Wigan borough MPs wade in to row over swingeing programme of rail station ticket office closures

Industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) unveiled proposals which could lead to nearly all offices being shut – among them those at Wigan North Western, Hindley and Atherton stations.

It comes after Transport Secretary Mark Harper wrote to train operators asking them to cut costs.

A consultation period of just 21 days was opened, with disability charities and trade unions claiming it will lead to job losses and put some vulnerable passengers off train travel.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham branded the ticket office closure consultation "wholly inadequate" and called for its suspension in a letter to Mr Harper.

Now Wigan borough Labour MPs have also made plain their unhappiness about the proposals.

Wigan MP Lisa Nandy posted on social media: “It’s a sign of the contempt the Tory Government has for us that there are only 21 days to speak out against ticket office closures that will cause more havoc on our railways, cost us local jobs and turn railways into no-go areas for many older and disabled passengers.

And Makerfield MP Yvonne Fovargue said the news was “deeply worrying to my elderly and disabled constituents, the hundreds of thousands of people employed in our rail industry, the staff employed in my own constituency, and all those who rely on the support and advice provided by staff in ticket offices.”

Ms Fovargue added: “I am concerned that this announcement, which has been driven forward by the Department for Transport, is causing huge anxiety for vulnerable and disabled passengers and rail staff. I am also concerned that they have been given just three weeks to respond to a change to the rail network that will affect more than 150 million journeys a year and hit elderly and disabled passengers the hardest. It appears that the consultation will simply be a rubber stamp for a decision that has already been taken.

“I do not believe that this change is genuinely about reforming our railways or modernisation – it is about making cuts. Our rail services are being run into the ground, with cancellations at record highs, basic services such as wi-fi being taken away and legislation to reform the network abandoned. We need a Government that is able to fix the railways.

“Our rail network is already failing passengers in Wigan 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.”

The Rail Delivery Group insisted moving ticket office staff on to station platforms and concourses will “modernise customer service” and pledged there would be “more staff available to give face-to-face help”.

Rail minister Huw Merriman said: “Instead of station staff being stuck behind the counter of a ticket office, new proposals for stations would free them up to get out and about on to station concourses and platforms, and no station will become unstaffed as a result of these changes.”