Leeds Station Improvement

[YorksLad12]

Hello all,

Passed through Leeds this lunchtime - the down escalator is working again! Mind you, I passed by the Southern Entrance last week and noticed that the first up escalator was out of action, so we're still not quite up to spec.

I arrived on P17B with a full train; we made our way up to the footbridge, merging with the traffic from the 6-car TPE service towards Saltburn on P15. Once down, we then merged with the alighting traffic from a delayed northbound XC service on P8, which is why the gateline looked like this (not every out gate was open, and the gateline staff were very swamped):

 

[xotGD]

Hello all,

Passed through Leeds this lunchtime - the down escalator is working again! Mind you, I passed by the Southern Entrance last week and noticed that the first up escalator was out of action, so we're still not quite up to spec.

I arrived on P17B with a full train; we made our way up to the footbridge, merging with the traffic from the 6-car TPE service towards Saltburn on P15. Once down, we then merged with the alighting traffic from a delayed northbound XC service on P8, which is why the gateline looked like this (not every out gate was open, and the gateline staff were very swamped):

View attachment 148129

If only people used proper tickets instead of faffing about with their phones, they'd get through the barriers much quicker!

Meanwhile, Leeds has not one but two Christmas trees on the concourse.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

If only people used proper tickets instead of faffing about with their phones, they'd get through the barriers much quicker!

OT but- It is the same on damned airplanes too. I always use paper boarding passes. When I get the train from Manchester airport to Preston, again, always paper tickets.

 

[_toommm_]

If only people used proper tickets instead of faffing about with their phones, they'd get through the barriers much quicker!

I’ve seen people tap their CCST tickets on the smartcard readers far too many times to count, to be fair.

The only barriers that are truly bad for mobile tickets are the ones at Manchester Victoria with their scanners oriented horizontally towards you, rather than the usual method of being placed jutting out facing towards the ceiling/roof. I’ve still not got how to use them effectively after commuting through there for a whole year.

 

[GoneSouth]

I’ve seen people tap their CCST tickets on the smartcard readers far too many times to count, to be fair.

The only barriers that are truly bad for mobile tickets are the ones at Manchester Victoria with their scanners oriented horizontally towards you, rather than the usual method of being placed jutting out facing towards the ceiling/roof. I’ve still not got how to use them effectively after commuting through there for a whole year.

Could that be due to the roof being completely transparent and the readers not being able to cope with the harsh contrast in lighting when you hover your ticket above the reader? I maybe talking complete rubbish!

 

[Harvey B]

If only people used proper tickets instead of faffing about with their phones, they'd get through the barriers much quicker!

Meanwhile, Leeds has not one but two Christmas trees on the concourse.

Shame that only Trainline offers an option to pick up tickets from the office

 

[northernchris]

Hello all,

Passed through Leeds this lunchtime - the down escalator is working again! Mind you, I passed by the Southern Entrance last week and noticed that the first up escalator was out of action, so we're still not quite up to spec.

I arrived on P17B with a full train; we made our way up to the footbridge, merging with the traffic from the 6-car TPE service towards Saltburn on P15. Once down, we then merged with the alighting traffic from a delayed northbound XC service on P8, which is why the gateline looked like this (not every out gate was open, and the gateline staff were very swamped):

View attachment 148129

When I passed through Leeds this evening, all escalators at the south side were out of action.

The only barriers that are truly bad for mobile tickets are the ones at Manchester Victoria with their scanners oriented horizontally towards you, rather than the usual method of being placed jutting out facing towards the ceiling/roof. I’ve still not got how to use them effectively after commuting through there for a whole year.

The barriers at Victoria are awful - it's really awkward to position the ticket over the reader. Can only assume those who designed and ordered them have never tried using them!

 

[YorksLad12]

Another issue with the readers at Leeds seems to be that some of the glass is scratched. You can not pass through one gate but you can on the next with a QR code. Really annoying when it's busy.

I keep trying to get a good photo of the work on Bishopsgate Street from the bus when I pass by - will try again next week. There are uncovered stone and brick arches underneath New Station Street where the restaurant was. What I thought was going to be a cycle lane was having paving installed the other week, so it will be wider on the Trinity Car Park side but just as narrow on the side with all of the bars...

 

[M60lad]

Sorry for going of topic but is there a reason why Manchester Victoria has a different style of ticket barrier than other stations? I haven't come across the ones they've got anywhere else on my travels.

 

[Bantamzen]

If only people used proper tickets instead of faffing about with their phones, they'd get through the barriers much quicker!

I use mobile tickets all the time, it takes no longer than using a paper ticket. Yes it help having the phone ready before reaching the barriers, but are you telling me you never seen anyone faff about with a paper ticket, or reach the gateline only then to fumble about in bags / pockets / wallets to find a paper ticket?

 

[Ian Hardy]

I use mobile tickets all the time, it takes no longer than using a paper ticket. Yes it help having the phone ready before reaching the barriers, but are you telling me you never seen anyone faff about with a paper ticket, or reach the gateline only then to fumble about in bags / pockets / wallets to find a paper ticket?

The problem is that most people are in their own little dream world and are not aware of anything or anyone around them.

Common sense is not common either, you are approaching a barrier to enter or leave the station, therefore I need to have my ticket ready so that I can go through the barrier without any delay.

Another thing is the limit of planning ahead for over 90% of the population is remembering to open their mouth before trying to eat or drink something (and some people even fail with that simple task), if the body needed some physical action controlled by the person concerned when breathing, most people would have died years ago

 

[OscarH]

Shame that only Trainline offers an option to pick up tickets from the office

This is going off topic now, but pretty much every online retailer offers this

 

[xotGD]

I use mobile tickets all the time, it takes no longer than using a paper ticket. Yes it help having the phone ready before reaching the barriers, but are you telling me you never seen anyone faff about with a paper ticket, or reach the gateline only then to fumble about in bags / pockets / wallets to find a paper ticket?

I'm not talking about the unprepared: as you say, these folk can have any type of issue. My grumble is the all too frequent failure of the scanner thing to recognise the ticket on the phone, delaying the queue while the unlucky passenger tries half a dozen times before it either finally works or they have to try a different barrier and the whole process is repeated.

Mind, it was great the other morning at Leeds when everyone with a ticket on their phone had to filter through the two wide gates for enhanced manual inspection. Meanwhile, us Luddites with our real tickets had all the rest of the gates to ourselves and could zip straight through.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Smart cards are fastest way, I don't even need to take it out of my wallet to open barriers

 

[Bantamzen]

I'm not talking about the unprepared: as you say, these folk can have any type of issue. My grumble is the all too frequent failure of the scanner thing to recognise the ticket on the phone, delaying the queue while the unlucky passenger tries half a dozen times before it either finally works or they have to try a different barrier and the whole process is repeated.

I've been using mobile tickets for some time now, and with an odd exception when they first came out the only time I've ever had an issue with them has been at Bradford Interchange where the gates stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the existence of a Baildon - Warrington Bank Quay ticket. And I'm afraid to say that one day those paper tickets will all need QR codes on them, and I know which I would prefer from a choice of clear and readable mobile codes or printed on a bit of card with a dodgy printer in a machine outside in the cold and wet.

Mind, it was great the other morning at Leeds when everyone with a ticket on their phone had to filter through the two wide gates for enhanced manual inspection. Meanwhile, us Luddites with our real tickets had all the rest of the gates to ourselves and could zip straight through.

I'm not sure calling it great when the majority of punters got inconvenienced is a decent thing to say. You may not like them, but digital tickets are going to be how things are on the way forward. And thank goodness, how often have we seen people faffing about trying to find that bit of paper that's buried itself deep inside someone's pocket or bag. Quite frankly from my experience at Leeds, its the paper clutching luddites that cause the most delay at gatelines and ticket inspections.

"Just give me a moment deary, I'm sure I put the ticket in here somewhere..."

 

[yorksrob]

I use mobile tickets all the time, it takes no longer than using a paper ticket. Yes it help having the phone ready before reaching the barriers, but are you telling me you never seen anyone faff about with a paper ticket, or reach the gateline only then to fumble about in bags / pockets / wallets to find a paper ticket?

If I had a pound for everytime I got stuck behind someone waiving their mobile phone around at the ticket barrier in vain, I'd be a millionnaire.

 

[Bantamzen]

If I had a pound for everytime I got stuck behind someone waiving their mobile phone around at the ticket barrier in vain, I'd be a millionnaire.

Then I would be a billionaire for every time someone faffed about trying to find a paper ticket.

Seriously though, QR codes are a godsend for places like Leeds. Paper tickets & those mechanical readers are a chuffing mare, when I used to use a paper Metro Card I lost count how often the sodding things would swallow the ticket requiring me to get a member of staff to open it up to recover the damn thing. The sooner we can bin that tech the better.

 

[Spartacus]

Seriously though, QR codes are a godsend for places like Leeds. Paper tickets & those mechanical readers are a chuffing mare, when I used to use a paper Metro Card I lost count how often the sodding things would swallow the ticket requiring me to get a member of staff to open it up to recover the damn thing. The sooner we can bin that tech the better.

That's largely because those barriers were the cheapest, and therefore nastiest, barriers that money could buy, and that was told to me by a former station manager. It's also because most people using them now aren't terribly familiar with using barriers, they wait for the barrier to go through it's full open & close sequence before putting their ticket in, delaying things, rather than putting their ticket in while the person in front's still passing though, like you used to see all the time in places like London pre-oyster where there's barriers almost everywhere.

 

[GoneSouth]

I've been using mobile tickets for some time now, and with an odd exception when they first came out the only time I've ever had an issue with them has been at Bradford Interchange where the gates stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the existence of a Baildon - Warrington Bank Quay ticket. And I'm afraid to say that one day those paper tickets will all need QR codes on them, and I know which I would prefer from a choice of clear and readable mobile codes or printed on a bit of card with a dodgy printer in a machine outside in the cold and wet.


I'm not sure calling it great when the majority of punters got inconvenienced is a decent thing to say. You may not like them, but digital tickets are going to be how things are on the way forward. And thank goodness, how often have we seen people faffing about trying to find that bit of paper that's buried itself deep inside someone's pocket or bag. Quite frankly from my experience at Leeds, its the paper clutching luddites that cause the most delay at gatelines and ticket inspections.

"Just give me a moment deary, I'm sure I put the ticket in here somewhere..."

That’s a people problem rather than a technology problem. Those people would block the barriers whatever technology your ticket was issued on, good old fashioned paper, QR code, smart card or a tag through your earlobe.

For those of us who use paper tickets and have them ready to shove in the slot as you arrive at the barrier I’d say it’s far more efficient than faffing around turning your phone in every conceivable direction, lifting it, lowering it, unlocking it again because it’s timed out etc.

And don’t even get me started about Trainline ticket activations before using them… grrrr

 

[Metroman62]

I have a WYMetro ITSO pass which allows free rail travel in the WYMetro area (am registered blind). It’s so annoying that the barriers don’t recognise my pass. I have to then hunt down a member of staff to let me through. They can be hard to find for the visually impaired as they are in blue and don’t stand out from all the other passengers around the barriers. So I have to walk along the barriers trying to find someone getting in people’s way!

 

[johntea]

One problem can be passengers having their phone screen set to a lower brightness so the readers can't pick up the QR code, some apps have built in a setting now to auto set the brightness to max whilst the QR code screen is being displayed

Another problem although I don't think it directly would impact rail barriers is a fairly new 'Express payment' mode (on Apple but Android probably has something similar), often when I'm trying to scan a code on the bus my phone will actually think I'm wanting to pay for a ticket and bring up the Wallet screen midway trying to scan the QR code screen!

Back to Leeds station and one problem I walk past every single day is how the light on one of the lift call buttons has been out of action for months on end now with a bit of paper stuck up 'call light not working please press and wait for lift'! surely that could be a quick fix...

 

[YorksLad12]

Smart cards are fastest way, I don't even need to take it out of my wallet to open barriers

Unless you're trying to prove you have a valid Flexi-Season ticket on CrossCountry services. I've taken to downloading their own app and reading the card myself. It's never accusatory from them, just confusion as to why I don't appear to have a valid ticket (mainly down to the app they use - some conductor-guards use a second app). Sometimes I just get "the app's not working", and a nod & smile. No idea how I'd be able to prove it at a gate. But yes, I prefer cards over digging out my phone, especially when I have luggage.

If only people used proper tickets instead of faffing about with their phones, they'd get through the barriers much quicker!

There's an ever-growing group of people at Leeds getting annoyed when I cut in front of them, hit my card on the reader and walk out while they're fumbling on their phones. You want to do that, don't do it right in front of the gate (or me). Simple

For those of us who use paper tickets and have them ready to shove in the slot as you arrive at the barrier I’d say it’s far more efficient than faffing around turning your phone in every conceivable direction, lifting it, lowering it, unlocking it again because it’s timed out etc.

During yesterday's crush, one lady did ask (across the gateline) if she should insert her card in the the reader; when told yes, she asked where the slot was, but the staff member had moved to a different gate. So another short delay behind her. I have, a couple of times, had to explain where to tap a card or point a screen at the gates, it's not as obvious as the makers think. Nor do the "No luggage" signs on the standard-width gates make much different to who uses them!

I have a WYMetro ITSO pass which allows free rail travel in the WYMetro area (am registered blind). It’s so annoying that the barriers don’t recognise my pass. I have to then hunt down a member of staff to let me through. They can be hard to find for the visually impaired as they are in blue and don’t stand out from all the other passengers around the barriers. So I have to walk along the barriers trying to find someone getting in people’s way!

That's weird. What does WYCA/Metro say about it? Have you tried using an app to read the card, in case it's a card error?

Back to Leeds station and one problem I walk past every single day is how the light on one of the lift call buttons has been out of action for months on end now with a bit of paper stuck up 'call light not working please press and wait for lift'! surely that could be a quick fix...

The lifts at Leeds are so slow, it's hard to tell if the buttons have done anything!

Away from the gateline, cones have appeared on one side of the road to the surface car parks. I'm guessing they're there to dissuade people from parking up while waiting for customers of family/friends. They are working about as well as you'd imagine...

 

[northernchris]

Mind, it was great the other morning at Leeds when everyone with a ticket on their phone had to filter through the two wide gates for enhanced manual inspection. Meanwhile, us Luddites with our real tickets had all the rest of the gates to ourselves and could zip straight through.

Those inspections are a pain! Was caught up in one a few weeks back, the staff were making no effort to control the crowds and it was quite unpleasant with a lot of pushing and shoving. It didn't help that most tickets did require additional inspection, and the staff were then preventing anyone else from going through the barrier until the further check was complete. The whole exercise is pointless, as it's just as possible to have an incorrect paper ticket and causes a lot of congestion for no benefit.

 

[yorksrob]

Then I would be a billionaire for every time someone faffed about trying to find a paper ticket.

Seriously though, QR codes are a godsend for places like Leeds. Paper tickets & those mechanical readers are a chuffing mare, when I used to use a paper Metro Card I lost count how often the sodding things would swallow the ticket requiring me to get a member of staff to open it up to recover the damn thing. The sooner we can bin that tech the better.

I've been using a metro card since 2006 and that never happened to me in the magna-stripe years.

Nowadays, the plastic M-card is excellent for the purpose.

 

[johntea]

Someone has been out with their large platform number stickers on the footbridge at Leeds

 

[thomalex]

Someone has been out with their large platform number stickers on the footbridge at Leeds

View attachment 148226

While I appreciate the sentiment these look absolutely terrible.

What do they look like on the other side?

 

[xotGD]

1

What do they look like on the other side?

The same.

Can't say I'm a fan.

 

[_toommm_]

Another problem although I don't think it directly would impact rail barriers is a fairly new 'Express payment' mode (on Apple but Android probably has something similar), often when I'm trying to scan a code on the bus my phone will actually think I'm wanting to pay for a ticket and bring up the Wallet screen midway trying to scan the QR code screen!

App developers can temporarily disable ‘Express Transit’ (or its Android equivalent) when in certain parts of their app. First do it successfully, as I’m sure do a lot of other transport companies.

 

[YorksLad12]

The same.

Can't say I'm a fan.

Who are they aimed at? They're over the tracks rather than the platforms, and I'd expect them to say "Platform" above if aimed at passengers.

 

[xotGD]

Who are they aimed at? They're over the tracks rather than the platforms, and I'd expect them to say "Platform" above if aimed at passengers.

Just a gimmick, I should think.