The
proposed
closure


of
most
station
ticket
offices
in
England
has
been
condemned
as
‘unlawful’
by
a
local
authority
in
the
east
of
England.

The
Cambridgeshire
&
Peterborough
Combined
Authority
said
it
had
voiced
its
‘deep
concern’
about
the
effects
of
scrapping
ticket
offices,
which
are
set
to
close
at
many
major
stations
in
London
and
elsewhere
as
well
as
in
smaller
places.

The
consultation
closed
at
midnight
on
Friday
and
has
attracted
680,000
responses,
according
to
the
passenger
watchdogs
Transport
Focus
and
London
TravelWatch,
which
now
have
the
task
of
sifting
through
the
responses
and
making
recommendations
by
the
end
of
October.

The
Combined
Authority
in
Cambridgeshire
and
Peterborough
has
sent
its
own
response,
which
describes
the
process
as
‘flawed’,
which
means
that
it
is
unlawful.
The
Authority
is
calling
for
the
consultation
to
be
restarted,
because
it
says
it
fails
to
‘inform
the
public
properly
of
the
plans’.

The
authority
alleges
that
the
process
is
unlawful
because
it
says
the
plans
to
discontinue
use
of
parts
of
railway
stations
do
not
comply
with
section
29
of
the
Railways
Act
2005.

It
also
says
Equality
Impact
Assessments
of
the
planned
changes
at
individual
stations
should
have
been
made
available
to
inform
anyone
considering
the
effects
of
the
proposals.

Without
these,
the
Combined
Authority
argues
that
the
effect
on
vulnerable
people,
such
as
those
with
poor
vision
or
limited
mobility,
or
those
who
need
to
get
the
cheapest
travel,
can’t
be
properly
assessed.

It
says:
‘Any
fair
consultation
gives
enough
time
and
detail
to
enable
intelligent,
meaningful
comment
and
that
the
information
is
shared
in
a
way
accessible
for
all
would-be
participants.’

It
also
asks
for
a
figure
to
be
put
on
staff
changes
at
each
station
and
says
that
‘staffed,
accessible
ticket
offices
are
an
essential
part
of
the
rail
network
and
must
be
protected’..

The
Mayor
of
Cambridgeshire
&
Peterborough
Dr
Nik
Johnson
added:
‘As
I’ve
said
from
the
start,
fully
staffed
and
properly
accessible
ticket
offices
should
be
treated
as
an
essential,
non-negotiable
part
of
the
rail
system.

‘As
a
Combined
Authority,
we’ve
made
our
position
known
to
the
train
operators,
objecting
to
their
proposals
for
widespread
closure,
and
making
clear
our
concerns
about
a
consultation
process
that
risked
preventing
meaningful
participation.

‘So
much
of
our
work
is
dedicated
to
improving
public
transport
such
that
it
become
the
obvious
choice
for
more
and
more
of
our
residents.
These
proposals
fly
in
the
face
of
that
approach,
as
stations
without
ticket
offices
could
become
no-go
areas
for
many,
wilfully
excluding
people
who
require
support,
and
denying
access
to
those
who
can’t
buy
their
tickets
online.

‘This
is
discrimination
by
design
and
must
be
opposed.’

Last
night
the
Rail
Delivery
Group
said:
‘We
appreciate
all
the
input
we’ve
received
so
far
from
the
public
and
stakeholders.
We
want
all
our
passengers
to
feel
supported
during
any
transition,
and
train
companies
will
now
work
with
independent
passenger
bodies
at
a
local
level
to
take
on
board
the
feedback.

‘In
the
meantime,
we
will
continue
to
engage
with
passengers,
accessibility
and
safety
groups
to
make
a
better
and
more
robust
railway.’