Trowbridge Ticket Office

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From the Wiltshire Times

Trowbridge train station ticket office closed 'until further notice'

2nd March 2024

RAIL passengers travelling from Trowbridge are being urged to buy tickets online, on the train or from Bradford on Avon station.

They have been unable to buy tickets at the Trowbridge railway station ticket office which has been closed until further notice because of staff sickness.

A notice on the window advises passengers to buy tickets from the station's self-service machine.

A spokesperson for Great Western Railway, which operates the Trowbridge station, said it has been temporarily closed because a member of staff is ill.

He added: “The member of staff who normally serves passengers there is off sick. We are asking people to buy tickets online, at Bradford on Avon station or on the train.”

Some passengers had feared the Trowbridge ticket office had been permanently closed following attempts last year to close ticket offices on rural lines across the country.

But GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) said this was not the case, and the Trowbridge ticket office would reopen when the staff member was well enough to return.

from comments

No sickness cover also happened at Bradford on Avon while back, seems GWR don't employ enough trained staff, to send anyone to cover.

[grahame]

Interesting to (re)mind ourselves of the view of the public on closed ticket offices such that no assistance is available

The mish mash of online train ticket sites is a mess. Even booking a wholly GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) journey with bike reservations you need to do it in a ticket office with a employee on their (Fujitsu!!) computer system. All the vast majority of the public need is an online system that offers the right information, at the best price, with the station machines reflecting what is available online.

I have huge anxiety about getting on a train without a ticket and can't always buy in advance from home.  This bothers me hugely. I have used the machines but find them tricky with railcards and options to get the best price.

Get the bus if it’s an issue with anxiety

Thanks but trains cover longer distances, have toilets ( if working) and more wheelchair space so for me the Bus is not possible always.

I can understand your worry. The last thing you want is to be hauled up before a magistrate for avoiding paying for a ticket. The railways are a total mess. There are a lot of people who simply cannot use a smart phone !

[bobm]

From the Wiltshire Times


from comments

No sickness cover also happened at Bradford on Avon while back, seems GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) don't employ enough trained staff, to send anyone to cover.

Not sure if the after effects are still being felt, but during the closure consultation the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) had to serve notices of potential redundancy to staff.  That meant they could not then take on new staff if someone left or was long term sick.  Obviously that no longer applies but I don't know how long the recruitment and training programme takes.

[ChrisB]

Not sure that's right, Bob?
Yes, notices were issued to the union(s) as that is part of the agreement with the union(s) about laying off people, but NOT legally required. Consultation would have been the *next* step, at which notices would have been given to affected staff. But that step was never reached & notices to staff never issued - so what you suggest also never happened.

[grahame]

The whole process last autumn - whatever the details - was pretty unsettling for staff and I'm sure that the normal natural staff losses would have been accelerate where people saw other career opportunities.  And I suspect that replacement recruitment was somewhat - err - constrained and few people wanting to jump into a career that was marked for closure.

[bobm]

Not sure that's right, Bob?
Yes, notices were issued to the union(s) as that is part of the agreement with the union(s) about laying off people, but NOT legally required. Consultation would have been the *next* step, at which notices would have been given to affected staff. But that step was never reached & notices to staff never issued - so what you suggest also never happened.

I was told at a briefing they had been issued but no way of proving it either way.

[grahame]

From the Gazette and Herald

THE ticket office at Trowbridge Railway Station has reopened after weeks of being closed because of staff shortages.

It reopened this week with a new customer sales adviser and Great Western Railway plans to recruit a full-time staff member to help run it.

The train and station operator is advertising a permanent/full-time role at Trowbridge for a customer sales adviser with a salary range of £25,000-£30,000.

The move follows complaints about the ticket office being closed and a self-service ticket machine on the platform being out of service.

Stated in public open session at WWRUG^» (West Wiltshire Rail Users Group - about) on Wednesday that the Mayor of the West of England had "blown his top" at the situation an Trowbridge, in consideration of the support that WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about) are giving to the train service and the lack of fare collection ...