Unbelievable as it may sound, there was a man on the platform at Slaithwaite today who told SMART, that he is going to, with his team, install ticket machines at Slaithwaite and Marsden stations on or about December 19th.
SMART has campaigned for over five years for such machines to be installed only to be told consistently by Northern Rail that this was impossible, so today we give grateful thanks for the decision to allow passengers to buy tickets in advance.
No longer will local passengers have to suffer the indignity of queuing each morning at Huddersfield to buy a ticket, and it means that concessionary travellers can buy a ticket straight through to Leeds and Ilkley without having to beg the Transpennine guard to let them have the reduced fare.
There is even a strong rumour that the new platforms have arrived in this country after a long and dangerous journey through pirate infested seas. We trust they will not fall off the back of a lorry on their way to Slaithwaite
19th December has been and gone. No sign of the promised ticket machines yet.
We are now reliably informed (as at 21st January) that the automatic ticket machines for Slaithwaite station will be installed some time during the next 8 weeks.
Ticket machine installed on the Huddersfield-bound platform, but not yet operational as at Thursday 2nd February 2012.
Ticket machine on the Huddersfield-bound platform was working (albeit with the need for a bit of patience and perseverence) on Wednesday 28th March.