Manchester train station ticket offices set to close under new proposals- last chance to have say in consultation

The public consultation into the closure of train station ticket offices is set to come to an end on September 1. The consultation date has been extended from July 26, giving people more of an opportunity to have their say. 

The proposal put forward by train operators is to change how staff at train stations work. This includes moving them out of ticket offices and closing them down, with some of the country's biggest train stations including Manchester Piccadilly included in this. 

Ticket offices at other Greater Manchester train stations earmarked for closure under the new proposals have also been named. These include Eccles, Salford Central and Deansgate. 

The Rail Delivery Group have said that the new proposals would “support better, face-to-face interactions,” and that this would come with the potential to close ticket offices in a number of locations.

The RGD has said that, “if accepted, the proposed changes would be phased in gradually. Ticket office facilities will remain open at the busiest stations and interchanges, selling the full range of tickets.”

The group has given further justification for the proposals by saying they would “help bring station retailing up to date from the mid-90s, when the rules on how to sell tickets were last reviewed, long before the invention of the smartphone.” 

They said that back at this time, an estimated 82% of all sales were from ticket offices, compared to just 12% on average today. These are figures which have been used in support of moving the consultation forward.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: “More than 460,000 responses to the consultation have already been received, but it’s not too late to have your say. There’s a really big decision to be made about the future of ticket offices and it’s vital that we hear from as many people as possible.”

There has been a great deal of opposition to the proposed plans, with concerns being raised about the decline in social interaction it argued would come about as a result of ticket office closures.  

The RMT has launched a campaign to save ticket offices, with this set to take a step up with a rally outside of Parliament that will take place the day before the consultation closes.  

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Our campaign to save ticket offices will reach new levels with a rally outside Parliament on the 31st of August, where we will tell ministers in no uncertain terms that ticket offices must be kept open and our communities preserved.”

The consultation will close on Friday September 1. To have your voice heard on the matter, take part in the consultation through the Rail Delivery Group website.