Watchdogs to respond to railway station ticket office closure plans

Public transport watchdogs will announce on Tuesday their recommendations on a planned widespread closure of railway station ticket offices in England.

Transport Focus and London TravelWatch will publish their decisions on whether they support or oppose each proposal for shutting a ticket office.

There is speculation the watchdogs will disagree with many of the planned closures.

If they object to a proposal, the relevant train operator can refer their plan to Transport Secretary Mark Harper for a final decision.

More than 680,000 responses were submitted to public consultations on the closures.

Plans to close the vast majority of station ticket offices in England, plus Avanti West Coast’s ticket office at Glasgow Central, were brought forward by train operators and their representative body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).

Train companies are under pressure from the UK Government to cut costs amid the drop in revenue caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ticket offices at 974 stations could be affected, according to the RDG.

It says the proposals are “designed to move staff out of ticket offices and onto station platforms and concourses to support better, face-to-face interactions”.

But the plan has sparked fierce criticism from opposition politicians, trade unions, disability groups and public transport campaigners.

Concerns have been raised about the impact on accessibility, safety and security, difficulties using ticket machines and how stations will be staffed in future.

Neil Middleton, director of lobby group Railfuture, said: “The mood music seems to be that Transport Focus and London TravelWatch will not support many of the proposals put forward at the Government’s behest by the Rail Delivery Group and the train operating companies.

“Those proposals do not protect the many millions of passengers who cannot buy tickets other than at ticket offices.

“We are particularly concerned that, whatever the watchdogs say, having considered the views of over 680,000 respondents, their recommendations may ultimately be rejected by the Secretary of State for Transport.”

Last week, the Commons’ Transport Select Committee wrote to rail minister Huw Merriman, warning that the proposals “go too far, too fast, towards a situation that risks excluding some passengers from the railway”.

Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union general secretary Mick Lynch said a “stitch-up which still paves the way for ticket office closures” following the watchdogs’ responses would be a “great betrayal of passengers”.