15 September 2023 , 14:32
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Hated plans to cut hundreds of railway ticket offices are a “dead duck”, according to an industry insider.
In a fresh boost to the Mirror’s campaign to save nearly 1,000 station counters across England, reports suggest the sector is on the brink of admitting defeat in its Government-backed bid to close offices. “It's looking like a dead duck. All this bad (publicity) has been generated for no reason.
It doesn't look as if the Government will be proceeding,” a source told the Daily Mail. “You need to adopt the Transport for London model [which saw most London Underground ticket offices close] - make the online ticket system foolproof and trusted so no one blinks an eye when you lose a ticket office. But the ticketing system is too complex.”
Transport bosses want to axe 974 ticket offices across the network, claiming they are no longer needed because most passengers buy online, via smartphone apps or at station machines. Campaigners say the move will discriminate against the elderly, who are less likely to book over the internet or using apps - meaning they will be forced off trains and more likely to be confined to their homes.
Silver Voices director Dennis Reed said today: "We hope the Government has listened to the hundreds of thousands of older people and people with disabilities who have expressed concern about their travel safety and security if these closures go ahead. If there is a U-turn, let it be a lesson for the Government and big business that face to face customer support is still valued and is often essential. In the rush to digital automation vulnerable human beings must not be swept aside. Congratulations to the Mirror for leading such a great campaign to save our ticket offices."
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Rail chiefs say staff will be switched to concourses and platforms - making them more accessible to passengers. The scheme to slash the number of ticket counters came after Transport Secretary Mark Harper urged operators to rein in spending following the coronavirus pandemic, when passengers deserted the railway.
Unions fear the plan to shut ticket counters would trigger jobs cuts and leave vulnerable passengers without support. Mirror readers last month marched through from the Department for Transport to Downing Street as protesters fighting the proposals took their battle to Westminster. Demonstrators carrying Daily Mirror placards emblazoned with “Save Our Ticket Offices” demanded rail firms and ministers abandon the plans.
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