The
RMT
union

is
staging
protests
outside
many
stations
to
oppose
the
proposed
closure
of
hundreds
of
ticket
offices.

A
consultation
is
under
way
over
the
proposals,
which
will
affect
most
staffed
stations
in
England
and
also
in
Scotland
at
Glasgow
Central,
because
it
is
run
by
the
English
contractor
Avanti
West
Coast.

Other
stations
in
Scotland
and
Wales
are
not
included
in
the
plans,
and
five
stations
in
England
which
are
run
by
Transport
for
Wales
are
also
unaffected.
Transport
for
Wales
said:
‘We
do
not
have
any
plans
to
reduce
the
number
of
staff
at
our
stations
and
we
will
continue
to
work
in
a
social
partnership
with
our
Trade
Unions
as
part
of
regular
dialogue
on
how
we
deliver
the
best
possible
service
to
meet
the
needs
of
our
customers.’

The
wave
of
protest
in
England
is
growing,
and
the
RMT
started
to
demonstrate
outside
National
Rail
stations
last
night,
at
Manchester
Piccadilly,
Salford
Central
and
Penzance.
There
will
be
one
demonstration
outside
Plymouth
station
later
today,
but
the
majority
of
RMT
protests
are
set
to
be
staged
tomorrow
at
up
to
24
stations
between
Glasgow
Central
and
Brighton,
including
a
national
demonstration
at
London
King’s
Cross.
Protestors
are
also
planning
to
gather
outside
the
London
headquarters
of
FirstGroup
in
Eastbourne
Terrace,
outside
Paddington
station.

More
protests
are
set
to
follow
on
Friday
and
Saturday,
and
into
next
week.

General
secretary
Mick
Lynch
said:
‘Our
union
is
taking
our
campaign
to
save
ticket
offices
out
into
every
town,
city
and
village
in
this
country.

‘The
recent
announcements
of
ticket
office
closures
is
a
fig-leaf
for
the
wholescale
destaffing
of
stations,
including
safety
critical
train
dispatch,
safety
critical
train
despatch
staff,
passenger
assistance
and
other
non-ticket
office
customer
service
workers.

‘Ticket
office
closures
under
Schedule
17
means
there
will
be
no
regulations
on
staffing
levels
at
stations
whatsoever.

‘Train
operators
will
then
be
free
to
staff
or
destaff
any
station
to
whatever
level
they
choose.

‘Our
union
and
the
travelling
public
do
not
want
a
dehumanised
railway
that
will
be
a
rife
with
crime
and
anti-social
behaviour,
inaccessible
to
the
most
vulnerable.

‘We
will
fight
these
plans
all
the
way
and
need
the
public’s
support
in
joining
our
campaign
and
taking
part
in
the
consultation.’

The
demonstrations
come
as
the
RMT
prepares
to
stage
three
national
strikes
at
most
English
operators
on
20,
22
and
29
July.
The
union
has
also
just
announced
that
its
revenue
protection
members
on
London
Overground
have
voted
to
strike
in
a
dispute
with
Overground
operator
Arriva
Rail
London
over
a
‘collective
grievance
into
bullying’.

The
Rail
Delivery
Group
has
justified
the
closures
by
pointing
out
that
only
about
12
per
cent
of
tickets
are
still
bought
from
station
offices,
saying
that
the
displaced
staff
will
be
moved
to
help
passengers
on
concourses
instead.

Which
ticket
offices
might
stay
open?

Avanti
West
Coast said
its
offices
at
some
larger
stations
would
be
kept
‘short-term’
for
passengers
with
complicated
ticket
queries
which
cannot
be
resolved
on
line
or
at
a
ticket
machine.
It
said
these
stations
are
those
managed
by
Network
Rail
at
London
Euston,
Manchester
Piccadilly,
Birmingham
New
Street
and
Glasgow
Central,
where
AWC
runs
the
ticket
offices,
and
also
Preston
and
Carlisle.

c2c All
25
offices
are
‘at
risk
of
closure’
except
London
Fenchurch
Street,
Benfleet,
Basildon,
Grays
and
Southend
Central.
These
offices
continue,
but
opening
hours
will
change.

Chiltern
Railways plans
to
close all
its
ticket
offices. 

East
Midlands
Railway will
close
its
offices
at Alfreton,
Beeston,
Boston,
Burton-on-Trent,
Chesterfield,
Corby,
East
Midlands
Parkway,
Hinckley,
Kettering,
Kidsgrove,
Long
Eaton,
Loughborough,
Mansfield,
Market
Harborough,
Melton
Mowbray,
Narborough,
Newark
Castle,
Oakham,
Skegness,
Sleaford,
Spalding,
Stamford
(Lincs)
and
Wellingborough.
Ticket
offices
will
continue
to
be
provided
at Derby,
Leicester,
Lincoln,
London
St
Pancras
International,
Nottingham
and
Sheffield.

Govia
Thameslink
Railway (Great
Northern,
Southern
and
Thameslink) plans
to
close
all
ticket
offices
apart
from
Gatwick
Airport.

Greater
Anglia plans
to
open
Customer
Information
Centres
to
replace
ticket
offices
at
London
Liverpool
Street,
Chelmsford,
Colchester,
Ipswich,
Norwich,
Stansted
Airport
and
Cambridge.
All
other
ticket
offices
will
close,
but
of
the
remaining
47
stations
run
by
GA,
some
would
have
changes
to
staffing
hours.
No
presently
staffed
station
will
become
unstaffed.

Great
Western
Railway is
proposing
to
close
all
its
ticket
offices
by
the
end
of
next
year,
including
London
Paddington.
It
has
already
closed
summer-only
ticket
windows
at
Looe,
Newquay
and
St
Ives.

LNER said
it
proposed
to
maintain
ticket
offices
at Edinburgh,
Newcastle,
York,
Doncaster,
Peterborough
and
London
King’s
Cross,
‘which
will
continue
to
offer
the
same
range
of
products
and
opening
times’.

Northern is
proposing
to
close
131
ticket
offices
and
change
the
opening
hours
at
18.
It
also
operates
a
further
318
stations
which
do
not
have
ticket
offices.
Stations
which
would
retain
ticket
offices
are
Barrow-in-Furness,
Blackburn,
Blackpool
North,
Bolton,
Bradford
Interchange,
Glossop,
Harrogate,
Hartlepool,
Leeds,
Liverpool
Lime
Street,
Manchester
Oxford
Road,
Manchester
Victoria,
Rochdale,
St
Helens
Central,
Salford
Crescent,
Skipton,
Warrington
Central
and
Wigan
Wallgate.
Exceptionally,
Hartlepool
is
presently
closed
on
Sundays,
but
would
open
under
the
new
proposals.
The
opening
hours
at
the
other
17
offices
will
mostly
be
reduced.  

Southeastern said
it
serves
180
stations,
and
runs
142
ticket
offices.
It
is
proposing
to
open
Travel
Centres
at
its
14
busiest
stations
(Ashford
International,
Bromley
South,
Canterbury
West,
Dartford,
Dover
Priory,
Hastings,
London
Bridge,
London
Charing
Cross,
London
St
Pancras
International,
London
Victoria,
Margate,
Rochester,
Sevenoaks
and
Tonbridge).
All
other
offices
will
close,
but
staff
will
return
to
14
stations
which
are
currently
unstaffed
because
of
vacancies.

South
Western
Railway is
planning
to
close
all
its
ticket
offices.

TransPennine
Express plans
to
close
the
ticket
offices
at
14
of
the
16
staffed
stations
it
operates.
Ticket
offices
will
remain
open
at
Huddersfield
and
Manchester
Airport.

West
Midlands
Trains (London
NorthWestern
and
West
Midlands
Railway) said
‘all
ticket
offices
in
their
current
form
would
close
over
the
next
three
years’
but
that
it
would
introduce
a
number
of
‘hub
stations’
offering
‘enhanced
retail
facilities
and
customer
support’.
The
‘hubs’
are
proposed
at Birmingham
Snow
Hill,
Milton
Keynes
Central,
Northampton,
Nuneaton,
Sutton
Coldfield,
University,
Walsall,
Watford
Junction,
Wolverhampton
and
Worcester
Foregate
Street.

Note: CrossCountry
and the
open
access
operators
Grand
Central,
Hull
Trains
and
Lumo.do
not
manage
any
stations.