Plans to close rail ticket offices in England scrapped

Plans to close hundreds of rail ticket offices in England have been scrapped.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the government had asked train operators to withdraw their proposals because they failed to meet high passenger standards.

However, a source told the BBC rail bosses were "furious", saying the original plans had been approved by the Department for Transport.

The proposals had sparked concerns from unions and disability groups.

Train companies are under pressure from the government to cut costs. They had argued staff would be better used helping passengers in person, in other areas of the station adding that only 12% of tickets were now bought at station kiosks.

But passenger watchdogs Transport Focus and London Travelwatch objected to the proposals, saying they had received 750,000 responses from individuals and organisations in a public consultation.

These included "powerful and passionate concerns" about the potential changes, they said.

The watchdogs said they had secured significant changes, including getting companies to revert to existing times for when staff would be available at many stations.

However, serious concerns remained, including ticket machine capability, accessibility and how passenger assistance and information would be delivered in the future.

In September, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said closing ticket offices was "the right thing for the British public and British taxpayers" as "only one in 10 tickets are sold currently in ticket offices".

But MPs had warned in a letter last week that the plans went "too far, too fast".

Announcing the decision to reverse the closures, Mr Harper said the government had made it "clear to the rail industry throughout the process that any resulting proposals must meet a high threshold of serving passengers".

"The proposals that have resulted from this process do not meet the high thresholds set by ministers, and so the government has asked train operators to withdraw their proposals."

However, the decision to backtrack on the plans has caused anger among train bosses, a senior rail source told the BBC.

"They have been made to sell these plans, defend them and change them to try and get them over the line. All in the face of the inevitable onslaught of criticism.

"All of these plans were approved by officials and ministers at the DfT. To say they fell short of their expectations is totally disingenuous," the source said.

Labour's shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh called it "shambolic" and a "humiliating climbdown", saying the cancelled plans had been "a colossal waste of taxpayers' money".

The RMT union described Tuesday's decision as a victory, while TSSA - the union representing rail ticket office workers - said it was delighted.

Both groups warned that over 2000 jobs would have been at risk if the planned changes went ahead.

The body representing train companies, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), told the BBC no redundancy notices had been served to staff.

The RDG did however send a letter to rail unions, opening discussions on retraining staff, moving workers to other roles and "the potential for a voluntary severance scheme".

The planned closures were the latest flashpoint between train companies and unions in their long-running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions.

It led to several protests and threats of legal challenges from disability campaigners and from five Labour metro mayors.

But the RDG, consistently defended the proposals.

Natasha Winter, who led a campaign to keep her local ticket office in Stourbridge open, said she was "thrilled" the government had listened.

She said ticket office workers provide an" invaluable service" and that people "trust and rely on them".

"They're at the heart of our community," she said.

The RDG said the closure plans that had been put forward were about the "changing needs of customers in the smartphone era" and the "significant financial challenge" following the pandemic.

It said it would continue to look at other ways to "improve passenger experience while delivering value for the taxpayer".

Disability campaigners called the result "bittersweet".

Transport for All, a disabled-led organisation, called it "the best possible outcome", but added that while the government was "eventually swayed, it is appalling that disabled people's concerns were dismissed for so long".