Train firms had drawn up proposals to shut ticket counters at 974 railway stations across England
. It was announced this morning the government is dropping the proposals after passenger watchdogs said they believed they were a mistake following a public consultation.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said that he had withdrawn his support for the ticket office cull. He said: "The consultation on ticket offices has now ended, with the Government making clear to the rail industry throughout the process that any resulting proposals must meet a high threshold of serving passengers.
“However, serious overall concerns remain about how potentially useful innovations, such as ‘welcome points’ would work in practice. We also have questions about how the impact of these changes would be measured and how future consultation on staffing levels will work. Some train companies were unable to convince us about their ability to sell a full range of tickets, handle cash payments and avoid excessive queues at ticket machines.
Michael Roberts, Chief Executive of London TravelWatch, said: "The way many passengers buy tickets is changing and so we understand the need to move with the times. The idea of closing ticket offices to locate staff nearer to the passengers may sound attractive, but it has proved highly controversial with the public... Despite improving on their original proposals, we don’t think the train companies have gone far enough to meet our concerns and those of the public.
Danmark Seneste Nyt, Danmark Overskrifter
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