Rally against rail ticket office cull on PM's doorstep as 400,000 respond
A rally against the planned Tory rail ticket office cull will be held on Rishi Sunak's doorstep next week as anger grows.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) said it will take the fight to Downing Street with a large protest outside No10 on August 31 - the day before the public consultation closes. The union warns that 2,300 station staff jobs are at risk as rail bosses - supported by the Government - try to shut nearly 1,000 ticket offices.
Campaigners warn it will lead to customers paying more for tickets, and disabled passengers and the elderly will be among those worst hit by the move. This Thursday The Mirror will be hosting an online protest, with Paralympics legend Tanni Grey-Thompson, RMT chief Mick Lynch and Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, among the speakers.
More than 400,000 people have so far responded to the consultation, while even ministers including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick have rallied against closures in their own areas. Despite The Mirror revealing just one in five voters support the mass closure, the Government is supporting it.
Mr Lynch said: "The public response to the Government wanting to shut every ticket office in Britain has been very encouraging. People from different walks of life recognise the value of ticket offices and the station staff that support passengers on their journeys.
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"Rail companies and their masters in government, do not care one jot about disabled people, vulnerable passengers and those travelling alone who welcome a human presence on our railways. These plans lock in age and disability discrimination and if they are carried out, it will mean many vulnerable passengers will not feel safe using the network."
He called on ministers to scrap the "increasingly unpopular" cull. Critics say the scheme is "inherently unsafe" as it could lead to anti-social behaviour at stations. Unions also claim a quarter of tickets can't be delivered by machines, sparking fears passengers could be charged more.
Train bosses want to shut ticket counters at 974 stations across England. The Mirror is leading efforts to stop the closures. We are hosting a Save Our Ticket Offices rally on Thursday August 24 at 5pm.
You will be able to watch it live on the Mirror’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitter channels, as well as our website. Baroness Grey-Thompson has accused train bosses of being “disingenuous” by claiming that shutting offices may actually help disabled passengers. The peer, who regularly travels by train across the country, says in reality the attitude of firms is “we don’t care”.
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