Northern Rail’s Ticket Machines
This picture sums up Northern Rail’s ticketing machines; lonely, unreliable and crap.
A Niortern Rail Ticket Machine At Manchester Victoria Station
This machine at Manchester Victoria station did work though and after scratching around for a few coins, I was able to get to Blackburn.
A few other comments on my trip to Blackburn on Saturday.
- On my arrival at Liverpool Lime Street station, the queue for the ticket machine was at least fifteen people. So by the time, I’d bought a ticket, my train had left.
- At Manchester Victoria station, there were only two machines for a very busy station.
- At Blackburn station, the machine was hidden in the subway.
- I never saw a machine at the two small stations; Clitheroe and Whalley.
- The last two stations have independent platforms, so if you’re travelling from one without a ticket machine, you’ll have to have a long walk first.
- When I passed through Manchester Piccasdilly on Saturday evening, neither of the Northern Rail ticket machines were fully operational.
The company needs a lot more machines, hopefully with better functionality and reliability. They should also make sure they’re better placed.
Whilst, I’m giving Northern Rail a good kicking, here’s some more annoyances
A couple of stations I visited had a truly dreadful mobile phone signal. I think the law should be that all stations and bus stops should have a top class signal, so that those, who need to text or call their partner, friend or parents can do so.
The two-coach Class 156 train, I rode from Blackburn to Preston was the most overcrowded train I’ve ever ridden. The staff must have known it was so bad as Blackpool had just been beaten at Accrington. So why weren’t we told by the station staff?
Probably because they were keeping well away!
At least we had a nun on board and she probably prayed for our safe deliverance to Preston.
Surely, Northern could have rustled up another or bigger train from somewhere. A four-car Pacer would have been manna from heaven!
What’s missing from this picture?
Getting My Train To Blackburn
Although, it was the Peak, there was no prominent staff on the platform to help unload and load this four-car Pacer.
I had to look it up on the Internet, whether our train stopped at Rochdale for a fellow traveller.
Incidentally, Manchester Victoria is starting to look tired and dirty. Is it all the diesel exhaust?
Northern also seem to specialise in bad information on stations. The bus information at Blackburn was abysmal and pointed you to a non-existent bus stop to get to Ewood Park.
I do wonder that Northern are worried if they improve things, then too many passengers might want to use the service and they’d have to buy more trains.
The Anonymous Widower 
Sadly Northern Rail have been extremely poor about this. As you have discovered they have either no ticket machines, slow ticket machines, hidden away ticket machines or machines that don’t work properly and also routinely don’t staff station ticket offices – basically because they CBA’ed selling tickets, especially off-peak, and would rather collect full and penalty fares at stations like Oxford Road. In response to Transport Authority concern about leakage (many evening passengers either avoided payment or never got an opportunity to do so), a few years ago they applied for planning permission to install ticket barriers this previously ‘open’ station. I opposed the alterations on the grounds of it being listed and the inevitable delay and aggravation to all passengers, not just those ticketless by choice, but more often perforce had not got one. I lost and sure enough just buying a ticket at Oxford Road is a total PITA, with long queues for the only window sometimes open and bumbling staff who ‘for some reason’ can’t work out the best fare unless lead by the nose to it.
Comment by Mark Clayton | October 16, 2016 |
It is interesting to compare Oxford Road with my local station, Dalston Junction.
Pax – OR=7.5million – DJ=3.7million
Dalston has 8 trains per hour (tph) in both directions and another 8 tph terminating at the station.
There are three ticket machines, which I use for the following.
Extension ticket outside the London Zone 6 boundary. Today, I went to Shoeburyness, with the extension ticket costing £9.95.
An A to B ticket for trips outside of London, as the machines give the best Internet price.
Return and single tickets, where buying an Advance ticket isn’t possible or sensible.
I used to top up my emergency Oyster, but now I use a contactless bank card.
There is always a member of staff, usually large hanging around to help or look out for trouble.
If all else fails, there’s an enquiry/ticket office with a guy ready to serve you. He, or a she at other stations, also handles problems, like leaving something on the train or refunds.
Of course for local journeys, you just touch in and touch out.
There’s also always a guy on the platforms downstairs, where because it is a forty metre wide island with two terminal bays, one person can cover all four platforms.
The trains are all DOO, but the drivers have impressive CCTV displays.
What helps the staff, is that all platforms align with the Class 378 trains, which are the only type using the line.
So buggies and wheelchairs asre pushed in on the level.
But when they rebuilt the East London Line in 2010, they designed it for the least hassle, with trains and new stations built to work together.
One thing that is unique to the Overground and Underground, is that say you’re blind or disabled and you just turn up at a station asking for assistance. You get it and are led to the train. The station, then phones ahead and the process is repeated at the destination.
This method of operation should be universal worldwide.
Incidentally, most of the staff, I’ve spoken to, seem to have a high job satisfaction.
Comment by AnonW | October 16, 2016 |