Automatic ticket checking in Heuston
 

Looks like they are putting in the ticket barriers now. No timescale given on when they'll start operating.

Do you know is this for platform 1 (commuter services) only or for all services?

Its been on the cards for sometime, again not unusual and indeed somewhat required to get the smartcard system in.

No idea, but the barriers are being installed right in the middle of the concourse just in front of platform 3/4, so I doubt it will be restricted to commuter services only.

Well the construction there looks to be more to do with a office space, possibly a customer service or ticketing thingy, looks rather square and in wood.

A ticket barrier line would be a first seen as a steel plate running across the concourse where the machines will be bolted into later.

Normally there would be a poster clearly saying 'exit validation coming soon'

I think the wood is only temporary and only there to cover the area during the installation.

There are posters up on all sides of the wood fence indicating 'exit validation coming soon'

if they are going to do automated ticket validation why or why can they start using barcodes or chip or something which does involve the ticket being possibly eaten by the machine!!

Within the next few years all weekly/monthly/annual tickets will be smartcards so no need to even remove from your wallet

The tickets rarely jam, 8 odd years only had 1 ticket jam in the machine and it was easily recovered. Dublin Bus on the other hand, their ticket validator seems to be quite hungry.

Some of the IÉ gates do have a habit of corrupting the magstripes though. That said the cards aren't exactly brilliant quality.

I can't imagine the Prepaid Single Contract tickets going through any barrier and those are quite widely used on InterCity routes. So, they'll have to change the tickets or, possibly more likely, scrap the ticket class.

Contract tickets are being withdrawn anyways

Lovely. I hope they come up with some solution that allows pre-booked tickets that are posted out or printed on a laser printer at booking offices to be magnetically encoded too.

Pre booked tickets mag stripe issue should be solved shortly.

Since the single = half the return became available online the discount offered by contract tickets has vanished more or less

What are people's experiences with the plastic covers like this?

The exit holes weren't aligned and the ticket ended up getting bent.

OT: don't even get me started on the quality of the magnetic strips on prepaid tickets!

First exit validation machines have appeared in Heuston.

I wonder how they will work with single and return cross-city tickets e.g. from a DART station to Cork...

yes was in there yesterday and a gang unloading machines from the lorry in the concourse .... looks like somebody wants to make it look like Paddington.

My uncle was talking to train host on Friday and the machines will be enabled sometime this evening for use first thing tomorrow morning. I presume there will be nobody to provide assistance to anybody who has problems. Going to be fun to watch.

I don't see why you should presume that, to be honest; all the other main stations with the gates have someone on duty to help people out, and there were a few extra people for a while after the system was activated.

I am still worried about how it will turn out with tickets that have to be validated at both Heuston and Connolly, and with multi-person tickets.