Chiltern Railways is seeking to make an adjustment under the Major Change Procedure to the minimum Ticket Office Opening Hours as currently stated in Schedule 17 of the Ticketing & Services Agreement. We are proposing not to re-introduce the ticket office at Northolt Park. The ticket office closed in 2015, and the structure was removed from the station on behalf of Network Rail in 2024 as the building was unsafe.
Representations about the proposal should be sent to:
Email: [email protected]
Post: Freepost LONDON TRAVELWATCH, Timothys Bridge Road, Stratford Enterprise Park, Stratford-Upon-Avon CV37 9HY
Please see below for more information.
FAQS
- When did the ticket office close?
- The ticket office closed to customers in 2015. The portacabin building was removed in 2024 after the roof was badly damaged by a storm and made unsafe.
- Why did the ticket office close?
- The majority of journeys to and from Northolt Park are completed using Oyster or Pay as you go with Contactless. Since the ticket office closed in 2015, the Pay as you go with contactless area has expanded further, with Chiltern Railways now offering this method of payment for journeys as far as Princes Risborough (and on from there to Aylesbury and Aylesbury Vale Parkway).
- There is also a wider trend for customers buying tickets online before they travel, rather than at a ticket office.
- These factors resulted in total sales of approximately 4.7 tickets per hour, so keeping the ticket office open did not present a good use of public money.
- What does this mean for me?
- This ticket office has been closed since 2015, so you can continue to buy your tickets as you have done since then.
- We now offer Pay as you go with contactless on almost all services to and from Northolt Park.
- Tickets can be purchased from the Ticket Vending Machine (TVM) located on Platform 1, or via the Chiltern Railways website or mobile app. The station has Oyster/contactless readers located at the entrance to each platform, so for journeys within the Oyster or Pay as you go with contactless areas, you can tap in and out. Chiltern Railways deploys Travel Safe Officers (TSOs) who roam the network based on intelligence, with the purpose of both deterring and de-escalating anti-social behaviour.
- Additionally, Vital Patrollers are deployed to stations between Wembley Stadium and High Wycombe, providing a visible safeguarding measure.
- The station is equipped with a help point on each platform. The ‘Information’ button provides general information and the ‘Emergency’ button connects directly to the Chiltern Railways Integrated Control Centre.
- How do I buy a ticket?
- You can continue to purchase tickets as you have done since the office closed in 2015. This includes purchasing your tickets online, via our app, using pay as you go with contactless, or by using the ticket machine located on Platform 1.
- Are you planning on reopening the ticket office?
- No.
- How can I get Passenger Assist at this station?
- If Passenger Assist is required at this station, we will send station staff from Marylebone. Whilst this would previously have been completed by staff based at this location during the ticket office opening hours, we have not had any complaints suggesting that it has been unable to meet the expectations of persons with restricted mobility and/or requiring assistance.
- More information on booking Passenger Assist and Turn Up and Go is available here.