Bemused traveller issued with 14 tickets for 200-mile train trip

A railway passenger was stunned to find she needed a whopping 14 tickets for a simple return train journey. Project manager Rachel Woodward, from Leeds, booked the simple 200-mile round trip from Leeds to Leicester online, only to be left flummoxed by a mammoth flow of paperwork when she went to collect her tickets from Leeds Station. The 28-year-old was shocked and confused when the machine appeared to go into overdrive – spewing out a staggering 14 tickets – plus a receipt. The huge pile of paper included two tickets for herself, two seat reservations, four tickets for her bike and four bike reservations.



The tickets were to cover Rachel changing trains at Sheffield and for her return journey home. She said the amount of tickets was “confusing” as she didn’t know which to show at the barrier or to show the guard on board the train. Her experience has prompted a review by rail bosses, who have admitted the level of paperwork was “excessive.The Association of Train Operating Companies said it was looking at reducing the amount of tickets its passengers need. Rachel said: “When I was at the machine the tickets would just not stop coming out.

“At first I thought there was something wrong because there were 15 bits of card. There were ticket reservations for me, ticket reservations for my bike, and because we changed trains and it was a return trip there more and more tickets.” She added: “It’s confusing because with 14 tickets I wasn’t sure which one I needed for the automatic barrier. When the guard came on board to check my ticket he had to go through them all and help me give him the correct one.



“I think it’s also really wasteful, especially at a time when people are becoming more conscious of the environment. I don’t see why we can’t have an Oyster card like in London or a bit of paper with a barcode on it.” A spokesperson for the Association of Train Operating Companies said: “We’ve used these tickets since the 1980s and we are looking at updating how things are done. Fourteen tickets does seem excessive, I’ve never heard of that many before. We would like to redesign tickets to make them easier to understand and be more efficient.”