Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, has urged local commuters to take part in a consultation on proposals regarding rail ticket office closures and is inviting Wealden residents to also share their views with her via a dedicated platform on her website to inform decision-making following the consultation.
Due to a significant decline in the use of ticket offices, with only around 1 in 10 transactions occurring at a ticket office in 2022/23 and the vast majority being sold online on via ticket machines, train companies are currently consulting on plans to modernise customer service across the railway network.
The proposals include plans for moving staff from behind the ticket office screens to more visible and accessible roles around stations. This will ensure multiskilled, customer-facing workforce that can provide a more personal service and support commuters better by covering a broader range of customer needs.
The consultation, led by Transport Focus, is open until Wednesday 26th July and can be accessed at: www.transportfocus.org.uk/train-station-ticket-office-consultation/.
As Transport Minister, Nusrat previously delivered the Inclusive Transport strategy, which paves the way to equal access for disabled people in all transport networks and promotes enhanced Passenger Assist service, which is a mobile app that provides an additional option for customers to request assistance via their smartphone for any train company to organise assistance for the entire journey, even if it consists of multiple services.
In addition to the consultation, Nusrat is also inviting Wealden residents to share their views with her via a dedicated platform on her website to inform any decision-making impacting Wealden train stations following the consultation. To share your views, please go to: www.nusghani.org.uk/consultation-railway-station-ticket-offices.
Nusrat Ghani said: “Train travel is a key form of transport for Wealden residents. I am constantly campaigning for its improvements locally and I am pleased to have secured multi-million-pound accessibility improvements to both Crowborough and Eridge stations, which have now been completed. I appreciate that the way people buy tickets have changed and this needs to be reflected in service provision at train stations. I understand that no station that is currently staffed would become unstaffed as a result of these changes and staff will be present to provide in-person assistance and accessibility support to those who cannot or do not want to use contactless or mobile tickets. However, I am also aware that mobile phone network provision, which is crucial to purchasing tickets online needs improvement at some of our remote train stations such as Eridge, and I am keen to hear the views of Wealden commuters on how their journeys might be impacted by the proposed changes, so that I can put further pressure on providers to enhance coverage at stations and ensure that anyone using the rail network in Wealden can request additional assistance via their phone."
