The
number
of
responses


in
the
consultation
over
ticket
office
closures
sent
to
the
transport
watchdogs
Transport
Focus
and
London
TravelWatch
has
soared
from
170,000
in
late
July
to
315,000
now,
according
to
Transport
Focus.

The
original
21-day
consultation
period,
which
would
have
ended
on
26
July,
has
been
extended
to
1
September,
and
some
sources
are
describing
the
volume
of
protests
as
‘overwhelming’.

Councils
are
among
the
protestors.
Reading
Borough
Council
has
written
to
the
Rail
Delivery
Group
to
make
its
opposition
plain.
One
Reading
councillor
said
he
believes
the
plans
would
have
a
‘retrograde
step,
making
accessing
the
railways
less
inviting
and
accessible
by
putting
up
barriers
for
vulnerable
people
and
people
with
disabilities,
as
well
as
not
encouraging
new
passengers
or
providing
a
welcoming
gateway
for
tourists’.

Councillors
in
Somerset
are
‘extremely
concerned’,
and
another
councillor
in
Nottinghamshire
described
the
proposals
as
‘an
attack
on
public
service’. 

Dan
Norris,
the
Mayor
of
the
West
of
England
Combined
Authority,
which
covers
Bristol,
North
Somerset
and
South
Gloucestershire,
warned
that
he
often
pays
more
for
a
ticket
when
using
a
machine
compared
to
talking
to
a
member
of
staff
at
a
ticket
office.
He
also
deplored
the
fact
that
many
people
do
not
have
smartphones,
and
so
cannot
buy
tickets
that
way.

Jon
Cruddas,
the
Labour
MP
for
Dagenham
and
Rainham,
has
criticised
the
government
over
the
‘totally
insufficient’
initial
21-day
consultation
period,
which
he
said
was
a
‘disgrace’.
He
has
written
to
transport
secretary
Mark
Harper
to
express
his
objections
to
the
plan.

Railnews
has
received
more
messages
from
readers
about
ticket
office
closures
than
on
any
other
subject,
and
has
added
a
page
to
its
Platform
section
in
the
forthcoming
August
print
edition,
which
is
published
a
week
today,
to
reflect
as
many
opinions
as
possible.