Campaigners against mass ticket office closures take fight to Whitehall

28 August 2023 , 23:01

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Campaigners have warned that planned ticket office closures will impact the most vulnerable (Image: Matt Gilley/PlymouthLive)

Campaigners will take their fight to prevent "disastrous" mass ticket office closures to Whitehall today.

Members of the Aslef and TSSA unions will join Bring Back British Rail and We Own It activists to tell the Government to scrap plans to shut 974 ticket offices across England. More than 460,000 people have responded to a consultation into the closures, which will hit the elderly, vulnerable and disabled - and put more than 2,300 station jobs at risk, according to the RMT union.

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch told a Mirror event last week that ticket office closures could put lives at risk and turn stations into havens for criminals.

Cat Hobbs, We Own It director, said: “No one, except the profiteering private rail firms, stands to benefit from this disastrous decision to close such a vital service that so many different kinds of passengers depend on, especially disabled and older passengers. The rail companies are showing exactly why they should never be trusted with our railway."

TSSA Interim General Secretary Peter Pendle said: “The closure of ticket offices affects everyone, especially vulnerable passengers and those with disabilities and additional needs. It’s cruel, cynical and unnecessary and the government needs to shelve the plan completely.”

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Mick Whelan, General Secretary of ASLEF, the train drivers’ union, said: "It is clear that government-driven lies about redeployment have been shown to be false and it will be the travelling public and the future growth of the railways that will be damaged by these cuts. Disabled people will be forced off the system; tourism will be damaged; and the safety of every passenger, and every member of staff, will be compromised. Stop the cuts now."

Members of the RMT union will also hold a mass protest on Thursday against the ticket office cull, marching from the Department for Transport to Downing Street.

Rail users have until 23.59 on September 1 to have their say on the planned ticket office closures. Passenger watchdogs, Transport Focus and London TravelWatch, will go through the responses from the public and analyse the proposals.

There are 13 different consultations running simultaneously so the watchdogs will report whether they support or object to the plans of each train company. If they object, the train company can refer its proposal to the Transport Secretary for a final decision.

The plans also face potential legal challenges from disability campaigners and metro mayors, including Andy Burnham and Tracy Brabin.

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Lizzy Buchan