10 September 2023 , 21:30
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Rishi Sunak has defended the mass closure of rail ticket offices despite opposition from hundreds of thousands of passengers.
The Tories are backing a plan put forward by train bosses to close ticket counters at 974 railway stations across England. More than 680,000 people have had their voice heard by responding to an official consultation on the proposals.
But the PM refused to say whether he will listen to them by forcing the rail firms to abandon the cull that will particularly hit disabled, elderly and vulnerable passengers. Asked if he will respect the wishes of people if the consultation finds the majority of people don’t want their local ticket office closed, Mr Sunak told reporters: “The whole point about a consultation is that we don't pre-empt the conclusions of them.”
He added: “It's right that our railway network is modernised and is put on a sustainable footing. That's the right thing for the British public and British taxpayers and recognises the fact that I think only one in 10 tickets are sold currently in ticket offices.
The PM defended the ticket office closures (Simon Walker / No 10 Downing Street)“But this is actually fundamentally as far as I understand it, about getting people out of ticket offices onto platforms and in stations where they can help people in different ways,which is where the help is required.”
Rishi Sunak must be a leader, not just a manager
Challenged on how many stations will have reduced staffing hours after ticket offices are closed, including at Northallerton in his Richmond, North Yorkshire constituency, Mr Sunak said: “It’s not right for me to pre-empt the result of the consultation.”
The ticket office at Northallerton, which currently is open for 13 hours on weekdays, is set to close. The station will only be staffed for just seven hours, with no one there from 2pm on weekdays. The Mirror has been leading the fight against the plans with our Save Our Ticket Offices campaign.
Hundreds of readers gathered opposite Downing Street a fortnight ago to urge the Government to back down. Train firms have themselves admitted passengers will be put at risk of being swindled by crooks and railway stations made to feel less safe by shutting ticket offices.
We revealed last month that in impact assessments rail bosses had confirmed there are concens disabled people will be discouraged from travelling by train, older people will be unable to pay with cash at stations and those with hearing loss will find it harder to get support. The closure of rail ticket offices is set to be debated in the Commons after a petition last week passed the 100,000 signature threshold.
Petitions on Parliament's official website that exceed 10,000 signatures receive a government response, but those that exceed 100,000 are almost always debated by MPs.
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