Automatic ticket checking in Heuston

[Mark Gleeson]

Reservation tickets collected at the booking office or sent by post won't work, the ones from the collection machines might, just might

There will be staff on duty

It will make a serious difference to catching fare evaders, Hazelhatch Heuston will be the first complete section of the Dublin commuter zone with complete entry/exit coverage

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

It will make a serious difference to catching fare evaders, Hazelhatch Heuston will be the first complete section of the Dublin commuter zone with complete entry/exit coverage

Now, if only the ticket offices in the suburban looked at the gate lines.

[Thomas Ralph]

Yup, that's another issue. Of the stations I'm familiar with, only GCD, Clontarf Road, and Lansdowne (northbound only) have any visibility from the booking office to the gate line.

[RadarControl]

All the machines have been turned on since Wednesday. However all the machines are displaying "Out of Service". I was told by a ticket inspector that they are turning them on around lunch time today.

[Mark Gleeson]

And its entirely switched off this evening, every single gate open

[Mark Gleeson]

Gates not working today lunchtime either

[RadarControl]

Can anybody confirm if the machines are working yet? Anybody travel through Heuston since Saturday lunch-time and the machines were working. I'm thinking I might go for the 6:35am train from Kildare instead of the 6:53 to make sure I get to work for 8am. If tomorrow is the first morning of operation if will take a few mornings and evenings before everybody gets used to system which will lead to a few delays.

Both Irish Rail and AA Roadwatch have notices saying it is in affect from Friday 17th of April.

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/...ew&news_id=237

Iarnród Éireann advises customers that as and from Friday 17th April, automatic ticket checking barriers will come into operation at all accesses to Heuston Station Dublin. Similar barriers are operating successfully at Connolly Station as well as many DART and Commuter Stations across the Greater Dublin Area.

Benefits:

Automatic ticket checking facilitates greater movement at peak times and prevents large queues forming at platforms. It also assists in the company’s fight against fare evaders as those not in possession of a valid ticket will automatically be fined by our Revenue Protection Unit on-site at Heuston.

The barriers are also equipped with smartcard readers, to be fully compatible with the future public transport smartcard system currently under development by the Rail Procurement Agency, which will include DART and Commuter rail and Iarnród Éireann’s interim smartcard, which is due to be launched in the summer of this year.

How the system works:

Before you travel, make sure you have a valid ticket. The only circumstance in which you may board a train without a valid ticket is if the booking office is closed, and there is no ticket vending machine available.

Retain your ticket as you leave the train at Heuston. This ticket is then inserted into the validation machine and the barrier opens to permit exit. Similarly for customers departing from Heuston, insert your ticket in the validation machine for the barrier to open to allow access to the platform and the train.

Those in possession of an “online reservation” must use the barrier marked “online tickets” where their tickets will be validated.

Customers with special needs will still be assisted by the Customer Service Duty Officer through the barriers and to and from their chosen train. A special wide gate will be provided at each station for the passage of mobility impaired persons, including customers in wheelchairs, but also catering for those with buggies and with heavy luggage.

Those not in possession of a valid ticket for travel will be subject to an on-the-spot penalty fare of €50 plus the price of the ticket, and may face court prosecution.

Iarnród Éireann thanks customers for their cooperation with these arrangements.

[RadarControl]

Once again all machines turned on this morning with out of service message displayed. Conductor on my train this morning reckons next week before it will be working.

[iridium]

They were working this evening at about 17:00. People looked confused!

[plant43]

Turned on again this morning. Large queues waiting to exit.

[Kilkea]

Seems that the barriers are rejecting a lot of annual tickets, zero help from the IE clowns standing around, they are simply telling people to get their tickets replaced (very much easier said than done).

Also, is anyone else sick of the Robocops (STT rail security) standing around intimidating people in Heuston?

[Thomas Ralph]

I am not very surprised.

[grainne whale]

Originally Posted by Kilkea

Seems that the barriers are rejecting a lot of annual tickets, zero help from the IE clowns standing around, they are simply telling people to get their tickets replaced (very much easier said than done).

Also, is anyone else sick of the Robocops (STT rail security) standing around intimidating people in Heuston?

Yes, I am, have a look at at their website www.stt.ie (founded by an ex. Irish Army Ranger), they are all ex Warsaw Pact forces, something like that Blackwater crowd that were kicked out of Iraq. I understand the need for security, but dressed in paramilitary uniform at Irish stations is ridiculous, do you not think that we have had enough of paramilitaries in this country ?.

[RadarControl]

It is not jsut annual tickets that are getting rejected but monthly tickets as well. I have a monthly ticket which was rejected by 5 seperate machines in Heuston. However the ticket continues to work in the Dublin Bus machines.

I went up to a member of IR staff this morning who told me I needed to replace the ticket. He also told me I would have to pay full price for the ticket to be replaced. That is not going to happen with 7 working days left in the month.

He also mentioned that if you keep your ticket in your wallet next to your debit card or a swipe card for work can cause the magnetic to become damaged. This maybe true as I have heard similar stories in relation to Oyster cards in London.

[Kilkea]

Originally Posted by RadarControl

I went up to a member of IR staff this morning who told me I needed to replace the ticket. He also told me I would have to pay full price for the ticket to be replaced. That is not going to happen with 7 working days left in the month.

Surely that is illegal, how can they expect you to pay for a new ticket when their fisher price barriers won't recognise your current one. I assume if it is monthly it has the valid date printed on it so therefore it should not be your problem if the barriers can't read the strip?

[Thomas Ralph]

Originally Posted by RadarControl

He also mentioned that if you keep your ticket in your wallet next to your debit card or a swipe card for work can cause the magnetic to become damaged. This maybe true as I have heard similar stories in relation to Oyster cards in London.

That is, as far as science is concerned, nonsense. It was on Mythbusters some time ago. IÉ tickets are magnetic stripe tickets and outside of the machines, it would take a serious magnetic force to damage the ticket. On the Mythbusters show, they demonstrated that the strength of magnet needed to damage a magnetic stripe was such that the magnet would hold itself in place if you had one in your hand and one below it.

Oyster cards are a different story. They are RFID cards (just like the Luas and Dublin Bus smart cards) and having two or more of them in close proximity can result in none being read. The cards aren't damaged, though, and presenting one card on its own to the reader still works.

If the Dublin Bus machine is reading the ticket and the IÉ one is not clearly the IÉ machine is at fault. The suggestion that you should have to pay to replace a faulty ticket is beneath contempt.

[Mark Gleeson]

Myth busters tested credit cards which use a different grade of ferrous iron in the stripes, train tickets use a lower grade since it must be modified every time it is read

I've only had one dodgy ticket in years, but I've had a heap of trouble with simple return tickets with the new gates

[Thomas Ralph]

Even then, smart cards and other mag stripe cards can't affect tickets. Earphones, mobiles, etc. might be a problem, I suppose.

[Thomas Ralph]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

I've only had one dodgy ticket in years, but I've had a heap of trouble with simple return tickets with the new gates

So have I, but it's had to do with software problems. The gates read the stripe fine, they just don't process it properly.

A return ticket from, say, Drogheda to Limerick will not let you out at Heuston on the way back. It will say "no journeys left".

[RadarControl]

The machines were turned off on Platform 6,7 and 8 last night when I was going through at 6:30pm.

Alot of people in Heuston getting very frustrated with the system this morning. It was rejecting most people's tickets and causing large queues to form. IR staff are not very helpful either. The only ones that appear to be working are the annual tickets. Talking to a couple of fellow passengers in the queue this morning and like me they all have monthly tickets with the add on to the City Centre. Since the machines have gone live their tickets have been rejected.

Just wondering is the software not able to handle monthly tickets which have the add-on to the city centre? I would find that hard to believe since I know a few people with annual tickets with the add-on who are getting through no problem.