Railway ticket offices across England could start closing by Christmas, according to plans about to be rolled out by train operators with the blessing of ministers.
More than 1,000 station booking offices are set to be closed as the government seeks savings in the cost of running the railway. Officials insist passengers will also benefit by ticket office staff moving onto the concourse and platforms, where they can assist travellers.
They point out that 43 per cent of British railway stations are currently unstaffed or have no ticket office, and 40 per cent of ticket offices are only part time.
But Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT union, said: “The removal of ticket offices would create the conditions for a muggers’ paradise on the railways.” And disability rights activists have demanded “urgent action” from the Office of Rail and Road and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The Independent understands that train operators will orchestrate the announcement of plans to close all but a handful of booking offices in England. Some busier English stations may retain ticket offices.
ScotRail and Transport for Wales are unaffected, and Merseyrail is not involved. Transport for Wales manages five stations in England – Chester, Hereford, Leominster, Runcorn East and Shrewsbury – and has no plans for wholesale changes at these or other stations it manages.
Rail industry insiders insist that the legally required notices under Schedule 17 of the Ticketing & Settlement Agreement mark the start of a consultation designed to improve passenger service rather than a pre-determined plan to cut costs.
One executive at a leading train operator said: “This isn’t about pulling the shutters down with nothing to replace it. We are trying to move our staff to where they are most needed, on concourses and platforms.
“We want to give them permission to come out of the ticket office – and the natural consequence of that is to close the ticket office.”
The biggest upheaval in the railway industry for a generation is to be imposed without the involvement of the RMT. Members working in ticket offices will be retrained for wider roles – unless they choose to leave the industry.
The proposed mass closure is being pushed through during an impasse in negotiations in the long and bitter rail dispute. National strikes by members of the…
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