The
RMT
has
sounded
a
warning
shot


in
response
to
growing
speculation
that
the
Department
for
Transport
is
preparing
to
announce
the
closure
of
most
station
ticket
offices
in
England.
If
it
happens,
it
could
ignite
a
new
industrial
dispute
on
National
Rail.

The
reform
includes
moving
staff
from
the
offices
to
concourses
and
platforms,
where
they
can
help
passengers,
but
the
RMT
is
bitterly
opposed
to
the
idea
because
it
fears
that
many
jobs
could
be
lost.

Closures
are
also
being
opposed
on
the
grounds
that
less
able
people
and
the
elderly
in
particular
often
rely
on
ticket
offices
to
help
them
with
their
journeys.
Because
they
are
less
likely
to
be
users
of
smartphones
or
computers,
some
have
no
access
to
the
internet.

The
change
would
come
at
a
time
when
increasing
numbers
of
smartcards
are
being
introduced.
The
latest
operator
to
announce
a
pilot
scheme
with
cards
is
c2c,
although
it
has
not
announced
any
ticket
office
closures.

RMT
general
secretary
Mick
Lynch
said:
‘There
are
rumours
circulating
online
that
the
DfT
plans
to
announce
mass
ticket
office
closures
next
week.

‘The
train
operating
companies
and
the
government
must
understand
that
we
will
vigorously
oppose
any
moves
to
close
ticket
offices.

‘We
will
not
meekly
sit
by
and
allow
thousands
of
jobs
to
be
sacrificed
or
see
disabled
and
vulnerable
passengers
left
unable
to
use
the
railways
as
a
result.

‘RMT
will
bring
into
effect
the
full
industrial
force
of
the
union
to
stop
any
plans
to
close
ticket
offices,
including
on
our
upcoming
strike
days
of
July
20,
22
and
29
in
the
national
rail
dispute.’

Although
the
DfT
has
not
yet
commented
officially
on
claims
that
an
announcement
is
imminent,
the
Guardian
reported
that
one
government
source
was
accusing
Mick
Lynch
of
‘trying
to
scaremonger’,
saying:
‘We’ve
made
no
secret
about
the
fact
that
the
railways
need
to
reform
in
order
to
survive,
but
this
should
be
in
a
way
that
works
for
passengers.’

The
Rail
Delivery
Group
said
the
industry
had
been
‘open
and
honest
about
the
need
for
the
railway
to
evolve’,
but
up
until
now
negotiations
had
been
continuing
to
‘go
round
in
circles’
on
reforms
such
as
moving
staff
from
ticket
offices
to
other
parts
of
stations.

It
continued:
‘While
the
industry
is
now
looking
at
how
to
move
forward,
any
changes
would
be
subject
to
employee
and
public
consultations.

‘Staff
always
remain
front
of
mind
so
as
you
would
expect
from
a
responsible
employer,
if
and
when
the
time
comes
for
proposals
on
ticket
offices
to
be
published,
they
will
be
the
first
to
know.’

Any
changes
initiated
by
the
DfT
seem
likely
to
affect
only
English
stations.
The
nationalised
domestic
operators
in
Scotland
and
Wales
manage
most
of
the
stations
in
those
countries,
and
any
reforms
would
be
a
matter
for
the
devolved
governments.

Station
ticket
offices
are
increasingly
uncommon
in
other
countries.
Dutch
Railways
relies
on
the
Netherlands
national
‘chip
and
pin’
smartcard,
and
only
maintains
inquiry
offices
at
about
eight
of
its
largest
stations.
Even
then,
these
offices
feature
work
stations
where
passengers
are
encouraged
to
make
travel
enquiries
on
line
for
themselves.
Nederlandse
Spoorwegen
began
to
discourage
the
use
of
its
ticket
offices
before
moving
ahead
with
closures,
by
charging
passengers
a
small
fee
if
they
bought
tickets
at
a
window
rather
than
using
a
machine.