Call for Transport for London transparency over secret ticket office closure references

London’s transport authority is refusing to provide details of how it could potentially close nearly every ticket office along the new Elizabeth line cross-capital rail system.

The Elizabeth Line only opened three years ago but extracts from a contract – seen by Disability News Service (DNS) – suggest that Transport for London (TfL) could close the ticket offices of all “Operator Leased Stations” by 20 August 2027.

This would mean shutting ticket offices at all but the three major stations of Reading, Paddington and Liverpool Street.

DNS has been trying for more than two months to obtain the relevant section of the contract between TfL and the private sector GTS joint venture that runs the Elizabeth line, from which the extracts were taken.

Although the TfL contract is available online, the relevant sections have been redacted.

TfL has now told DNS that these sections have been redacted for reasons of “commercial confidentiality”, because they would “provide insight into prospective commercial service modification options and pricing options” and releasing them would “prejudice our commercial interests”.

It adds: “A disclosure of this nature would hinder TfL’s ability to fairly consider any future service modification options that maybe required to continue to operate a financially sustainable business successfully in a competitive industry.”

The Elizabeth line runs from Reading and Heathrow Airport to the west of London, through the city, and to Abbey Wood and Shenfield to the east of the capital.

TfL insisted that the potential “prejudice” caused by releasing the information outweighs the “strong public interest in openness” under the Freedom of Information Act.

TfL has previously said that the redacted section of the contract “examines how operation of the Elizabeth Line might change with future developments in technology, including in customer retail”.

But Laura Vicinanza, Inclusion London’s senior policy and stakeholder engagement manager, said the leaked contract excerpts “raise concerns about potential closures of Elizabeth line ticket offices, a move that would effectively lock many disabled people out of the transport network”.

She said this would “shut station doors to those already facing significant barriers to safe, reliable, and convenient travel – travel that enables us to stay in work, access education, and remain connected to our communities.

“We urgently need transparency and clarity about the future of Elizabeth line ticket offices.”

A TfL spokesperson said last night (Wednesday): “As part of the Elizabeth line concession procurement, TfL required bidders to price for a number of optional service changes that could be instructed by TfL.

“This approach ensured that TfL could obtain value-for-money submissions that would be driven by a competitive procurement and is in line with approaches taken on previous rail procurements and best practice.

“These options have been redacted in accordance with S43(2) of the [Freedom of Information Act] given there is sensitive commercial pricing information within the schedule and publication of the detail could prejudice TfL’s and its supplier’s ability to implement them if instructed.

“This would in turn prejudice the commercial interests of TfL and its supply chain.

“As previously confirmed, TfL does not have plans to close ticket offices on the Elizabeth line.”

Evidence suggests that the rail industry is intent on exploiting various loopholes in an attempt to close ticket offices across the country, two years after the Conservative government abandoned plans to close most ticket offices in England.

A public consultation on those plans in 2023 saw nearly 750,000 public objections to the proposed closures, with 99 per cent of those who took part objecting.

The RMT rail union described the potential closures two months ago as “reckless”, with RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey saying: “After the biggest wave of public opposition we’ve seen in years to ticket office closures, it’s beyond belief that similar plans are being put back on the table for the Elizabeth Line.”

Picture by Monica Wells, Crossrail Ltd/Transport for London 

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