25 August 2023 , 16:26
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Rishi Sunak would better understand the impact of his ticket office cull if he got out of his helicopter and took the train a bit more, a local in his patch has claimed.
Sheila Cross, who uses Northallerton station in the PM’s constituency, warned the closures will be an “absolute disaster” for passengers.
The Mirror has been inundated with messages from readers on how the plan to shut ticket counters at 974 railway stations across England will have devastating consequences. As well as closing ticket offices, train bosses want to slash the number of hours some stations are staffed, making it impossible for disabled passengers to travel.
The ticket office at Northallerton, which currently is open for 13 hours on weekdays, is set to close. The station will only be staffed for just seven hours, with no one there from 2pm on weekdays.
Ms Cross, 79, said if Mr Sunak “deigned to travel by train” rather than by helicopter he might get a better idea of what life is like for ordinary voters. She said: “I’m sure Rishi Sunak means well but he has absolutely no understanding of what life is like for the travelling public. He doesn’t have to work out the cheapest and simplest way to get to his destination.
Out of touch Rishi Sunak doesn't regularly read papers or online news sites
“He doesn’t have to cope with what to do if a train’s cancelled or delayed because of an incident or faulty signalling. At the moment staff in the booking offices can help and support people with these problems, but if station staff are radically cut, as planned, then people are on their own. And many will just give up and not bother going by train anymore.”
Ms Cross, who lives in Newby Wiske, which is just outside Mr Sunak’s Richmond, North Yorkshire, constituency, said passengers at unstaffed stations will feel “utterly stranded” when there are disruptions to services. She added: “As an elderly, hearing-impaired woman who travels by train quite a lot, the closure will shake my confidence in railway travel.
“When trains are cancelled - as happens very frequently with TransPennine Express, or there is disruption, the office staff give very helpful advice. We should all be encouraging greater use of train travel on environmental grounds yet the government seems to be discouraging train use.”
During his time in Downing Street so far, Mr Sunak has used private jets and helicopters to zip around the UK more than any other Prime Minister. The PM has taken one flight every eight days on average. Many of the journeys have been incredibly short, such as when he used a helicopter to visit Southampton, which would have taken just over an hour by train.
Government ministers have attempted to distance themselves from the ticket office cull as the backlash has grown. But the Mirror revealed earlier this week they had egged on the train firms to draw up the plans.
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