Paul Corfield wrote:
On Fri, 1 Dec 2006 17:44:26 -0000, "tkd" wrote:

The barriers to the platforms at Fenchurch Street would not open
for a Freedom Pass at 9:25am today. The guy on the gateline said
they are not valid there until 9:30am. As far as I can tell from
this map the line from Fenchurch Street is available from 9am
(because of the interavailability with the District Line).
http://www.freedompass.org/documents...assMap2006.pdf Am I
reading this right?

You most certainly are. C2C have clearly not configured their
system or trained their staff correctly based on your experience.
IIWY I'd drop them a short E Mail of "complaint" explaining your
experience and asking what they are going to do to rectify
matters.

Thanks for that. I wrote a letter to c2c, Network Rail (as they
manage that station) and London Councils (formerly ALG, as they
administer the Freedom Pass scheme).

I got a full and prompt letter of apology from c2c with a
commitment to train staff and get the barriers working properly.
London Councils telephoned yesterday to say they had written to
Network Rail but had not got a reply. I have not yet received a
reply to my letter to Network Rail either.

Good - the key player is C2C.

Let's hope its not up to Network Rail to sort out the barriers.

I can't believe that they would be down to Network Rail. AIUI all
ticket gates (or the lease based contracts for them) are now
considered to be "franchise assets" and thus the responsibility of
the TOC. It is
mandatory for a successor TOC to take on the responsibility for
these in the same way as things like train leasing contracts.

The other issue is that C2C put line wide gating as a franchise
commitment so while Network Rail will have had to approve their
installation they will not be in charge of them at Fenchurch St.

So if there's that sort of complication, why did management
responsibility pass from c2c to Network Rail in 2002? (Whereas
Marylebone, for example, is still managed by Chiltern.)
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)