Newcastle Central Station security

redtoon1892 · Post by **redtoon1892** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 10:59 am

I was in Newcastle yesterday and thought I would have a quick shuftie on the platforms to see what was around but I found that all the platforms were barriered off with inspectors and event cover security, I was not allowed onto the platforms as I was not travelling or had no proof I was meeting anyone off the train. I asked a National Express official what was happening at he told me it was a clamp down on ticket or rather no ticket fraud which was rife between Newcastle - Chester Le Street - Durham.
Regular travellers knew the inspectors patterns and that he would be about mid train by Chester Le Street, those without tickets went to front portion of train and when it stopped at Chester they got off the front and got back on at the rear where the checker had already been, by the time he had worked his way back down the train it had reached Durham and off they got free, its only ex G.N.E.R. or National express as it is now this happens on as the Virgin trains are to short. He told me they had done a CCTV check to discover this scam and it was costing them £2000 a day in Newcastle alone.he also told me the new permanant barriers will be erected at all National Express halts in the very near future as this scam happens right up the road to Kings Cross, I asked him if "casual observers" of trains would be allowed on the platforms and he told me as far as he knew a day "not travelling" ticket would have to be obtained from station staff but he did not know if there was to be a charge for this pass, they were not available today tho. A point to note is that all the station toilets will be behind these barriers.
It looks like it is going back to the days of the old 2d platform tickets and in the 50s / 60s it was rare even with a platform ticket for spotters to be allowed on the Central platforms as the checkies were a right miserable bunch. Most of us ended up on the "wall" where the Centre for Life now is
as this was the only decent free vantage point.

CVR1865 · Post by **CVR1865** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 11:05 am

Its happened at Cambridge too. and the only company selling platform tickets is southwest trains at 10p each. Not much use on the north side of the river.

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 6:34 pm

Yes its a right pain in Cambridge, I used to pop into WH Smiths when i buy my advanced tickets, but this is behind the barriers on the platform.

silver fox · Post by **silver fox** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 8:17 pm

As far as I know, at Leeds you need a ticket to get on the platforms, and if you use a tripod......

Also York would be impossible to put barriers on with 4 entrances, and 2 of them a car park and bike park respectivly!

Post by **richard** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 8:43 pm

Yes Leeds has always had people checking tickets when entering/exiting the platforms, although they might be waving people through out of laziness sometimes.

Cambridge has been on and off since I first used it (early 1990s).

Cambridge's biggest problem is the Victorian platform layout!
Leeds' biggest problem is that it (or the approaches) are a major bottleneck.

Richard

silver fox · Post by **silver fox** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 9:40 pm

I got the train from Outwood to Leeds, and at Leeds I made the effort of getting a ticket to York, instead of waiting until I got on the train.
When the train came in, it was late, and was being pushed by the next one as it had broken down. When it arrivied there was so many people on it, I was stood up all the way, and the Gaurd never came round, so I could have got away without paying!

redtoon1892 · Post by **redtoon1892** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 9:46 pm

Newcastle has several platform entrances from the car parks, opposite the Metro etc but they all had barriers up, if they are losing money this will be no obstacle, us older folk will remember that all platforms had sliding gate barriers at one time.

hq1hitchin · Post by **hq1hitchin** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:27 am

SWT are in the process of installing automatic ticket gates at Waterloo so I reckon if it can be done there with 18 platforms and the peak hour subway to boot, then stations north of the river shouldn't pose too much of a problem, if the TOC concerned favours that approach. Virgin don't - not sure about NEX, Liverpool St has had them for years.
Installing ATGs is akin to building a new Tesco - you get your money back in 18 months

Incidentally, it used to be said that the quickest way to evacuate a train on ye olde North London Line was to get the driver, having just arrived at a station, to make a p.a announcement saying that a full ticket check would be carried out at the next station! lol

silver fox · Post by **silver fox** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 5:39 pm

While awaiting Green Arrow on Pickering today, I wondered about platform tickets.
If they don't pay now, then the platform ticket would have to cost as much/more than a ticket on the train, or they still get a reduction!

Bullhead · Post by **Bullhead** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 5:50 pm

The public response to the installation of ATGs at various Scottish stations was a brief but rather comical storm of protest in the local press from people who now had to buy tickets - "infringement of our human rights" was the general tone. What high principles fare evaders have. I wonder if Amnesty International took up the case...

hq1hitchin · Post by **hq1hitchin** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:09 pm

To my knowledge there is one emminent barrister living on the West of England line who never seems to have a ticket when travelling out of Waterloo, waiting instead for the guard to come round and sell him one. Obviously the brief is a very busy man - I wonder if he would actively seek out the guard if he didn't appear?

Like I said, wth ATMs now at most London terminii, the TOCs recoup the installation costs in 18 months - just shows what a load of fiddlers there are/were using our railways!

Mind you, I did see a sort of vagrant type, complete with carrier bags and little dog put off the train at Micheldever yesterday. He'd only managed to travel undetected from Winchester so fair play to the SWT guard. Micheldever is a rather dull, if very rural, place to comtemplate life....

CVR1865 · Post by **CVR1865** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 10:56 pm

I was once on a WAGN train form Kings + to Cambridge (non-stop). And the fare dodger sitting behind me refused to pay the penalty fare. He argued with the guard that he would only pay if he was taken to a British Rail ticket office. The guard, surely biting his lip, politely informed him that he was 7 years too late to do that as he was on a WAGN train. He was duly with held by British Transport Police at Cambridge.

silver fox · Post by **silver fox** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 12:00 am

Don't BR run the ticket offices? They do at York

CVR1865 · Post by **CVR1865** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 12:25 am

BR doesn't exist anymore. and he specifically asked for British Rail and the ticket offices at Cambridge were manned then by 'one' (remember them) railway staff. Even the London stations are staffed by TOC staff. Who do BR operate as at york?

redtoon1892 · Post by **redtoon1892** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 1:24 am

Maybe this lot do ?

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) is an unincorporated association owned by its members. It was set up by the train operators formed during privatisation of the railways under the Railways Act 1993.

As well as being the official voice of the passenger rail industry, it also provides its members with a range of services that enable them to comply with conditions laid on them in their franchise agreements and operating licences. These include:

Revenue allocation and settlement
National Rail Enquiries
Railcard marketing
Staff travel arrangements
International products
The Relationship with London Regional Transport
Travel Agent licensing

Thatcher well and truly fragmented this industry.