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Published: 27/07/2010 18:38 -
Updated: 27/07/2010 18:41
THE central train station in Milton Keynes is one of the worst in the country for meeting national queue-time targets.
New research stats show more than a quarter of queue times at ticket office windows are longer than the national target, with a third of off-peak queues longer.
Thirty seven per cent of queues during the week take longer than the industry agreed standard.
And now a passenger watchdog is calling for an overhaul of ticket selling at the station.
They say ticket restrictions are not clearly displayed on the machines, meaning passengers would prefer to speak to a member of staff.
Passenger Focus chief executive Anthony Smith said: "Passengers catching a train for the first time or buying a different type of ticket from their normal one may well be defeated by ticket machines. This stress adds unnecessary pressure to buying a ticket.
"However, many passengers who buy a particular ticket often or use a familiar ticket machine may have less trouble.
"As a result some passengers would rather queue to speak to a member of staff, buy more expensive tickets than they need to or just give up and join the ticket office queue."
A spokesman for London Midland, which runs Milton Keynes Central, said: "We are now in the process of providing another ticket office window for sales, and working to increase the number of floor-walkers on hand to assist our passengers.
"In May 2010, after this research was conducted, London Midland completed the installation of two new ticket vending machines and created a bank of six machines to reduce queuing at peak times.
Elsewhere in Parliament, MP Iain Stewart raised the question of whether city train commuters would be considered in a review of the west coast main line franchising.
What do you think of train services in MK? Let the newsdesk know by emailing editor@mk-news.co.uk
