‘Public should be consulted on rail ticket machine closures’

By Rebecca Maer, Eastbourne Reporter

The closure of four out of six ticket machines at Eastbourne railway station should be subject to public consultation, a councillor has said. 

The machines been taken out of service because train operator Southern Railway says people are increasingly buying tickets online and scanning them on their phones. 

The company said each machine costs thousands of pounds a year to maintain, money which can be used for other services. 

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which operates Southern Railway, passed into public ownership under Great British Railways (GBR) at the end of May. It is now called Greater Thameslink Railway (still GTR).

Councillor Tom Nevill (Lib Dem), is one of the ward councillors for Upperton, where the station is located. He is also a transport planner, working for Transport UK as a rail replacement co-ordinator. 

He told Eastbourne Reporter: “As we move to publicly-owned train service GBR, it calls for a public consultation on this matter. The passengers should get decide the future of the machines, not the current company. 

“I think removing physical ticket machines risks restricting accessibility at Eastbourne station. Digital ticketing is convenient for many passengers, but we shouldn’t assume everyone has a smartphone and is confident using digital tickets.  

“Eastbourne is a busy station, so reducing six machines to two also raises concerns about queues at peak times. As someone working for Transport UK, I’m particularly conscious of how important it is that passengers have straightforward options when travelling. 

“Digital ticketing should be one of many options.”  

Derrick Coffee, Transport Futures’ East Sussex county officer, said he used the station regularly because he does not own a car. 

He voiced concerns about the lack of options for those without digital access if the ticket office was shut. 

He said the ticket office closed early one day last week at 5pm, with a notice citing a shortage of staff. It usually stays open until mid-evening. 

Derrick was travelling to Hastings and noticed six or seven people queueing at each of the two remaining ticket machines because the office was shut. 

“This creates anxiety for people catching trains. And the cutting of the ticket machines is causing greater queues at the ticket office,” he said. 

He believed at least three ticket machines would be preferable. “I would question whether it is adequate to just have two.” 

It is understood the ticket office closed early again today at 1630 (Monday 10 August) due to staff shortages.

Eastbourne is the fourth busiest station in Sussex after Gatwick, Brighton and Haywards Heath. 

Rail industry sources say figures show that two in three journeys are made digitally using barcode or smartcard tickets. Only ten per cent of tickets are sold using ticket machines. 

As some ticket machines are taken out of service here, nearer to London the only option may be to buy a paper ticket as the use of digital tickets can lead to fare dodging. 

South Western Railway (SWR) and GTR are bringing in measures to clamp down on fraud involving digital tickets such as an increase in revenue protection officers and stipulating that passengers must have a physical ticket from stations nearer to London. 

The companies have identified a practice known as ‘short-faring’, where a customer deliberately buys a ticket for a short section at the end of their journey instead of paying for the full distance. 

SWR estimates up to 95% of barcode tickets between Vauxhall and London Waterloo station are used fraudulently, creating a risk of around £1 million in lost revenue. It said that in the first four weeks of trialling the system, £45,000 of fare revenue had been protected.

The previous Conservative government abandoned plans to close hundreds of ticket offices in 2023 in the face of widespread opposition and concerns about digital exclusion.

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