Sussex railway ticket office cuts proposal: Some disabled people 'won't get the train anymore'

Transport watchdogs London TravelWatch and Transport Focus last week launched a three-week public consultation on behalf of rail operators across the country, including Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), ‘to consider how tickets are sold and to improve customer service in the future’.

The public consultation, which closes on July 26, has been launched to seek the views of the public about the proposals, which are said to have been launched to ‘improve customer service and reflect how customers now buy tickets’.

A protest was held outside Shoreham Railway Station on Thursday morning (Thursday, July 13), with at least 200 flyers handed out to members of the public before 9am.

Catherine Arnold, Adur’s Labour councillor for St Mary's ward, said: “I'm here today to stand up for all the people who are disenfranchised with this decision.

"One in nine ticket purchases are made through ticket offices. That equates to a 150million tickets a year.

"I've been talking to disabled people in the constituency and they've been saying they won't get the train anymore. It's difficult anyway but now this adds an extra barrier to their travel plans.

"We want people to go through the consultation process. We will be back here on Tuesday (July 18) from 7.30am until 9.30am. Come and have your say."

Retired RMT union member Brian Whipp, who worked as a railway signal box since he was a schoolboy, also joined the protest.

“We are here to ask people to get engaged in the consultation process,” Brian said.

"It's very important we have a booking office here at Shoreham, particularly for disabled people who require assistance.

"We are really concerned that any future proposals will really downgrade the service people expect here at Shoreham-by-Sea. It's very important people get involved [in the consultation].

"The fears are the public will be left with a much inferior service trying to get on the train."

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for GTR said the proposed changes ‘reflect that the way customers buy tickets has changed significantly in recent years’ – with ‘most people now buying online or from ticket machines’. Click here to read more.

She added: “No final decisions have been made, so we really want to hear the views, questions and ideas that customers may have, and we’d encourage everyone to feed back directly to London TravelWatch and Transport Focus by July 26.”

The protest comes after East Worthing and Shoreham MP, Tim Loughton, branded plans to close ticket offices across the country as ‘nuts’. Click here to read more.

See also: Sussex railway ticket offices could close: Everything you need to know

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