18 July 2023 , 17:04
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Railway stations will become havens for crime if train bosses get away with plans to close almost every ticket office, it has been warned.
Union leaders today issue an urgent plea to passengers to join the fight against the mass closures.
Members of the public have just seven days left to have their say on the proposals put forward by train operators to shut ticket offices at 974 stations across England. The consultation - which only started a fortnight ago - will close on July 26, which is next Wednesday.
Passenger Focus, the watchdog that will decide on whether the closures outside London should get the green light, last night raised concerns about the speed of the process. In a letter to Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, the body admitted: “A longer time period would be preferable."
The RMT's Mick Lynch warned that train firms want to cut railways to the bone (PA)Ms Haigh attacked the consultation as a “sham”, as she warned that Tory ministers were “dodging accountability” by allowing train companies to rush through the changes. She told the Mirror: “Railroading this botched plan through in just 21 days, without consideration for staff and disabled passengers, only risks exacerbating the managed decline of the rail network.”
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RMT general secretary Mick Lynch urged Mirror readers to have their say on the plans by responding to the consultation. “If it's only a couple of thousand [who give feedback], they'll ignore it,” he said. “If it's tens of thousands, they can't ignore it. Their voice will have to be heard.”
Mr Lynch dismissed claims that closing the ticket offices would lead to more staff on platforms. “They're saying that it's a project to get people from out behind the glass, but it will mean that people will come out from behind the glass and get made unemployed,” he said.
“It's all about saving money for the private sector rail companies. Vast stretches of the railway will be without staff.”
The union leader said he feared the ticket office closures were a step towards a situation where “every station in the country will be de-staffed”. “The people that will pick up on that the quickest are those involved in anti-social behaviour - the muggers, the drug dealers,” he continued.
“We will soon find the railway is a haven for all sorts of criminality and we don't want it go like that. We want it to be safe and secure and welcoming to everyone. The agenda of the companies is to cut to the bone and that will lead to dire consequences for the public. We believe that it won't be a railway that people want to use.”
Do you support plans to shut ticket offices at railway stations? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.
A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group said: "All train operators are complying with the consultation process as set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. They include proposals which, across the network as a whole, would see more staff on concourses and ticket halls to help passengers than there are today, helping with a whole range of needs, from buying tickets to journey planning and helping with accessibility needs.
"We encourage anyone who wants to find out more to contact their local train company, or submit their views to independent passenger watchdogs Transport Focus or London TravelWatch."
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