TVM failures on entire GWR network

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Why is it common thinking that the station buildings will be shut just because they want to shut *ticket* offices? The tuicket office is that place you find behind the glass frontage, not the whole actual building. so staff will remain within the public area of the station building as well as helping passengers out on the platforms. They aren't being banished from the buildings. And they will still have restrooms too.

I don’t think anyone has suggested staff will be banished from existing station buildings.

[grahame]

I don’t think anyone has suggested staff will be banished from existing station buildings.

Agreed - but it's not beyond the realm of future speculation as station buildings need repair and perhaps lie out of use that they could end up being demolished.  Modern protection for history will probably ensure Frome and Bradford-on-Avon and safe, but I wonder about Trowbridge and Warminster - just looking at currently staffed ticket offices in my home area. Westbury is probably safe as it, surely staffed for a few years.

[Electric train]

I don’t think anyone has suggested staff will be banished from existing station buildings.

Agreed - but it's not beyond the realm of future speculation as station buildings need repair and perhaps lie out of use that they could end up being demolished.  Modern protection for history will probably ensure Frome and Bradford-on-Avon and safe, but I wonder about Trowbridge and Warminster - just looking at currently staffed ticket offices in my home area. Westbury is probably safe as it, surely staffed for a few years.

Or are seen a valuable retail outlet space

[ChrisB]

This is why I think at a lot of stations the existing ticket office will have to remain in order to provide welfare facilities for staff. 

Someone else feels the same way as I do else why the comment? Someone has suggested that they won't remain?

[IndustryInsider]

This is why I think at a lot of stations the existing ticket office will have to remain in order to provide welfare facilities for staff. 

Someone else feels the same way as I do else why the comment? Someone has suggested that they won't remain?

I don’t know, have they?  I can’t remember hearing it said.  You said it was ‘common thinking’?

[ChrisB]

"will have to remain" meaning they were in danger of going? Said who?

[grahame]

This is why I think at a lot of stations the existing ticket office will have to remain in order to provide welfare facilities for staff. 

Someone else feels the same way as I do else why the comment? Someone has suggested that they won't remain?

I don’t know, have they?  I can’t remember hearing it said.  You said it was ‘common thinking’?

If a building or room is not required for its original purpose ... logic suggests there are a number of options ...
Open a travel and information centre
Coffee Shop or other cafe
Retail outlet
Housing
Sheltered Accommodation
Air B&B
Museum
Cinema
Creche
Community Room
Staff or BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) Offices
Public Loo
Rail industry supply depot
Demolish it

[IndustryInsider]

"will have to remain" meaning they were in danger of going? Said who?

I said that, but thought it was fairly clear what i meant, which was that the existing area used for the ticket office at a lot of smaller stations will potentially need to remain an area used for staff for welfare facilities.  By which I mean somewhere they can take a break, store their belongings etc.  The exact situation will vary from station to station.

But, I can’t see any connection with that and your statement that it was ‘common thinking’ that staff would be banished from using existing station buildings?

[ChrisB]

"will have to remain" meaning they were in danger of going? Said who?

I said that, but thought it was fairly clear what i meant, which was that the existing area used for the ticket office at a lot of smaller stations will potentially need to remain an area used for staff for welfare facilities.  By which I mean somewhere they can take a break, store their belongings etc.  The exact situation will vary from station to station.

Why would you say that unless you thought that the opposite (those areas might close) might be thought likely?

[grahame]

The stated intent is that stations will remain staffed on virtually identical hours to current planned ticket office staffing, and if you accept that at face value you still need staff loos, recreation areas, places to keep their private things, etc.

But there are a couple of problems there. 

* Ticket offices are not currently open to the agreed and published hours.  Signs on the door "we have closed early", "we will be open late" and even "we are only open Ad Hoc when we have staff" and I don't see any published plans to fill the vacancies and get staffing levels back up so that they are open for the  contacted time

* With staffing being unreliable, you have people no longer able to rely on staff.  Some don't use the railway any more, others find alternatives and you have less need for the staff - and in that scenario and with nothing being done to fix, you are on a downward spiral where staff in any role are less required - you've driven away those awkward customers who use them

[IndustryInsider]

"will have to remain" meaning they were in danger of going? Said who?

I said that, but thought it was fairly clear what i meant, which was that the existing area used for the ticket office at a lot of smaller stations will potentially need to remain an area used for staff for welfare facilities.  By which I mean somewhere they can take a break, store their belongings etc.  The exact situation will vary from station to station.

Why would you say that unless you thought that the opposite (those areas might close) might be thought likely?

Because the idea of closing ticket offices is to save costs.  If a room or rooms formerly used for selling tickets is still being used by the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company), the savings won’t be anywhere near as much as if those room(s) were repurposed or demolished.