I was down at Trowbridge on 31st - First day of Penalty fares - and the only machine to have been installed for use when the ticke office is closed is onthe SOUTHbound side, with no signs pointing to it from the Northbound side.  Yet I'm told that the biggest passenger from originating in Trowbridge is to Bath and Bristol.   I also noticed that the machine hasn't yet been commissioned - it looks very smart and has instructions in several languages about removing the protective plastic when it's installed, but it isn't powered up.

So what should I do if I want to catch the train from Trowbridge to Bath when the booking office is shut and I haven't obtained a ticket ahead of time?  I'm allowed to board the train and buy my ticket on there but according to First Great Western if you don^t have a ticket, or a Permit to Travel, and we believe you^ve had the opportunity to buy one, you may have to pay the full non-discounted fare, or a penalty fare if you are travelling within the penalty fares zone. . That's frightening - it allows the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) staff to be judge and jury and seems to leave it to the passenger to prove his / her innocence. 

I have an idea, though.   If the machine is NOT working,  should I go to the train door where the conductor is undertaking his station duties and, standing with one foot blocking the door ask him to confirm that he knows there are no working ticket facilities before I fully board?

((I fully expect to get shot down by the operational staff around here telling me what a confounded nuisance such behaviour would be en masse, but it's really the sort of thing that FGW must expect if the put mechanisms in place to criminalise their customers, appoint themselves as judge and jury, and don't ensure that there are facilities available at all times to ensure that passengers don't get entrapped!))

I wouldn't blame you at all, Graham.  If you are threatened with a ^20+ fine you have a right to establish your innocence whilst the evidence is, well - evident!  As far as the conductor is concerned he would just phone in the reason for the delay and FGW^▸ (First Great Western) would have to pay a fine to Network Rail.  The conductors are not at all keen on Penalty Fares as it will mean that they do not earn commission on their sales.

The downside of this sort of protest is that your fellow travellers may miss their connections or be late for work.  And the subsequent working of the train may be affected.  Being late doesn't affect the conductor - unless he's going home!