Woodbridge: Automatic ticket machine set for town railway station

RAIL bosses last night said they were drawing up plans to install an automatic ticket machine at a town’s station following the controversial relocation of its tourist information centre (TIC).

Last month Suffolk Coastal District Council decided to move Woodbirdge TIC from the train station to the library. It means passengers will no longer be able to buy their rail tickets in advance - unless they go online.

As a result Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey and deputy mayor of Woodbridge, Patti Mulcahy, have joined forces and launched a campaign to urge train operator Greater Anglia to install an automatic ticket machine at the station.

Cllr Mulcahy said: “This is a much needed facility for Woodbridge passengers and it is essential Greater Anglia takes responsibility for ensuring tickets can be purchased at the favourable advance purchase rate.”

Dr Coffey has now written to Greater Anglia chief executive Jonathan Denby and she said he had pledged to look at the practicalities of getting a machine installed.

Last night a spokesman for Greater Anglia confirmed they hoped an automatic ticket machine would be installed in the new year, along with others planned for Beccles and Saxmundham. “We are developing plans to install a automatic ticket machine at Woodbridge station as part of the programme of improvements for the East Suffolk line, including the introduction of an hourly service,” he said.