This evenings BBC local news said Thatcham with several other stations in the region would loose a staffed ticket office. Every cloud and all that - perhaps there is a silver lining. This must mean that FGW will be able to put staff on trains in future. Far more effective and efficient. Good thinking! Deploy customer service staff on the train to sell / check tickets and keep order.

Nothing on the BBC website about this..........??

Was on the TV news - may have been Meridian, never can tell. Fred Dinage the presenter I think.

Great, so what will happen to the little ticket office that's normally open in the mornings, when it's freezing cold and peeing with rain? Will it be locked all the time? Or what...

I find the guy who normally works in the ticket office, the one who reminds me of David Tennant, to always be friendly and happy. I've not been in there for about 8 months though, so it's likely he doesn't work there anymore.

You'll be able to buy tickets at the easy to use machines or on the trains. I'm sure the Rail Regulator who would have had to approve this wouldn't have agreed if customer service was at risk - after all that's why we pay them.

Thatcham station is incredibly busy at peak times - maybe you don't use it 'on the edge'?

'Easy to use machines'? Have you ever tried to use the ticket machine on Thatcham station? In any kind of bright sunlight, the screen is almost impossible to see, the machine won't take cash (because of repeated vandalism, according to staff at Reading) and is so 'easy to use' that you often have to stand behind a confused passenger for ages (sometimes having to board without a ticket) as they attempt to find the appropriate option.

More importantly though, isn't this another example of cost cutting at the expense of customer service, like 'self-service' tills at supermarkets? The young guy in the ticket office at Thatcham station (and yes, he is still there) is a credit to his employers - polite, smiley and very patient. Closing the ticket office, as has already been mentioned, will make Thatcham station even more bleak than it is... which is pretty much so when the (part-time) ticket office isn't manned.

So, if repeated vandalism is already acknowledged at Thatcham station, shouldn't Thatcham be considered for more manning, rather than none?

Agree with all of your points Wabbit. Also it's good to read he's still there. So many miserable rail attendants...moody, old people with upturned faces. Someone a bit younger who's happy instead of in a permanent state of "ohh, let's worry about my pension and be moody" is far nicer to deal with first thing.

Perhaps Ken Clarke could give the vandals a good talking to.

Did you mean to post this here JeffG?

Personally, particularly as my sight isn't as good as it should be, I agree. However, the Rail regulator wouldn't let FGW get away with this unless he was satisfied that customer service (which includes all the things you mentioned) was maintained. The Regulator will have known about this for some time - FGW wouldn't have just sprung it on him.

Perhaps we ought to invite him to a public meeting in Newbury so he can explain exactly what he does for the salary he extracts from our taxes. Would make an for an entertaining evening at least!

Yes, why not? Vandals were mentioned, and since Ken Clarke's statement has been all over the news, I thought it was topical and, who knows, slightly amusing. Presumably the humour passed you by.

(I notice someone else picked up on the news and posted a new thread elsewhere after I posted my comment.)

I got it Jeff.

Here is my personal experience of Thatcham station yesterday - during its 'unmanned' off peak hours.

Firstly, you could actually see the screen on the ticket machine (as it was tipping with rain!) but no, it still won't take cash.

As I waited on the platform, a Community Police Support Officer rushed past me, talking frantically on her phone (clearly on a call)... not sure what the problem was... but was obviously responding to an alert at the station.

There was a ticket inspector on board the train, selling tickets (which was good) but he failed to notice the puffa-jacketed fare-dodger who hid in the toilet and made his exit at Reading.

Both trains outward and inward bound were packed, despite this being off-peak. My return journey was shared with a youth with a 'Status Staffie' and a group of men swigging Strongbrew (this was 2.30pm).

So - there is just one small example of the type of experience to be had on this line...

Unmanned station? Absolute madness.

It did I'm afraid, sorry.

Perhaps some of you commuters could start a 'save the ticket guy' campaign. Like they do in Bucklebury when their postie got sacked....if it's a service worth saving, don't sit back....do something.

I'm not actually a regular commuter - just an infrequent user but I do agree that Thatcham commuters really should mount a Save Our Stationmaster campaign!! Come on NWN, why not use your media powers and get on to it?

Did you complain? Probably still not too late. The response I often get is that 'you are the only one who ever moans' - would be nice to know that simply ain't true!

I remember the ticket machine not working in the wet - the touch screen was broken!

Better get used to it if the government decides to implement the recommendations in the McNulty Report.
There will be manned ticket offices at just the main stations. (And fewer of those.)
The rest who decide to pay will have to make do with ticket machines which, as we all know, are prone to vandalism and malfunction, and no-one on the trains (yes, even less than now!) except the driver.

Yes, this is amazing! This time it's NOT First Great Western but ....the Government. What a way to run a railway - to spin a phrase, you couldn't make it up. No wonder the Regulator can get away with doing nothing.

When I started this threat I thought the Regulator had been appointed to look after customer interests in the absence of market forces on the Railways. So, I could not believe he would standby and strip staff from stations or trains, for pretty obvious reasons. I was wrong - sponsoring the McNulty report suggests he'd actually be right behind these cuts. Oh well - live and learn! Who can we trust?

Why not just modify some buses to run on the rails, pay the driver as you get on.

Why don't we just put cars on the rails, like they did on Top Gear? That was a success..

Could be done with some simple rearrangements to cabs. Train drivers have less to worry about as well.

You mean like this?

Seems like a good idea. I had a quick scan through the Wiki link (bit hard at work to get detail) but couldn't see any mention whether it was a "success", as in not making a huge loss. I read that it was so popular it needed extra buses...so it can't be all that bad.

However in this area, where would it go to, from and via? And where would it be constructed?

Or perhaps there's this !

Thanks for that Biker1. Just reading the headlines in the comment section was a laugh.

How did the past get it right for so long with far less technology. Even the old coaching inns are still in use.
London to Bristol in 2 days was probably a huge improvement. An overnight stop at the Chequors was welcome.
If only for the horses.
ce

I noticed in your first link, that they had problems with cyclists using the (dedicated) bus way, and one got hit by a bus coming the other way. Plus ça change...

A win win for everyone.



Lol quite a giggle. Guess that would be a bad idea to have here then..

It would be far better to get rid of the 2 or 3 ticket inspectors that seem to huddle in Thatcham station around 6.30am in the morning. These people are happy to basically stand around talking to eachother whilst Michael, the guy in the office deals with all the ticket queries, gives the best route information and quickly renews people's travel cards. Everyone thinks about how this will affect them, but has anyone spared a thought for the livelihood of the people who man these offices and how closure will affect them? No. I didn't think so. I am sure a good many will be ranting when they can't get a new travel card off the ticket inspector on the train :-)

To be fair LeeG some people have stated their support for Michael on here.

Perhaps they use the train to get to work at other stations and it's not their job to work in the ticket office? Perhaps you should think about their livelihoods as well?

Sometimes it goes wrong when vehicles go on railway lines

ROFLMAO

I see this has raised itself on the main news page again.
Currently there are NO plans to close any ticket offices in our area.
I think that some are jumping the gun somewhat (or "knee jerking" as the commonly used expression goes these days) over this issue which has to undergo many stages before implementation may even be considered.
Suggest the "knee-jerkers" wait until something more decisive has been produced which could be in many years time and the outcome of which we have no idea.

Panic early, panic often.

A decision on what to do with the proposals from the McNulty report is expected in the coming months. Although FGW are right when they say that they have "no current plans", in the rail industry press a couple of weeks ago they confirmed that they had contributed to the McNulty report to look at ways of reducing operating costs in the railway industry, and if the Government decide "class E" stations are not required to have ticket offices, do you thing rail companies will retain them? Also, franchise operators are going to be given stations on a 99 year lease, although franchises are often much shorter (maximum of 20 years at most). What happens when the franchise runs out? Can they hold the new operator to ransom? There is NO clarification on this issue in the report.

Finally, there is also a section of the report which pretty much suggests re-privatising Network Rail. Did nobody learn the lessons of Railtrack???

Michael is the young lad in the ticket office? Yeah, he's great. I think FGW shouuld consider this..

And lol at the cement truck thing xD

Read the quote in the article. The staff do a great job (ticket office staff) and Ernie over in Tilehurst has a huge amount of support too.

Got to hand it to FGW. There really aren't any current plans, just the existing one.

Also rather odd that the very expensive enquiry and report created by the safe pair of hands is simply bed time reading.

Ha Ha - ever been had! Still I suppose many of us thought the last Labour government was a labour government.

Even John Prescott bottled out, but then again like Lord Shinwell before him, couldn't resist the call of the ermine.

Where did that rant come from? The fact is, if the McNulty report is adopted, Cat E stations will see their ticket offices close. Were you aware that FGW are not taking up the offer of an extension tio their franchise as they want to bid for a "new" franchise which will be on new terms and for a longer period of time. If the new franchise does not require Cat E ticket offices, guess what we won't have?

Yes I was aware. The whole thing makes me very angry indeed. Railway privatisation was a wholly botched job and demonstrably valuable public assets were sold off at very low rates simply to satisfy an obviously flawed political theory. Frankly, in my view action should have been taken against those who knowingly let that happen - just as it would have happened in Local Government by surcharging.

At the time the Labour party and in particular the shadow transport minister John Prescott vowed to reverse this stupidity. Of course, the 'scorched earth policy' in that Tory government stopped that - price of a buy back too high.

However, good old market forces came into play. The central player goes bust - take over could have been at zero cost. What does now DPM Prescott and the Labour Government do? Bottle out of course.

So, who appointed the elderly McNulty? - Why step forward man of the people Gordon Brown!

And so FGW just go on, playing the game, taking the p***. Certain parties have made a great deal from UK railways and it ain't the passengers.

So, why has no government ever done anything to put this shambles right. Even the Tories now admit its a mess. By the way, they are probably more culpable - listening to the weird ideas from the Policy Studies Institute at the time. Would the LDs be any different; doubt it they don't seem to have a policy and save jumping on any passing bandwagon as you've noticed!

If ever there was a case where we needed a Regulator to look after our interests this is it. (Oh sorry, forgot there is one isn't there)

Buit Network Rail is public owned at present. When Railtrack went bust, the government made it not for profit and it's now much better. East Coast in now run by the Government. Other franchises that went belly up were going to be run like east coast under Labour. I personally think that is wrong. A mutual where the aim is to make a profit with some a percentage reinvested in the routes the franchise operate and then the rest to the Government as a franchise fee.

PS. Nice to see Cllr Woodhams caught himself out with his trousers down in today's paper. A transport spokesman who knows nothing about public transport. He also asked the Tories to not lower the speed limit in Paynesdown Road because he mistakenly thought you could only lower speed limits in residential areas by installing expensive speed cushions (he actually had a petition for speed bumps, but residents sent him packing saying that any money should be spent on resurfacing). That isn't the case, look at Portsmouth (whole city residential roads), Corby and even Church Gate in Thatcham where I don't believe there are any speed bumps.

What made it worse was that the only person willing to defend Keith in the paper was Mr Credible himself, David Rendel. Two career politicians who are only in it for the PR and ego. The Lib Dems would be better off without them both.

There is a bit of road in Reading where they removed speed bumps as they put a 20mph limit. The limit extends for a short way either side of a school entrance - seem a good idea? It would it the school hadn't been demolished by the time the 20mph signs went up. Now the residents of a new housing development will have the benefit of the limit at their exit on to the main road. WBC are not the only district council to get it wrong from time to time.

Too right it's wrong. The whole structure is wrong and muddle headed in the UK. Not even a mutual would solve that. Having the infrastructure separate from the means of carrage separate from the service provider is simply lunacy. A bit like Sainsbury's tills being 'owned' by the government. No matter how long the queues and how willing the service provider - if the government won't provide, you are stuck with the solution. Its a natural monopoly and should be managed end to end - even Churchill saw that in 1910!

I would have would have applauded the spending of public money on an enquiry - IF it had been given the right terms of reference. Rather than simply reinforcing the status quo to save the pockets of our city friends.