East Midlands Trains has announced the completion of brand new automatic ticket gates at Derby station, with the gates becoming operational from Tuesday 18 August.
Located in the main concourse area and on the overbridge leading to Pride Park, the ticket gates have been introduced to reduce the number of people travelling without a valid ticket, estimated to cost the rail industry around £200 million every year, and they will also help improve security throughout the station.
Posters and leaflets explaining how the ticket gates work are available at the station, and gateline staff have been appointed to ensure a member of staff is on hand to help both passengers and members of the public who use the bridge as an access route to Pride Park either on a regular basis or a one-off occasion.
A free bridge pass has been introduced by East Midlands Trains and Derby City Council for those who require access across the bridge to Pride Park, for example students at the new Derby Roundhouse. Claire Ansley, Route Manager for Derbyshire explains: “We know that many people need to use the overbridge at the station for legitimate reasons and we don’t want to stop them doing that. Therefore, in agreement with Derby City Council, we’ve set up a bridge pass scheme where anybody needing access through to Pride Park can apply for a free of charge pass which allows access through the station.
“We’ve had a series of roadshows at the station over the past few weeks to explain to passengers how the gates will work and to issue the passes – in total we’ve issued over 800 bridge passes. Feedback has been very positive so far, and it’s great that we’ve worked successfully with the council to introduce a gateline scheme that everybody is supportive of.”
Councillor Lucy Care, Cabinet Member for Highways & Transportation said: “The Department for Transport required the operator of Derby station to introduce gates. At most other stations with a similar requirement there have been no concessions for non-travellers wanting to use the through-route. The council helped fund the extension of the station bridge to Pride Park and have therefore been keen to ensure that people could continue to use this route".