09:53 Nov 26, 2008 

I don't think we're likely to find a straightforward solution in the sense that British stations do not, I wd hazard, offer exactly this same distinction for their ticket booths. So you either need the closest possible equivalent, which I rather suspect is patinba's "same day travel" (can anyone confirm that this would actually be displayed above a booth?) or descriptive solutions, like mine and Comunican's.

17:42 Nov 25, 2008 

Acá en Colombia la venta directa es la que hace un proveedor de sus productos o servicios sin necesidad de un intermediario, es decir sin necesidad de recurrir a agencias de boletería. La venta directa puede ser instantánea o inmediata pero también puede ser un abono por mensualidades o una compra anticipada de contado. Por ello creo que decir venta directa no implica que sea compra inmediata.

17:21 Nov 25, 2008 

Here in Spain there is a clear distinction - advance sales and sales for trains which are due to depart shortly. I don't know if you get turned away if you try to buy an advance ticket at the wrong window but you can imagine the fury of the people behind you who are in danger of missing their trains/being fined for travelling without a ticket!