MAYORS TO LEGALLY CHALLENGE RAIL TICKET OFFICE CLOSURES AND HUGE CUTS TO STATION STAFFING

Published 18 July 2023 at 2:30pm

Mayors to legally challenge rail ticket office closures and huge cuts to station staffing

• Mayors set to trigger legal action if rail ticket office closure consultation is not suspended
•  Mayors say 21 days to give feedback on plans of this scale is “totally inadequate”
• Closures could isolate disabled and older people – pushing passengers away from rail services just as the need to attract people back to public transport grows

Mayors across England are poised to take legal action if a consultation to close the majority of rail tickets offices and drastically cut staff available to support passengers across the country, is not suspended and reviewed.

On 5 July, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) announced, without warning, that the public would have just 21 days to have their say on plans to close almost all of the 1,007 remaining ticket offices in the country.  
The plans have been heavily criticised by Mayors across England, who have now come together to legally challenge rail operators – TransPennine Express, Northern Trains Ltd, LNER, EMR, Thameslink, Greater Anglia and Avanti - as the type of consultation they are using is inappropriate for changes of this scale, and is being conducted in a chaotic manner.  

In a pre-action letter to the operators, the Mayors (listed below) have stated their concerns, setting out their legal case and asked for the consultation to be suspended.  If no action is taken by the operators in response to their initial legal letter, then the Mayors will pursue further legal action.  If the consultation was to be suspended, the Mayors would seek an urgent meeting with Ministers to discuss how reform of our railways can be undertaken to the benefit, and not detriment, of passengers.  

The current plans would impact the most vulnerable in society, including disabled and older people, with many ticket machines at train stations outside of London not being accessible as they are cashless. Of the 467 northern rail stations, 449 have cashless ticket machines.   

As part of their case for closures, the RDG have stated that 12 per cent of rail ticket transactions are done at ticket offices – which is in reality still 60 million ticket sales per year. In Greater Manchester, 16 per cent of tickets are sold from ticket offices, a higher figure than the national average.   This disparity is also reflected in the fact that nationally, one in every eight tickets is sold at a ticket office whereas the figure across Northern stations is one in every six.  Of the 191 ticket offices in the North, 165 are due to close.  

The proposals would also see station staffing reduced by over 250 jobs by Northern Trains alone.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham: “This consultation is shambolic and totally inadequate.  
“The Government and Train Operating Companies know what they are doing here, they are trying to dress up staff reductions and cost cutting as ‘improvements to customer service’.  What’s worse is they are trying to railroad this through by way of a chaotic consultation - that is why we have come together with this legal challenge to suspend the process immediately.

“These closures will impact the most vulnerable in our society, including older and disabled people, and to give them just 21 days to feedback when they are less likely to have internet access, is outrageous. 

“These plans represent the complete destruction of our rail services. They are trying to close almost every ticket office when services in the north are the most unreliable they have ever been, but prices are still through the roof. It’s almost as if they are trying to drive people away from rail and we are not going to stand for this.”

Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said: “We are united as Mayors, representing millions of people across our regions, and we will hold the powerful to account.
“As a commuter, I know how important ticket offices are to the travelling public. We have real concerns over the legality of the proposal to shut them down – it raises questions over accessibility, inclusivity, and safety.

“Travellers who rely on face-to-face advice to buy tickets will be further disadvantaged by this and any reduction in staff will only make train stations less safe for the vulnerable.” 

“We successfully challenged ministers for fairer investment in Northern infrastructure, to plug gaps in funding for bus services post-Covid, and to strip failing rail operators of contracts. “We will continue to challenge unfairness wherever we see it.”

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “I’m astounded that the Government think it’s a good idea to close scores of ticket offices across the country. 

“At a time when we’re asking people to leave their cars at home and when more people than ever are trying to save money, access to advice, help and even a friendly face is more important than ever. 
“After months, if not years, of travel chaos across the North, these plans to close ticket offices will make rail travel, if not impossible, then much harder for so many. 

“That’s why, on behalf of passengers we’re calling for these plans to be scrapped, and for the government to finally show some ambition for the railways, not steadily dismantle what was once a world-class service.”

Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, said: “The measure of any decent society is how it treats its most vulnerable citizens. The government’s plan to railroad through these ticket office closures, with a completely inadequate 21-day consultation, shows a complete disregard for the passengers, mostly disabled and elderly residents, who will feel its impact most.

“Not only do these proposals threaten to cut off some of the most vulnerable members of our society from accessing the railways, but they are also playing a dangerous game with people’s livelihoods too. We cannot and should not accept a public transport system that leaves behind the very people who need it most.

“We need to attract more people to use our rail system if we are to address the climate emergency. These proposals will have the opposite effect. Our message to the government and train companies is clear: rethink this act of wanton vandalism and go back to the drawing board or we will make you.”

Mayors supporting:
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham
Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin
Mayor of Liverpool City-Region, Steve Rotheram
Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard
Mayor of Cambridge and Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson 

 

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NOTES TO EDITORS
In Greater Manchester, 16 per cent of tickets are sold from ticket offices, a higher figure than the national average.  
Within Greater Manchester, two million ticket sales are made at ticket offices annually and under these plans those transactions would be forced to move to online or ticket machine sales.  
In the Liverpool City Region, 90% of Northern-run ticket offices are expected to close, with operating hours reduced at the remaining two (Liverpool Lime Street and St Helens Central) and 61 job losses predicted. 
Merseyrail commuter service’s ticket offices are unaffected, as it is operated by a locally controlled concession.
Last year, 26% of tickets sold in the Liverpool City Region were bought at a ticket office, with that figure eclipsing 40% at some stations.