Thank you to everyone who has continued to contact me about rail ticket office closures.

The consultation on rail ticket office closures was originally due to run for just 21 days, which was nowhere near long enough. Although it has now been extended to 1 September, I remain deeply concerned that Ministers have tried to ignore passenger and staff concerns about these huge changes to our rail network. I call on them to think again and halt these plans.

Given that one in nine tickets are still sold at physical ticket offices, this announcement is causing huge amounts of anxiety, especially to elderly and disabled passengers.

We need urgent answers to questions, such as what will happen for passengers who struggle to use digital alternatives to ticket offices. It is vital that rail operators offer assurances that those people will still have access to the support they need to use our rail network with confidence.

I know that the Royal National Institute of Blind People has said the mass closure of rail ticket offices would have a hugely detrimental impact on blind and partially sighted people’s ability to buy tickets and arrange assistance, as well as to travel independently. I am also aware it has written a joint letter with nine other charities to the Transport Secretary, expressing deep disappointment that the consultation has been launched in what it describes as a “rushed, uncoordinated and overly complex manner”.

I have also co-signed a letter (that I have attached below) to the Department for Transport with the other Lewisham MPs – Janet Daby, MP for Lewisham East, and Ellie Reeves, MP for Lewisham West and Penge – to highlight our concerns about the potential job losses from the ticket office closures and the impact on elderly and disabled customers. We are yet to receive a reply.

I believe the Government must halt this consultation process and explain its plans for the future of our railways. Our rail services are already being run into the ground. My fear is that these plans are not about modernisation, and this process is simply a prelude to job losses that will mean far fewer staff to serve the travelling public, and the continued managed decline of our railways.

Thank you once again to all who have contacted me about this issue. I assure you that I will continue to call for answers on this matter at every possible opportunity.

Dear Secretary of State,

Re: Closure of Rail Ticket Offices in England

We are writing to express our concern over plans to close 14 rail ticket offices across our constituencies.

On the 5^th July, the Rail Delivery Group confirmed plans to move staff out of ticket offices and into stations, with the consultation on these significant changes to last just 21 days.

That news will be deeply worrying to families as well as our elderly and disabled constituents, the hundreds of thousands of people employed in our rail industry, the staff employed in our constituencies, and all those who rely on the support and advice provided by staff in ticket offices.

As you are aware, one in nine tickets are still sold at physical ticket offices. That represents over 150 million of the 1.4 billion rail journeys recorded over the past year.

Given the fact that many of those passengers relying on ticket offices will be elderly and disabled rail users that may otherwise struggle to use digital alternatives, it is vital that you offer assurances that those rail users will still have access to the support they need to use our rail network with confidence.

Research by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), for instance, has found that only 3% of people with sight loss said they could use a ticket vending machine without problems and 58% said it was impossible.

Given those serious concerns for our constituents, we would appreciate answers to the following questions:

• What will happen to the rail staff currently deployed in rail ticket offices in our constituencies?
• What will the impact be on their job security, during a cost-of-living with rising mortgage and interest rates?
• What the impact of ticket office closures will be on the safety and accessibility of the rail network for disabled and elderly passengers?
• When will digital and pay as you go ticketing technology be available across the whole of the rail network?

Following Southeastern’s December 2022 timetable changes, passengers across our constituencies have already suffered from a service that many feel does not suit their needs. They should not have to face any further disruptions to their travel plans due to the poor management of our rail networks.

Under this Government, private operators have been allowed to profit whilst cancellations have reached record highs, basic services like Wi-Fi are at risk of being taken away, plans to bring forward legislation to reform services have been scrapped and now ticket offices are facing closures without thought for the vulnerable users that rely on them.

Our rail network is already failing passengers in our constituency and is in desperate need of reform. But the people of this country have lost confidence in the Government to deliver a rail network that works for passengers.

We look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Janet Daby MP, Vicky Foxcroft MP & Ellie Reeves MP