IMS_Blog

If you’ve been paying attention you’ll know I have a short commute into (and back from) work each day. I’ve mentioned the London end station, London Bridge, before. At the other terminal of the journey is Norwood Junction station. It’s a typical commuter station, though as the junction might imply it has a couple more platforms than the your more basic two platform example. It also has two entrances, the main entrance where the ticket office is, and the coffee shop, and most of the self service ticket machines, and the free newspaper thingies. At the other side of all the tracks there’s also a single gate entrance convenient for those, like myself, who arrive at the station from that direction. All well and good.

Recently someone, somewhere, decided to install ticket barriers at Norwood Junction. I’ve no idea why, given it didn’t have them before, but there they appeared one day, boxed off but obviosly ticket barriers. That was a few weeks ago. They’ve been in actualy operation now for about a week or so (oh, how hazy the memory becomes!). Not only do these machines seem slower than the variety familar from London stations and tubes (normally one removes the ticket and the barrier instantly opens—these have a definite, and annoying, pause), but in this greatly thought out design they seem to have forgotten there are two entrances. So while the main entrance has these barriers in the way, the secondary, single gate entrance doesn’t. Obviously they are reluctant to close that entrance, perhaps because they recently repaired the stairs at that side, or because of potential outcry, or because they slight less recently did something to it. That means they have to have people stood there to check tickets. Although the barriers need human supervision when in use (because nothing is 100% reliable), one can’t help but wonder if the reduction in fair jumping is paying for the wages of those spending all day checking tickets…