Online train ticket booking

http://www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com/

This site was tipped by A to B magazine in its May 08 issue (no 65). They say "it accepts cycle as well as seat reservations. No word yet on whether this actually works". There's apparently no booking fee and there's Fastticket support. The interface is very impressive. I like the way you can click on a train by time and the screen updates to show you the fare you would pay.

Trainline "hidden" fees

I still think the trainline is an excellent on-line train ticket site - and the presentation has improved somewhat since I last used it - but I am a bit cross that they add an "arrangement fee" of at least 50p and then a separate fee of at least 50p for the privilege of paying. This minimum total fee of £1 is unavoidable and they should be up-front about it. The first 50p is for if you collect your tickets from a fastticket machine. Having them posted first-class costs £1 and there are more expensive delivery options. The second 50p is for paying by debit card, cerdit cards being £2.50.

Rival Raileasy is a bit better in that it mentions the £1 fee it charges on the screen after you press "buy".

Fastticket machine mishandles credit card

Buying a walk-up ticket from a fastticket machine at Barking, I put in my credit card and received a long message telling me it wasn't acceptable and to use the (human) ticket office. I had to go through the whole transaction again and pay with a debit card as the software didn't allow me to try another card at the point where the credit card option failed.

50p admin charge for fast ticket printing

The trainline has introduced a 50p charge for printing out (at a fast ticket machine) tickets ordered on line. There's no self printing of tickets (or at least it's very limited) and of course the fast ticket reference can't be used directly (like on airlines), so the charge seems to be a disincentive to use the system. Railcard holders can get a zone 1-6 one day travelcard foe £4.80 (2007 prices) - the 50p charge is equivalent to a mark up of over 10%.

Ticket machines on B&GO

On 11 September I said the machine at Harringay Green Lanes wouldn't issue pre-paid tickets (ie brought on line from Thetrainline, for example). The option is now there if it wasn't then. I couldn't try it out as some oik has presumably deiberately spilt some kind of fluid all over the machine and the touch screen wasn't responding.

New B&GO ticket machines

A new ticket machine is working at Harringay Green Lanes, so I take it others are. It does not seem to be Fastticket compatible (ie able to print tickets ordered on thetrainline.co.uk), neither does it offer any Oyster products, though there is a blanking plate which I suspect may be for an Oyster reader/writer.

The presence of these machines makes the notice on the trains even more nonsensical - it seems to suggest that you must buy your ticket in advance at Gospel Oak or Barking.

Fastticket = Quick ticket = ??

Throughout stibasa I refer to Fastticket, because these are the machines I have direct experience of at c2c stations, Euston and Victoria. However there are machines around badged with other brands, including Quickticket which I saw at stations served by Southwest trains.

I assume these are the same thing, in essence, but have not been able to test this.