This week (week commencing 03/07/23) the Government and Train Companies announced their plans to close nearly one thousand ticket offices across the rail network.

In Worcestershire this will mean that every ticket office at our railway stations will be closed and replaced with staff from new mobile teams, who will be deployed at stations on a flexible basis to undertake customer service, passenger assistance, safety and general upkeep duties. The only exception in the county will be Worcester Foregate Street, which will become one of the new retail and customer service hubs, meaning staff will be available throughout the week to assist with ticket purchases, as well as customer service, passenger assistance, safety and general upkeep duties.

We are concerned that these changes will raise a number of potential issues, namely:

• The Government and rail industry say that staff will be ‘repurposed’, yet they have failed to give any commitment that staffing levels will be maintained - this could lead to widespread redundancies
• Elderly and disabled people, and people on low incomes are less likely to have access to the internet and are excluded by the push to online and electronic ticketing
• These plans ignore the much wider role that ticket office staff provide in addition to sales, including providing a wide range of advice and expertise and navigating the complex ticketing system to ensure passengers are not overcharged
• Ticket offices provide a point of safety and security, and at many stations access to facilities such as toilets and waiting rooms relies on the presence of staff
• Accessibility will likely be affected for elderly and disabled people

The planned closures are another example of the service provided to passengers being worsened despite the yearly price increases we have seen year after year.

We in the Labour Party in Mid Worcestershire oppose these proposed changes to ticket offices. We believe that ticket offices and station staffing must be protected in order to maintain passenger service, safety, security and accessibility.