Can I collect the tickets I bought online from a Ticket Office or does it have to be a machine?

[Virgin Voyager]

Alternatively, how hard is it to collect from a machine?

 

[m00036]

I've been able to collect from a ticket office with GWR. It is relatively straightforward from a ticket machine though, for which the process is something like:

• Click 'Collect Tickets' on the home screen
• Enter your payment card (it won't charge it but it's some sort of anti-fraud measure)
• Type in the collection reference
• The tickets will print

 

[WizCastro197]

Alternatively, how hard is it to collect from a machine?

You can collect from either, they will ask you your destination and booking reference and I think the date of travel, alternatively you can do it by machine by pressing the ‘collect prepaid tickets’ button, you’ll be asked you insert your card you bought the tickets with and then the booking reference, it should then print, the one at Redhill took a few tries.

 

[skyhigh]

Alternatively, how hard is it to collect from a machine?

Easy.

While most ticket offices should be able to print your tickets, they might not be willing to do so.

 

[Joe Paxton]

Here's a good video run-through of the process of collecting pre-booked tickets from a ticket machine:

Just to note the video is published by a website called 'nationalrail.com' (aka 'National Rail Bishop Auckland Ltd'), which should not be confused with the official National Rail Enquiries site at nationalrail.co.uk .

However the process is the same regardless of which rail ticket booking website (or indeed telesales service) you might use.

 

[Virgin Voyager]

I've been able to collect from a ticket office with GWR. It is relatively straightforward from a ticket machine though, for which the process is something like:

• Click 'Collect Tickets' on the home screen
• Enter your payment card (it won't charge it but it's some sort of anti-fraud measure)
• Type in the collection reference
• The tickets will print

Sorry im not sure how to unquote this reply . But does anyone know if it will work on a Northern ticket machine or is it one of the ones at a more major station?

 

[Haywain]

Sorry im not sure how to unquote this reply . But does anyone know if it will work on a Northern ticket machine or is it one of the ones at a more major station?

All National Rail TVMs, apart from Merseyrail.

 

[Joe Paxton]

All National Rail TVMs, apart from Merseyrail.

Is every National Rail TVM (apart from those on Merseyrail) now connected to TOD?

 

[Haywain]

Is every National Rail TVM (apart from those on Merseyrail) now connected to TOD?

I'm not aware of any that are not. Certainly there is not likely to be a problem in the north of England.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Is every National Rail TVM (apart from those on Merseyrail) now connected to TOD?

I can't see why not.

 

[crablab]

Why is Merseyrail a holdout from TOD?

 

[Joe Paxton]

Is every National Rail TVM (apart from those on Merseyrail) now connected to TOD?

I'm not aware of any that are not. Certainly there is not likely to be a problem in the north of England.

I can't see why not.

I had some vague notion that there might be a few TVMs at stations in rural or out of the way locations that might have patchy data connectivity, meaning the 'TVM-phone-home' function (to interrogate the TOD database) perhaps wasn't reliable enough to offer the ticket collection facility. But connectivity has of course improved rapidly in recent years.

 

[zero]

At Milton Keynes Central ticket office I saw signs saying that they are unable to print TOD tickets and that only the TVMs can be used.

If this is not actually the case why would they not want to help, as I don't imagine it ever gets extremely busy.

Some time ago I read on here that TVM operators gets 70p per TOD but ticket offices get 90p, or something along those lines, so retailers prefer you to use TVMs?

 

[Wallsendmag]

It’s not quite that simple regarding the payments but Ticket Offices do get more . How a TVM would operate without a network connect is beyond me so no there are no remote TVMs without a “phone home” facility and just goes to show how little is known about how a TVM works

 

[OscarH]

When you buy a ticket online you should be forced to select a station from a list of stations that you can collect from, so that you don't try and collect somewhere without facilties

 

[JBuchananGB]

All National Rail TVMs, apart from Merseyrail.

On Merseyrail there's no problem to collect from the staffed ticket offices. Almost all Merseyrail stations have staffed ticket offices.

 

[Haywain]

I had some vague notion that there might be a few TVMs at stations in rural or out of the way locations that might have patchy data connectivity, meaning the 'TVM-phone-home' function (to interrogate the TOD database) perhaps wasn't reliable enough to offer the ticket collection facility.

A TVM without data connections is next to useless, as it would be unable to take card payments where authorisations are required. It would also prove very difficult to carry out fares updates and to have any record of sales. The ability to call the ToD database is merely one of many uses of that data connection. In the past, there have been stations where the location has proved so difficult for that connectivity that TVMs have not been installed.

 

[mangyiscute]

I've had to collect tickets at the ticket office when i don't have the right card, or when I used a chase card which hides your card number - all I've ever been asked for is the collection reference, i've shown them the email and theyve immediately printed them for me

 

[Virgin Voyager]

Cheers everyone, I managed to pick up my tickets from the guy in the ticket office at Lancaster. All he asked for was the booking reference code

 

[Krokodil]

When you buy a ticket online you should be forced to select a station from a list of stations that you can collect from, so that you don't try and collect somewhere without facilties

You can collect your ticket from any equipped station, selecting your collection station from a drop-down list is obsolete.

At some operators, the guard can print ToDs off using their machine.

 

[island]

At some operators, the guard can print ToDs off using their machine.

But despite this, unless there were no ticketing facilities at the station where you commence your trip, it’s an offence to get on the train without having first collected the ticket.

 

[TUC]

Sorry im not sure how to unquote this reply . But does anyone know if it will work on a Northern ticket machine or is it one of the ones at a more major station?

Why would it be any different?

On Merseyrail there's no problem to collect from the staffed ticket offices. Almost all Merseyrail stations have staffed ticket offices.

Unless you need to pick them up at a time when a ticket office isn't open. Merseyrail is very passenger unfriendly in this policy.

 

[OscarH]

You can collect your ticket from any equipped station, selecting your collection station from a drop-down list is obsolete.

At some operators, the guard can print ToDs off using their machine.

I'm aware you can collect it from any station, and our wording at least makes this clear. But the customer should still be shown the list, and have to pick (defaulting to the origin if the origin is TOD enabled so 99% of customer's don't need to think about it), so the customer can confirm their intended collection location is actually enabled or find an alternative

Not including this and letting the customer turn up and find no way to collect their tickets (and potentially risk a TIR/PF from a poorly trained member of staff) is at the very least poor customer experience, and I haven't check for definite but it would shock me if that wasn't still an accreditation requirement

 

[Ramblin' Boy]

On Merseyrail there's no problem to collect from the staffed ticket offices. Almost all Merseyrail stations have staffed ticket offices.

I called at Stoke-on-Trent station this morning to collect pre-booked tickets for a journey to Euston next week. Both ticket machines were occupied so I headed to the ticket office having noticed one of the counter staff was free, only to be told they are NO LONGER ALLOWED to print out tickets for customers so I would have to use the machine.
IS THIS THE THIN END OF THE WEDGE towards uncoming closure?
Back to the machines but after typing just two characters of my collection code the one I was using froze. A staff member managed to prod it into life but the ticket machines at Stoke are notoriously flakey and also difficult for the uninformed to navigate.

 

[island]

As others mention upthread, there is a higher charge to the seller for collection at a ticket office. The fulfilment method is generally described as collection from a ticket machine.

 

[Krokodil]

But despite this, unless there were no ticketing facilities at the station where you commence your trip, it’s an offence to get on the train without having first collected the ticket.

The point being that even if the facility doesn't exist at the origin station there is still an opportunity onboard.

 

[Haywain]

The point being that even if the facility doesn't exist at the origin station there is still an opportunity onboard.

Unless there isn't - you stated 'some operators' so it wouldn't be a good idea to rely on this.

 

[Krokodil]

Unless there isn't - you stated 'some operators' so it wouldn't be a good idea to rely on this.

Having boarded at a station with no facilities/working facilities (as per the scenario we're discussing) surely you've got the right to continue until the opportunity is provided. If the Internet goes down at a station we get emails from Control to the effect that passengers should be permitted to travel with a confirmation email.

If a station doesn't have facilities, and an operator would penalise anyone who couldn't drive to the wrong station just to collect their ticket before driving back, then ToDs should not even be offered from that station.

 

[sot]

I called at Stoke-on-Trent station this morning to collect pre-booked tickets for a journey to Euston next week. Both ticket machines were occupied so I headed to the ticket office having noticed one of the counter staff was free, only to be told they are NO LONGER ALLOWED to print out tickets for customers so I would have to use the machine.
IS THIS THE THIN END OF THE WEDGE towards uncoming closure?
Back to the machines but after typing just two characters of my collection code the one I was using froze. A staff member managed to prod it into life but the ticket machines at Stoke are notoriously flakey and also difficult for the uninformed to navigate.

Second this, attempted sent to the TVMs by the tall gent that works there.

Went a few days later and needed a super off peak to Euston - unable to be purchased from the TVMs. Went to the desk instead!!

I also asked the also Avanti managed Stafford station who also said they would tell me to use the TVMs to do TOD.

It is unusual as for the last 3 years I had collected TOD at the desk and only when the office shutting consultation started was I refused.

The Stafford clerk said something like it is to get you used to using the TVMs for when the offices close.

 

[WizCastro197]

Please can someone explain what TOD stands for please?