Breaking News – TEDDINGTON RAIL TICKET OFFICE SAVED
Plans to close hundreds of railway ticket offices including Teddington, Twickenham and Richmond are set to be cancelled, a rail industry source has told the BBC.
An official statement his expected from the Department of Transport shortly.
The announcement earlier this year was met with a wave of protest by local MP’s including Munira Wilson and councillors.
Ministers had backed the proposals, despite concerns from unions and charities over the impact on vulnerable passengers.
But in a statement this morning, Transport Secretary Mark Harper confirmed he had asked train operators to “withdraw their proposals” after a public consultation.
The announcement came after watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch said on Tuesday that they opposed every single planned closure amid concerns over the impact on passenger accessibility
Twickenham MP Munira Wilson welcomes Government u-turn on ticket office closures
Twickenham MP Munira Wilson has welcomed today’s announcement that planned ticket office closures in Twickenham, and across England, will be scrapped. Munira had been calling on the Government and South Western Railway (SWR) to halt the plans.
“I’m pleased that the Government has finally heeded calls from MPs and disability campaigners to stop the planned ticket office closures in their tracks,” Munira said. “People in Twickenham and across the country were rightly alarmed by the plans, which should never have been considered in the first place. This is yet another embarrassing u-turn for the Government.”
In Twickenham, the proposed ticket office closures and staffing cuts would have reduced staffing hours at many local stations – including Teddington, Whitton and Hampton – by as much as 80%.
Munira repeatedly raised residents’ concerns in Parliament and with SWR, including concerns about the impact on the elderly,passengers with disabilities, those needing special tickets and women travelling alone at night.
On 26 October, Munira called on the Rail Minister to halt the plans. This followed Munira’s comments in a debate in Parliament on 13 September.Previously, Munira had written to Rail Minister Huw Merriman and the Managing Director of South Western Railway to challenge the plans and express residents’ concerns.
Ministers had backed the proposals, despite concerns from unions and charities over the impact on vulnerable passengers.
But in a statement this morning, Transport Secretary Mark Harper confirmed he had asked train operators to “withdraw their proposals” after a public consultation.
The announcement came after watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch said on Tuesday that they opposed every single planned closure amid concerns over the impact on passenger accessibility
Mr Harper said in his statement that the government had made clear to the industry that “resulting proposals must meet a high threshold of serving passengers.”
He added: “We have engaged with accessibility groups throughout this process and listened carefully to passengers as well as my colleagues in parliament.
“The proposals that have resulted from this process do not meet the high thresholds set by ministers, and so the government has asked train operators to withdraw their proposals.
