'Time for a rethink on closing rail ticket offices'

CONTROVERSIAL plans to close rail ticket offices must be rethought, leading Tories have demanded.

- Jonathan Walker

More than 460,000 people have so far responded to a consultation about plans to shut around 1,000 sites across England, with staff being moved on to platforms and concourses to assist passengers.

Travellers would be expected to buy tickets online or at machines within stations.

But Conservative mayors facing elections next year have criticised the proposals.

Among them is Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen. He told the Sunday Express: “Ticket office closures at a time when we should be encouraging people to travel by train sends the wrong message, and I’m particularly concerned about the impact they would have on elderly people and those with disabilities.”