Station gatelines to be staffed from first to last train

Tuesday, 23 October 2018

West Midlands Railway has announced it will be staffing some of its automatic station gatelines from first to last train each day from 31 October.

The train operator says this is part of a drive to improve customer service, provide additional reassurance to passengers and reduce ticketless travel on the rail network.

From 31 October staff will be in place alongside the automated ticket barriers all day at Birmingham Snow Hill, Five Ways and University.

Passengers will need a valid ticket to pass through the stations throughout the day and are reminded that they should always purchase a valid ticket before boarding trains. Ticket purchasing facilities are usually available at all stations, either from a staffed ticket office and/or ticket vending machine (TVM). Tickets can also be purchased via the West Midlands Railway app.

If facilities are unavailable and customers don’t wish to purchase online, then they should make themselves known to the conductor on the train, who will be able to sell them a ticket before they get to their destination.

Brenda Lawrence, head of stations at West Midlands Railway said, “These changes will help us to provide better customer service and improved security at some of our busiest stations. We also want to support our fare paying customers by reducing ticketless travel on our trains, whatever time of day they are travelling. Passengers can help reduce unnecessary delays at stations by ensuring they always have a valid ticket for their journey. There are now a number of ways to do this, and we don’t want anyone to get caught out.”

About West Midlands Trains

For further information on this release, call our press office on 03300 955150 or email [email protected]

West Midlands Trains operates both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services.

• London Northwestern Railway services operate between Liverpool and Birmingham, and on the West Coast mainline to and from London Euston.

• West Midlands Railway services operate to destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Snow Hill.

For more information on these services visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk or londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk

The West Midlands Trains franchise started on 10 December 2017 and will run until 2025/26.

West Midlands Trains operates 1,300 services a day, manages 150 stations and provides over 70 million passenger journeys a year. Over the course of the franchise, West Midlands Trains will be investing £1 billion into the rail network to deliver new trains, improved routes and station upgrades. This will include 400 new train carriages across the network and space for an extra 85,000 passengers into Birmingham and London at peak times.

The franchise is a joint venture between Abellio (70.1% share) and East Japan Railway Company / Mitsui & Co., Ltd (29.9% share in a 50:50 split). Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. In the UK, Abelllio operates ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, Merseyrail services in a joint venture with Serco and buses through Abellio London. For more information visit www.abellio.com

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