Train firms plan mass closures of ticket offices

Train companies are pressing ahead with plans to close hundreds of station ticket offices across England over the next three years.

Under the proposals, some ticket kiosks would remain in large stations, but elsewhere staff will be on concourses to sell tickets, offer travel advice and help people with accessibility.

Rail unions are opposed to the plans and have warned of further strikes.

A 21-day public consultation has been launched to collect passengers’ views.

Currently around three out of every five stations has a ticket office, although some are only staffed part time.

The consultation has been launched by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents train companies, after talks with the RMT union over pay and modernisation more broadly failed to reach agreement.

“The ways our customers buy tickets has changed and it’s time for the railway to change with them,” said RDG chief executive Jacqueline Starr.

Only 12% of tickets were sold at ticket offices last year, she said, with the rest bought online or from vending machines.

Staff would be given extra training and support to help them move into the more “engaging” roles, she said.

“Our proposals would mean more staff on hand to give face-to-face help with a much wider range of support, from journey planning, to finding the right ticket and helping those with accessibility needs.”

The RDG said across the network as a whole there would be more staff available than there are today, and that during staffed hours they would be more “readily available” on platforms and concourses. The “multi-skilled” roles would mean they could give advice, while their presence could help to deter anti-social behaviour, the RDG added.

There had been a “collapse” in the number of people using ticket offices, the RDG said, and the railway needed to evolve with its customers. A small number of stations already operate under the new model.

The train operators say 99% of transactions made at ticket offices can be made via ticket vending machines and that where needed the machines will be upgraded. Under the plans, if a passenger was unable to purchase a ticket, they would be able to buy one during the journey, at a ticket office en-route or at their destination, the RDG said.

But Mick Lynch, general secretary of the UK’s largest rail union, the RMT, has previously said his union would 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”.

Peter Pendle, interim general secretary of the TSSA rail union, said the government would “soon realise that the public have no desire to see their rail network diminished in this way”.

Some disability campaigners have also long opposed the idea, arguing it would hinder accessibility.

Passengers will be alerted to the proposed changes with notices at stations and invited to write to the rail watchdogs, Transport Focus and London TravelWatch, to share their views as part of the consultation process, which is a regulatory requirement.

Customers are encouraged to visit www.transportfocus.org.uk or www.londontravelwatch.org.uk before 26 July to participate.

The watchdogs will then raise any objections with the train operating companies.

“It’s important for people to have their say,” said Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus.

“We urge passengers to look at the proposals and tell us what the ticket office changes might mean for them. Transport Focus will make sure passengers’ views are heard.”

Transport Focus will review the impact of the proposed changes and passenger comments received before responding to train operator proposals.

Stewart Palmer is director of Rail Future, which represents passengers and campaigns for better rail services, and is a former managing director South West Trains. He said the consultation was “putting the cart before the horse”.

“One of the root causes of this issue is that the present ticketing system on the rail network in Britain is mind-bogglingly complicated,” he told the BBC’s Today programme.”People want versatile, knowledgeable staff, not necessarily behind a glass screen, but they also want to be knowing they’re buying the right product at the right price.”Mr Palmer, who has 38 years experience on the railways, said whatever the outcome of the consultation it was important that a commitment to customer service was “hardwired” into rail operators’ contracts for years to come and that this was “policed and enforced”. The issue is the latest flashpoint between train companies and unions, who have been in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions, which has resulted in several strikes in recent years.The RDG said it was moving ahead with these “essential reforms” after the RMT’s refusal to put pay offers to their members in a vote. It said the changes would be phased in gradually.The RDG said staff would be offered comprehensive e-training and re-skilling to take on the new roles, which it said would be “more engaging”.The changes would not affect train companies’ ability to assist those needing wheelchair and mobility support from staff, and passengers will still be able to use cash, the RDG said.The rail industry is under pressure from the government to cut costs after being supported heavily during the Covid pandemic. The RDG said revenue was still 30% below pre-pandemic levels.

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The Department for Transport has declined to comment on the consultation.