Train operator Southeastern is spending £9 million on installing more than two hundred new Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) on stations across its network.
It promises that this will make it quicker and easier for passengers to buy and use train tickets.
Southeastern plans to install the first new machines by the new year.
Some of the machines that they will replace have been in use for more than twenty years, many of them installed at a time when digital ticketing was not widely used.
Passengers now use barcode tickets, digital season tickets, digital railcards and mobile apps.
The operator has designed the new ticket machines to better support how passengers now buy and use tickets, and to be able to adapt to further changes in the future.
The new TVMs will provide better support for passengers to find the best ticket for their journey, and will sell a wider range of ticketing products, including barcode ticketing on paper-roll tickets.
They use touchscreen technology which is faster and more intuitive than previous versions.
They accept contactless payments and can be used to top up Oyster cards.
The machines also have more accessibility features, which include high-contrast displays, adjustable height screens and language options.
“Our ticket office colleagues are at the heart of the service we provide, helping customers every day with everything from buying the right ticket to planning their journeys. This investment will support them while also giving customers more choice in how they buy their tickets.
“We want buying a ticket to be as simple and straightforward as possible for our customers. Many of our current ticket vending machines have served us well for many years, but technology has moved on significantly and customers rightly expect a more modern experience.
“This £9 million investment will transform how customers buy tickets at our stations, with new machines that are easier to use, more accessible and more in line with how people travel today. While our ticket office colleagues will continue to be there to share their extensive knowledge, provide support and manage ticket sales, the new machines will offer an additional convenient option for customers who want to buy tickets quickly and independently.
“Alongside improvements to ticket office technology and handheld devices for our colleagues, these changes will help create a more joined-up, user-friendly experience for customers across our network.”
South Eastern Railway’s Customer Experience Director David Wornham
Responses
But do the machines accept cash notes, (as TfL machines do not) as preferred by the majority of non UK resident passengers who are subject to very high bank currency surcharges when buying tickets on a card.
A recent personal experience of purchasing a Victoria to Paddington underground ticket, normally £7, (if you carry around 7 off £1 coins) or £7 plus £15 surcharge as being forced to use a card.
Another Director in the rail industry speaks. This time South Eastern Railway’s Customer Experience Director.
So how are all these new ticket machines going to prevent fare evasion by people who buy short tickets on their phones ? Including donutting … Or are these machines instead of, so customers are not able to buy tickets on phones ?
Otherwise 9,000,000 quid spent and those that refuse to buy the correct fare will still keep buying the incorrect fare…. Including applying discounts for railcards they don’t have..