COMMUTERS have criticised rail bosses after a ticket machine broke down at the busiest time of the week.

Passengers arrived at Bolton train station yesterday morning to find the self-service facility was out of order, leading to longer than usual queues.

The station has a ticket-check barrier, so people wishing to travel were forced to wait for up to 40 minutes to buy a ticket.

The Monday morning rush hour is traditionally the busiest period for the station as passengers renew weekly passes.

John Sterling, aged 45, of Broadford Road, Ladybridge, said: “I’ve been waiting for about 20 minutes and I’m still not at the front. It’s made me late for work.

“They are more interested in checking tickets on the barrier than customer service.”

Amanda Dearden, aged 22, of Radcliffe Road, Bolton, added: “It’s pathetic, really. They knew this would cause problems but haven’t done anything to make it easier for us.

“It’s always the same when there’s a problem. There’s lots of staff but no-one willing to sort it out. The managers should be able to nip these problems in the bud, it’s no surprise that they can’t.”

Last week, The Bolton News reported how Northern Rail, which runs the station, published a leaflet apologising to customers for delays in January and offered to give them a weekend of free train travel.

A Northern Rail spokesman said: “Unfortunately, the ticket vending machine at Bolton was out of order and we would like to apologise to any of our customers who were inconvenienced due to this.

“Our engineers have been notified and will be working to rectify the fault as soon as possible.

“Two service windows were available at the ticket office for customers to buy tickets.”