Regular readers may remember (or may not, it wasn't *that* memorable) me
complainign some weeks ago about the lack of working ticket machines at
Stansted a few weeks ago.

Well Connex at London Bridge has Stanstead beat hands down.

Sunday morning I wished to travel to Strood in Kent. This had to do
with a hedge that I was going to trim but didn't, a lawn that I wasn't
going to cut but did, a trip to B&Q and my total failure to predicit
that I'd be barely 10 km from the place that had the highest temperature
ever recorded in the UK.

So, London Bridge.

HUGE queue at the booking office.

3 fast-ticket touch screen machines capable (in theory) of taking cards,
all on but out of order. Two of the older button select coin and notes
machines and another just on the concourse that should have been able to
sell me the appropriate ticket also all out of order. Oh, the A to
somewhere in the middle of the alphabet machine was semi-okay and I did
consider bying a ticket to Chatham but it would only take coins, not
notes, and I had no change.

No permit to travel machine that I could see.

A queue which a quick head-count put at over 120 people. Just 2 of the 7
ticket windows staffed. 25 minutes in the heat, in the crowd, queuing to
buy a ticket.

On the way back I looked in to read the poster that admitted "this
facility provided by Connex" and saw all the ticket machines apparently
back in service and, just to add that last-straw touch, was asked by one
of the two Connex chaps sitting at their ease on the window ledge of an
empty ticket hall bearing portable ticket machines if I'd like to buy a
ticket to somewhere. "Can do singles and returns mate!"

I'd be curious to know if there was cause for this farce before I dig out
the thesuarus and write an oh so politely vicious letter of complaint to
Connex.

I wonder if there's such a thing as a take any train at any time valid
for the rest of my life pass so I need never again use a ticket office?
And if so whether I could t alk the boss into buying me one.

Matthew
--
Il est important d'être un homme ou une femme en colère; le jour où nous
quitte la colère, ou le désir, c'est cuit. - Barbara

http://www.calmeilles.co.uk/

Perhaps, a la Virgin Trains air conditioning - the ticket machines
don't work when it gets hot.

Regular readers may remember (or may not, it wasn't *that* memorable) me
complainign some weeks ago about the lack of working ticket machines at
Stansted a few weeks ago.

Well Connex at London Bridge has Stanstead beat hands down.

Sunday morning I wished to travel to Strood in Kent. This had to do
with a hedge that I was going to trim but didn't, a lawn that I wasn't
going to cut but did, a trip to B&Q and my total failure to predicit
that I'd be barely 10 km from the place that had the highest temperature
ever recorded in the UK.

So, London Bridge.

HUGE queue at the booking office.

3 fast-ticket touch screen machines capable (in theory) of taking cards,
all on but out of order. Two of the older button select coin and notes
machines and another just on the concourse that should have been able to
sell me the appropriate ticket also all out of order. Oh, the A to
somewhere in the middle of the alphabet machine was semi-okay and I did
consider bying a ticket to Chatham but it would only take coins, not
notes, and I had no change.

No permit to travel machine that I could see.