows almost always fail to meet the three-minute off-peak target, so imagine if the Travel Centre was closed! Perhaps someone should mention this to them :roll:

 

[harz99]

Bristol Temple Meads still has a Travel Centre, although FGW fail consistently to open it as advertised. In fact a recent query of mine one morning to the Station Manager got the reply first, "I don't know why its closed this morning", and when I asked if he wouldn't mind finding out why it was closed during advertised opening hours, I got the reply, "It's open 1100-1500 today, that's just the way it is, complain to Customer Services if you think it'll make a difference." That from the Station Manager, someone who it seems doesn't know what's going on under his charge .

I must admit to not knowing the staffing structure at FGW stations nowadays; but in the InterCity days before privatisation the Station Manager bore no responsibility for the Travel Centres or booking offices - that always fell to a MS grade Travel Centre Manager who had one large location or a CO5 grade with group of smaller ones.

Nowadays may well be different, especially with so may different TOCs and multifunctional staff.

 

[lyndhurst25]

Are travel centres ever the only way to buy a ticket from a counter (i.e. instead of a ticket office, but in addition to TVMs?)

There used to be quite a few "Rail Appointed Travel Agents" on the High Street in the days if BR. I haven't seen one in ages though. Do they still exist?

 

[syorksdeano]

Bradford Interchange still has one

 

[bnm]

I must admit to not knowing the staffing structure at FGW stations nowadays; but in the InterCity days before privatisation the Station Manager bore no responsibility for the Travel Centres or booking offices

That occurred to me during my conversation. Which is why I asked if the Station Manager wouldn't mind finding out. He knew enough to tell me that FGW weren't obliged to provide the facility, had closed similar ones across their network and to take my concerns elsewhere.

I did, to Mark Hopwood. In person.

Bristol Temple Meads' ticketing provision is woefully inadequate for a station of its size. Just four booking office windows open at one time (rarely, five) and just four TVMs, only two geared up to take cash. Evidence of this poor provision is the regular appearance of an ATE in the booking hall selling tickets from an Avantix. This is obviously a more convenient option (and cheaper) for FGW than to provide adequate staff to open the Travel Centre as advertised.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

The last 5 or so times I have been to BRI the travel centre has been open (all Saturday afternoons) - both it and the booking office are very busy!

 

[IanXC]

York? I didn't notice a non-travel-centre booking office window when I was there a fortnight ago, and I can't see any evidence of one on the NRE "stations made easy" diagram.

York has about 6 positions, all without glass, split into tickets for today and future travel. The far end has about 6 or so TVMs. There's TVMs outside on the concourse too so I guess they could just close the whole centre out of hours.

Hull has a booking office type set up with about 5 positions facing into its new 'travel centre' with a collection of bus and coach operators at the opposite side.

 

[Ivo]

Bristol Temple Meads' ticketing provision is woefully inadequate for a station of its size. Just four booking office windows open at one time (rarely, five) and just four TVMs, only two geared up to take cash. Evidence of this poor provision is the regular appearance of an ATE in the booking hall selling tickets from an Avantix. This is obviously a more convenient option (and cheaper) for FGW than to provide adequate staff to open the Travel Centre as advertised.

When I got there yesterday I had to queue for eight minutes. Only four windows were open, plus the guy on the Avantix - and only two of the TVMs were operation. One had broken down, while the other had the sorriest excuse possible - "Out of Tickets".

This comes from the SWT Passenger Charter:

We will use reasonable endeavours to make sure that you should not need to queue at a point of of sale (excuding internet or telephone bookings) for more than five minutes during times of peak demand or for more than three minutes at any other time. We monitor queues so that we can take action to reduce them where possible.

BRI may not be an SWT station but it makes for a good comparison. BRI consistently fails to match this time - you can't tell me 1500 is peak-time!

 

[Urban Gateline]

Bristol TM is a busy station and it seems to just not have adequate enough ticket issuing facilities, a few extra machines would probably sort that (cheaper than staff!)

In other cases, ticket issuing facilities simply can't cope when there are special events on, as was evident during Ascot races, I was on the Gateline at Clapham Junction and could see the massive Q's for the 10 TVM's in the booking hall and the 4 or so ticket counters that were open. There really were about 100 people queuing for the TVM's, with the Q line so long that it went out of station property and into the shopping centre! I can imagine the frustration in these cases when it takes long to get tickets, but it's not a good alternative to simply let people through the barriers without tickets and ask them to pay on train (crammed so Guard wouldn't walk through anyway) or at the destination (where RPI's were waiting to check tickets and issue PF's!)

 

[transmanche]

In other cases, ticket issuing facilities simply can't cope when there are special events on, as was evident during Ascot races, I was on the Gateline at Clapham Junction and could see the massive Q's for the 10 TVM's in the booking hall and the 4 or so ticket counters that were open. There really were about 100 people queuing for the TVM's, with the Q line so long that it went out of station property and into the shopping centre! I can imagine the frustration in these cases when it takes long to get tickets, but it's not a good alternative to simply let people through the barriers without tickets and ask them to pay on train (crammed so Guard wouldn't walk through anyway) or at the destination (where RPI's were waiting to check tickets and issue PF's!)

In that instance SWT should have arranged for 'queuebuster' staff, selling tickets from portable machines.

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Sunderland has a sign that says travelcenter but whether there atualy is one I didn't notice, mid you I strugled to find any way to buy tickets there.

It's on the left hand side, after going through the entrance shown in that picture. I think there are some TVMs there too. There's also a couple of TVMs at the north entrance too.

 

[Greeby]

MKC's travel centre is currently used as a temporary office while the NSIP works to build a new public toilet on platform 1 force a reshuffle of the offices down there. Then I'm told the TVMs will be relocated in there while the main concourse floorwork is done. After that, LM will continue with it's delusional thinking of selling it off as a retail unit (Delusional because if WFJ is still empty after four years, MKC is not gonna do any better with far more retail about the station complex).

Northampton, with this big new station building coming along in the next couple of years, is just gonna lie empty until then.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Lincoln's has gone too - AFAIK it was to allow the cafe next door to expand. I don't actually think it was that old.

With regard to Bolton, that went during the recent station upgrade, however, even when it was 'open', its hours never seemed confirmed - AFAIK even when it was open, it was left unmanned except when someone came in, then they had to wait until the booking office was quiet enough for one of the clerks to go and deal with it!

 

[Greenback]

It never seem to be open when I go there :roll:

For the most part though only the Travel Centre will sell APs at BRI. The main windows almost always fail to meet the three-minute off-peak target, so imagine if the Travel Centre was closed! Perhaps someone should mention this to them :roll:

I don't think they are at all interested in the 3 minute rule. In my experience it has never been enforced by anyone in ay way, shape or form.

I must admit to not knowing the staffing structure at FGW stations nowadays; but in the InterCity days before privatisation the Station Manager bore no responsibility for the Travel Centres or booking offices - that always fell to a MS grade Travel Centre Manager who had one large location or a CO5 grade with group of smaller ones.

Nowadays may well be different, especially with so may different TOCs and multifunctional staff.

FGW used ot have a retail management system which was quite seperate from the station management. I presume that this wa sinherited from and based on the Inter City model.

As I understand things now, the station manager is responsible for all aspects of the station, including ticket offices and travel centres (if they exist). I might be wrong though, as I only have their job adverts as a source!