Protest held against proposed closures of ticket offices
The protest was held on Monday as the public consultation on the proposed closure of ticket offices across the country is due to end on July 26.
Plans to close almost every ticket office in the country were revealed earlier this month as part of cost-cutting measures.
The Rail Delivery Group said only 12 per cent of tickets were now bought at ticket offices and staff would be redeployed.
A group of people stood outside the station to rally against the proposed closures.
Helen Field, 69 said: “I use the trains a lot and the RMT slogan is advice, safety and accessibility. So, for those three reasons alone we should keep the ticket offices open.
“You can get the best deal for your ticket, you can get advice on where to go and safety, and it is safe to have staff around who you can speak to.
“There are still a lot of people getting their tickets from ticket offices. And especially for people who have disabilities. We must consider disabled in this because why shouldn’t they be able to travel.”
Another campaigner, Glyn Oliver, 68 said: “We’re standing up for people, not profit. We’re standing up for the ease for people to use our train system.
“This isn’t modernisation, this is profiteering. The tickets are not going to be any cheaper for people, the profits will increase through.”
He added that it is not just older generations who oppose the plans to shut the ticket offices but young people as well.
He said: “We have just had lots of young people that want to ask questions and aid sometimes phones don’t always work, they’re not always available.
“I’m not against the ticket machines that is fine for those who want them but there are people who need the ticket offices to remain open and will be impacted.
“We should save the ticket offices and leave them open because they make it accessible for anyone to get a ticket.”