Date: 17 May 2006 10:26
The latest technology has arrived at London Marylebone and six other stations, allowing customers to collect pre-bought tickets from automated ticket machines.
The new service, known as Ticket On Departure (TOD), means that customers can book and pay for tickets on the internet or by telephone and then collect them quickly from the ticket machines just by inserting their credit/debit card. The system, similar to that used by cinemas, means an end to queuing at the ticket office.
Marketing Manager at Chiltern Railways, David Whitley, said: “We wanted to provide our customers with the fastest and most efficient ways of purchasing their tickets, and this technology will save them time and ease the demand on our ticket offices.
“This new system complements our massive investment in new ‘fast-ticket’ machines at stations across our route last year, which offer valuable choice in the range of ticket purchasing opportunities. With TOD, customers can now order online or by telephone, and collect their tickets from the new machines, where before they had to visit the ticket office.”
Before the new TOD technology was installed on the fast ticket machines, customers who ordered their tickets online or by telephone had to collect their tickets from the ticket office at a specified station. Now, however, customers can pick their tickets up from any TOD-enabled ticket machine, simply by presenting the credit or debit card with which the tickets were bought, along with the reservation code they were given at the time of purchase.
The new TOD technology has been installed at two machines in Marylebone station, and a further two machines are now in use at each of the following: High Wycombe, Bicester North, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Warwick Parkway and Birmingham Moor Street, with plans to roll out the technology to further stations in the future.
The programme follows a £1.7 million project to provide the most up-to-date ticket machine technology at local stations along the Chiltern Railways’ route to London, which was completed in late November of last year.
The project began in early May 2005, and saw the new high-tech machines installed at 25 local stations, finishing at London Marylebone on 28 November, providing a fast, reliable system for ticket sales.
Notes to Editors
1. The TOD technology is available from ticket machines at seven stations along the Chiltern Railways route. It is hoped that it will be introduced to further stations following an initial trial period.
2. TOD replaces the previous system where booking information was faxed over to the relevant station ticket office to be processed by office staff. This system will be discontinued, and so the following stations will no longer have facilities for collecting prepaid tickets:
· Aylesbury
· Beaconsfield
· Denham
· Gerrards Cross
· Great Missenden
· Haddenham & Thame Parkway
· Princes Risborough
· Stoke Mandeville
· Wendover
· Warwick
3. Staff will be able to issue prepaid tickets via ticket office machines at the following stations:
· Birmingham Snow Hill
· Dorridge
· Solihull
· Tyseley
· Widney Manor
4. New ticket machines were launched at the following stations during 2005:
· Bicester North 9 May
· Banbury 16 May
· Haddenham 23 May
· Kings Sutton 30 May
· Warwick 13 June
· Warwick Parkway 20 June
· Leamington Spa 27 June
· Birmingham Moor St. 4 July
· Aylesbury 11 July
· Stoke Mandeville 18 July
· Great Missenden 25 July
· Wendover 1 August
· Princes Risborough 12 September
· High Wycombe 19 September
· Beaconsfield 26 September
· Gerrards Cross 3 October
· Denham 10 October
· Seer Green 17 October
· Saunderton 24 October
· Monks Risborough 31 October
· West Ruislip 7 November
· South Ruislip 14 November
· Wembley Stadium 21 November
· Marylebone 28 November
5. The new touch-screen ticket machines sell single and return tickets to most UK destinations, as well as 7 day season tickets – the first time such tickets have been available from self-service machines. Customers can pay by cash or credit/debit card.
6. Chiltern Railways is owned by M40 Trains. All shares in M40 Trains are owned by Laing Investments Ltd through Laing Rail Ltd.
7. For further media information, contact Katharine Courts, James Ford or Zoe Dubber at the Press Office on 020 7 282 2930 or press@chilternrailways.co.uk
