Campaign launched to save under-threat Morecambe railway station ticket office

Wednesday, 12 July 2023 09:43

By Greg Lambert @greglam72

A campaign is under way to save Morecambe railway station ticket office amid sweeping rail ticketing closure plans across the UK.

County Councillor Lizzi Collinge has launched an online petition to 'Save Morecambe Ticket Office' which is under threat in the proposals to close almost every ticket office in the country.

A public consultation on the future of ticket retailing is under way.

Nearly all ticket offices could be shut with only the busiest stations left with open person-operated ticket facilities and the number of job cuts are unknown.

Instead, more staff will be available in public areas of stations to provide help to customers.

The proposal is that changes are phased in over three years.

Morecambe ticket office is currently open Monday to Saturday from 7.45am to 2.45pm.

The proposals would be to close the office and instead employ a 'Journey Maker' member of staff from 9.30am to 1pm Monday to Saturday.

A Northern spokesperson said: "As part of our proposed changes to ticket offices, we will be removing all existing ticket office roles. Instead we will bring our ticket office colleagues into new Journey Maker roles to help customers around the station.

"Journey Makers will be based at stations, although no longer within ticket offices. They’ll be available in other areas of the station to help customers face to face with a wide range of needs. This includes supporting people who need extra help travelling through our stations and onto trains."

Labour County Councillor Collinge's petition says: "Morecambe Ticket Office should not be closed, as this provides a vital service which standard ticketing machines simply cannot.

"This can include refunds, vouchers, seat reservations, disabled passenger discounts, complex ticketing enquiries, fare-splitting, up-to-date cancellation/delay updates and re-routing, ferry/bus connections, and season ticket purchases.

"Not only will this massively curtail the accessibility of the rail service at Morecambe train station, it will also hit people's pockets with consumer value for money reduced, as standard fares become the default option on these basic ticketing machines.

"Residents and commuters, especially those with additional accessibility needs and complex travel enquiries will be unfairly disadvantaged and hit hardest by these closures."

David Morris, the Conservative MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, said: "The news by Northern is really disappointing, but it is being officially consulted on by them and all views are important.

"If you use this service and do not want the ticket office to close, please do submit your views to the official Northern consultation."

Any agreed changes following the consultation, will have to be signed off by Mark Harper, Secretary of State for Transport, who wrote to train operators asking them to cut costs.

The Department for Transport has said the proposals were not about cutting jobs, but about modernising the railway to make sure the sector survived.

Northern Trains announced a public consultation for station ticket offices including Morecambe, while Avanti West Coast announced a consultation for its stations including Lancaster.

Lancaster ticket office is currently open from 5.15am to 7.45pm Monday to Saturday and 9.30am to 8pm on Sunday.

Under the proposals the office would close, but 'ticketing support' would still be available from 7.30am to 4.15pm Monday to Saturday, and 9am to 5pm on Sunday.

Andy Mellors, managing director of Avanti West Coast, said: “It is important for the rail industry to change the way it retails tickets as customer behaviour has evolved over the last three decades.

“Our proposals would mean more staff on hand to give face-to-face help with a much wider range of needs, from journey planning, to finding the right ticket and helping those with accessibility needs.

“Our commitment is that we will always treat our people fairly, with support and extra training to move in to new and varied roles with a number of responsibilities without compromising on the safety of them or our customers.

“We also understand that our customers have differing needs which is why we will be consulting with accessibility groups on this consultation.”

Jacqueline Starr, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) which represents train companies, said: "The ways our customers buy tickets has changed and it's time for the railway to change with them."

Only 12 per cent of tickets were sold at ticket offices last year, she said, with the rest bought online or from vending machines.

You can have your say on the proposed Morecambe ticket office closure at the Northern website, and on the Lancaster proposed closure at the Avanti West Coast website.

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