Changing Face Of Suburban Stations

"Once upon a time" is the introduction to many "looking back" stories.

Well once upon a time the natural order of things was that suburban train stations had staff, they had public toilets that were open to the public, they sold tickets - there was an exchange.

A casual look at the station buildings of the 1900 to 1925 era shows their Waiting Rooms had doors - and a wood fire to take the chill off Melbourne winter days.

There was a concept called "customer service". As a child in SA I heard the South Australian Railways urging Adelaide Railway Station patrons to "Ask the man in blue" for all customer service issues.

What has gone amiss?

Ticket vending machines, drink vending machines, ticket checking machines. Push button announcements. Video surveillance. All soul-less.

Contractors come to clean, contractors come to cut down vegetation.

So soul-less that Public Safety Officers are employed by the pair to minimise anti-social behaviour.

Staff need to be despatched intermittently from some central repository to check the physical condition of premises and the behaviour of patrons.

The current controversy about Artificial Intelligence bots and apps has a long legacy of the replacing of people providing simple services, courtesies, assistance and advice by machines.

The accountants and bureaucrats have exalted in de-populating our railway stations. Now their turn to be displaced is arriving.

What was the attraction of coin-operated scales? Was it always a scam to get kids to pester parents for a coin?

Who actually wanted to know the stones and pounds relating to that outfit, that time of day, those shoes -  on a railway platform?

Checking if there is scope for a naughty cream bun after that trip to the milliners?