Rail ticket office mass closure consultation extended

The consultation into the program to adjacent hundreds of summons offices successful England is acceptable to beryllium extended for astatine slightest different month, the BBC understands.

The 21-day play for passengers to stock their views is owed to extremity connected Wednesday. But president of Network Rail, Lord Peter Hendy, told the BBC it was "going to beryllium extended".

More than 170,000 responses person been received, according to Transport Focus.

The program has been met with interest from unions and disablement groups.

Lord Hendy told BBC Breakfast an hold to the consultation would beryllium "a truly bully happening for our customers, due to the fact that the railway ought to perceive to its passengers."

Posters went up successful stations earlier this month, inviting the nationalist to nonstop successful their responses.

The Department for Transport has not denied a study successful the Mirror paper that the hold mightiness present tally into September.

The summons bureau closure proposals person been enactment guardant by bid operating companies. They are nether unit from the authorities to chopped costs aft being supported heavy during the Covid pandemic, and reason lone 12% of tickets are present bought astatine presumption kiosks.

Currently 299 stations successful England tally by bid companies with DfT contracts person a afloat clip staffed summons office. 708 are staffed portion time. Under the proposals, astir would close.

The manufacture argues unit would alternatively beryllium contiguous connected platforms and concourses to merchantability tickets, connection question proposal and assistance radical with accessibility.

However, the UK's largest obstruction national the RMT and the TSSA national some warned the plans could yet pb to occupation cuts.

Some obstruction experts person besides said the analyzable ticketing strategy should beryllium reformed earlier summons bureau changes are introduced.

Penny Melville-Brown, a unsighted Royal Navy seasoned who regularly uses the railway said the proposals discriminated against radical surviving with show loss.

She told the BBC that she relied heavy connected summons bureau unit astatine a bid presumption arsenic she has "no thought wherever to spell arsenic I don't spot anything".

She added: "I don't person immense problems with making things modern and enactment amended for everyone, but erstwhile you plan caller systems, you request to commencement designing with the radical who are going to person astir problems, the astir vulnerable."

The disablement rights campaigner has written an unfastened missive explaining however hard commuting would beryllium and criticising the consultation process.

There person been threats of ineligible challenges to some from immoderate disablement campaigners, and from 5 Labour metro mayors.

But the bid operating companies' body, the Rail Delivery Group, has consistently defended the proposals and the consultation.

Last week its main enforcement Jacqueline Starr told the BBC the manufacture was listening to accessibility groups' concerns, and had taken portion successful a 'round table' with the obstruction minister.

Asked if she could committedness that each summons would inactive beryllium disposable from machines oregon online, including the cheapest, Ms Starr responded: "I'm not going to marque promises that that that I can't keep".

She added that the manufacture would enactment hard to marque definite vending machines did connection each summons wherever possible.