Reports


are
claiming
that
at
least
some
station
ticket
offices
in
England
will
be
spared
the
nationwide
cull
which
was
proposed
during
the
summer,
as
the
deadline
for
making
recommendations
about
the
closures
approaches.

The
House
of
Commons
Transport
Committee
has
written
to
rail
minister
Huw
Merriman
to
express
its
concerns
about
the
proposed
closures
and
their
effect
on
disabled
travellers
and
people
with
special
access
needs. 

The
letter
voices
the
Committee’s
concerns
that
these
proposals
go
‘too
far
and
too
fast’,
and
risk
excluding
some
passengers
from
the
railway
altogether.
At
a
minimum,
the
letter
argues,
any
proposed
changes
should
be
‘carefully
piloted’
so
that
the
effects
can
be
assessed
before
closures
are
imposed
more
widely. 

The
Committee
says
evidence
from
operators
suggested
that
‘the
justification
for
these
changes
was
based
on
the
behaviour
of
the
majority
of
passengers’.
The
letter
recognises
that
it
is
reasonable
to
an
extent
that
operators
should
adapt
to
changes
in
how
passengers
buy
tickets
but
argues
that
this
is
‘not
a
sufficient
approach
to
safeguarding
the
needs
of
disabled
passengers’.

The
cross-party
committee
of
MPs
says
‘there
are
many
legitimate
concerns
about
whether
ticket
office
closures
would
reduce
the
assistance
these
passengers
need
to
travel
freely
and
reliably
on
the
railway
like
anyone
else’.
The
letter
calls
for
clarity
about
alternative
staffing
and
the
arrangements
for
people
with
different
kinds
of
disabilities.

The
letter
has
followed
an
evidence
session
held
in
September
on
the
proposed
closures
as
part
of
a
wider
inquiry
into
the
legal
obligations
of
Accessible
Transport.

If
the
proposals
set
out
in
August
went
ahead
in
full
even
some
of
the
largest
stations,
including
London
Waterloo,
Birmingham
New
Street
and
Glasgow
Central,
would
lose
their
ticket
windows,
in
a
bid
to
reduce
railway
costs.

Transport
ministers
say
the
displaced
staff
would
be
moved
on
to
open
areas
of
their
stations,
such
as
concourses
and
platforms,
where
they
would
give
face-to-face
assistance
to
passengers.
They
argue
that
ticket
offices
are
no
longer
essential,
because
88
per
cent
of
journeys
now
involve
purchases
from
ticket
machine
or
bookings
on
line.

Critics
say
arranging
help
on
concourses
would
be
difficult
to
manage,
and
that
without
the
discipline
of
queues
at
ticket
office
windows
the
staff
could
risk
being
overwhelmed
at
busy
times.

The
RMT
is
also
concerned
that
thousands
of
jobs
could
be
lost.

The
watchdogs
Transport
Focus
and
London
TravelWatch
have
reported
that
they
had
received
680,000
responses
to
the
consultation
by
the
time
that
it
closed
on
1
September,
but
the
RMT
has
claimed
that
the
total
was
more
like
750,000,
with
98
per
cent
of
respondents
opposing
the
closures.

Although
any
official
comments
are
unlikely
before
the
end
of
this
month,
when
the
watchdogs
are
due
to
announce
their
recommendations,
the
Daily
Mirror
has
quoted
an
industry
source
as
saying:
‘I’m
sure
the
train
companies
thought
this
would
be
a
done
deal.
But
the
sheer
weight
of
opposition
has
made
them
have
a
major
rethink.’

If
savings
are
made
by
closing
at
least
some
offices
the
operators
will
not
benefit,
because
they
now
run
trains
as
contractors
on
behalf
of
the
Department
for
Transport,
which
collects
the
revenue
and
pays
the
costs.

The
Rail
Delivery
Group
says:
‘If
accepted,
the
proposed
changes
would
be
phased
in
gradually.
Ticket
office
facilities
will
remain
open
at
the
busiest
stations
and
interchanges,
selling
the
full
range
of
tickets.’

RMT
general
secretary
Mick
Lynch,
who
is
opposing
closures,
said:
‘Do
we
want
a
stripped-down
app-based
society,
where
people
who
are
not
necessarily
attuned
to
modern
technology
feel
a
bit
left
out?’