'Serious concerns' raised in train ticket office closures months ago by watchdog

29 September 2023 , 16:19

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Protests against closure plan (Image: Philip Coburn /Daily Mirror)

A passenger watchdog raised “serious concerns” about the proposals for mass closure of rail ticket offices months before they were announced.

London Travelwatch, one of two bodies scrutinising the proposals, branded what was proposed at the time “unacceptable.” Among the issues where difficulties for disabled passengers if ticket offices were allowed to shut. “There are no steps to prevent the ‘toxic combination’ of no staff at the station or on the train,” it said.

Other concerns included longer-term staffing levels at stations, and the reliability of self-service ticket machines. They emerged in a letter from London Travelwatch to train operators’ body the Rail Delivery Group at the end of March. Controversial proposals to close 974 ticket offices in England were unveiled at the start of July.

Train station ticket offices face extinction (Getty Images)

It led to 680,000 responses from passengers. The Mirror is campaigning to block the proposals. The Government has shifted responsibility to the train firms. But the cache of documents, obtained by the RMT union through a Freedom of Information request, show ministers were involved in drawing up the proposals.

One email from June referenced discussions with ministers. London Travelwatch and fellow passenger representative body Transport Focus will announce whether they object or approve to the proposals at the end of October. It is understood they raised an array of issues with train operators two weeks ago, to which the companies responded on Wednesday.

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Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT union, said: "It is clear that train operators under the auspices of the Rail Delivery Group have colluded to stitch up this so-called consultation process before it even began.”

He added: “The DfT (Department for Transport) claims that this process has been ‘industry led’ and a meaningful consultation have been proven to be farcical.

"It is clear from the level anger and the unprecedented engagement on the consultation despite all its flaws, that the whole plan to close ticket offices should be halted immediately."

Graham Hiscott