Station Manager Corner

[SMBJones]

Good afternoon

My name is Barry Jones and I am the Area Station Manager for Southern Railway, I manage 17 Stations of which East and North Dulwich come under my remit.

Not so long ago I joined another forum similar to this (virtual norwood)whereby I answer any complaints and suggestions you may have relating to the train stations. This has proved to be a very good way of interacting with the community and my passengers. I would be pleased to join this forum however I must stress a couple of points, 1. I will do this in my own time, 2 My comments are those of mine and not Southern Railway and lastly I will not be subject to abuse.(its hard taking a battering when I do this voluntarily)

You have my guarantee that I will listen and answer all points rasised, normally I would look in once a week to see if there any new postings. Alternatively you can email me through this forum and I will answer as soon as I have received the communication.

It is my intention to improve customer service and the local environments to ensure that you have a better travel experience.

I look forward to hearing from you

Barry Jones

[ellaj]

Hi Barry do you cover West Dulwich station as well?

[sophiesofa]

Hello Barry and thank you for taking the time to do this and I hope you don't get abused.

At East Dulwich Station I have seen rats crossing the pathway up to the platform that goes into London. I am petrified of the things. I doubt there's much you can do but I thought there's no harm in mentioning it.

Thanks

[Nero]

Hello

Please keep the station (E Dulwich) clean on a daily basis. Reinstate the bins and please clean up the walkways - behind the wires - every week. And if you can, do all you can to deter people from putting their feet on the seats opposite - it annoys me and so many others. Coudl you get your managers to ask your drivers people not to do it, or put stickers on the walls?

The train service is usually good, but it could be made better very easily by clearing things up at the station and on the trains.

[skidmarks]

If you manage Brockley can you turn the PA up as no one can hear it

[northernmonkey]

Probably a bigger ask, but it would be helpful to get another ticket machine at East Dulwich. The ticket office is generally closed (often even when it is supposed to be open) which means that the queues at the ticket machines can be really long. Add to this the fact that the trains really aren't that frequent, it makes getting a ticket and getting your train quite difficult.

[sophiesofa]

northernmonkey Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Probably a bigger ask, but it would be helpful to

> get another ticket machine at East Dulwich. The

> ticket office is generally closed (often even when

> it is supposed to be open) which means that the

> queues at the ticket machines can be really long.

> Add to this the fact that the trains really aren't

> that frequent, it makes getting a ticket and

> getting your train quite difficult.

seconded

[djw]

Hi Barry

Can you tell us when we will be able to use Oyster at ED?

tks

Djw

[lenk]

djw Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Hi Barry

>

> Can you tell us when we will be able to use Oyster

> at ED?

> tks

> Djw

And Peckham Rye? :)

(I feel TFL might announce this rather more formally than on an obscure SE London forum though)

[Speccylecci]

I know I may get told off for this but

SMB

Jones?

[Administrator]

Please stay on topic

[louisiana]

Good to *see* you here Barry.

Do you cover Forest Hill?

[nymom]

Are there any plans to make all stations step free in terms of access?

[Michael Palaeologus]

Why cant the chap at ED station issue tickets for stations that arent within about 5 miles of ED? A number of times I have trotted along to buy a ticket to somewhere slightly further afield only to be told "Oh no, you need to go to a main station for those". These arent major intercity destinations but places in the home counties in Sussex or Kent.

I made a point of going to ED station when it was quiet and so avoid causing a lengthy queue and would much rather buy from ED station as London Bridge can be a pain to buy tickets because of queues at the ticket office and the inflexibility of ticket machines (you cant buy tickets in advance). It does seem rather short sighted as it reduces income at the local station.

Concur with the above comments about the rats and the upkeep of the station.

However, many thanks for putting your head above the parapet and saying Hello.

[SMBJones]

Hi, I am sorry I dont, this station belongs to South Eastern, if you send me an email, I know someone over that way and I will pass your message on

Barry

[SMBJones]

Hi

Rat problem is a common issue and will always have them, I will ensure that our pest control is aware and I will phone through on Monday

Barry

[SMBJones]

Nero, I will get some more bins put in place, as for the clearing behind the wire fences I have just had a new gate placed so my team can get behind and clear rubbish. The cleanliness will improve and I am looking at new initiatives to have the station cleaned more often. as for the trains I will put your suggestion forward

Regards

Barry

[SMBJones]

Skidmarks, I will talk to my colleague at our control centre and have the volume turned up. Please be aware this station does not come under my area but happy to speak to the Station Manager also

Regards

Barry

[sophiesofa]

Thanks Barry you seem very nice.

[SMBJones]

DJW, Lenk, Sophiesoaf and Northernmonkey

Ticketing has always been an issue, East and North Dulwich are really small stations, agreed they are closed from 1300Hrs however I do believe that when Oyster is introduced on the Network then queuing for tickets will reduce. The go live date for Oyster is September this year, you can already see that that the Machines are already in place, its is now waiting for the go live date and installing software so my staff can sell the tickets.

Speccylecci, SM is Station Manager, I am often referred to as the SM by my staff, and B Jones is my name!

I will ask my Ticket Office manager to look at sales for these two stations to see if we can extend the opening times, even if it was for the evening peaks so you can purchase tickets for the next day

Hope this helps

Barry

[SMBJones]

Hi Louisiana, I dont cover Forest Hill, I do know the man who does, send me your question via the email and I will ask my colleague to respond

Regards

Barry

[matthew123]

I think the number of benches on the northbound platform, at East Dulwich, could be increased. That would improve the comfort of commuters especially during the summer months.

[SMBJones]

Hi Michael, I am quite concerened with your comments relating to Ticket Sales, I will instruct my Ticket Office manager to have a word with the staff to see if there are any training issues. Hopefully by Tuesday you will be able to buy the tickets you require

Apologies for this, Customer Service is important to me and it seems to be amiss here.

Regards

Barry

[SMBJones]

Hi Matthew

I am having some benches removed from another one of my stations very soon, I will see if I can get a couple of them installed at East Dulwich

Regards

Barry

[Mark]

Hi Barry

Thanks for doing this. When you mention Oyster do you mean Pre-pay? I'd love to be able to use my pre-pay at East Dulwich station.

Thanks

Mark