On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 17:31:51 -0000, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 16:38:42 on
Sat, 27 Jan 2007, Peter Masson remarked:
It is usual, these days, to have a ticket office window on the "wrong"
side of the barriers... it allows people who don't have tickets for
the journey they've just made to buy one so they can leave the
station.

Really? I thought the practice was to demand a penalty fare from such
individuals (as Cherie discovered).

The passenger may have started at a station where the ticket office was
not
open. If he had purchased a PTT he will not be liable for a penalty
fare,
but will have to exchange the PTT for the appropriate ticket. Trains
which
serve City Thameslink are DOO, so it is not normally possible to
exchange a
PTT for a ticket on the train.

Yes, that's a possibility, but for a tiny minority of passengers. I
expect the rest will be asked to pay a penalty fare.

You are a Doubting Thomas aren't you! When me and my mate visited our
girlfriends in Radlett, we would ALWAYS buy a 5p PTT on the way home. And
we were the shyest of shysters going. Unfortunately, the ticket office at
West Hampstead was always shut as well. C'est la vie! 5p or the risk of a
PF? Your choice.

--
Fig