Rail company’s ‘stealth’ ticket office cuts plan is ‘unforgivable’ and ‘horrendous’

Disabled campaigners have described the decision of a publicly-owned rail company to carry out partial closures of ticket offices by “stealth” as “unforgivable” and “horrendous”.

Their comments came as the rail regulator contacted Southeastern to ask how it would comply with its duties to disabled passengers, after last week’s revelations that it has planned the partial closures of 14 ticket offices across its network.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said this week that it had contacted the publicly-owned rail operator following the revelations by the Association of British Commuters (ABC).

Ruth Cadbury, the new Labour chair of the transport select committee, suggested that her members would “take an interest” in the concerns as part of their inquiry into accessible transport, although she declined to comment directly on ABC’s revelations.

Meanwhile, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the companies that run Britain’s railways, declined to comment on Southeastern’s ticket office opening hours, but said it was not aware of other train operators planning similar cuts.

The government has already said it is examining Southeastern’s plans “to ensure passengers remain supported”.

Disability News Service reported last week that Southeastern was cutting the opening hours of ticket offices at 14 stations in Kent, East Sussex and south-east London by six or seven hours a day, for at least five days a week, through its secretive Ticket Office Project Change Programme.

Southeastern has avoided the need for a public consultation by describing the changes as “minor” under schedule 17 of the guidance that covers ticket office opening hours.

There are fears that the cuts in opening hours could have a significant negative impact on many disabled passengers and others who need support to use rail services.

The cuts were originally proposed two years ago, so Southeastern has already secured Department for Transport (DfT) approval from the last government.

The partial closures appear to come on top of the operator’s failure to meet its existing duties on ticket office opening hours.

The National Federation of the Blind of the UK (NFBUK), which played a key role in defeating last year’s planned closures of nearly 1,000 ticket offices across the country, said the cutting of ticket office hours by Southeastern puts its members “at significant danger and disadvantage” because they cannot see platform staff.

NFBUK said it was “unforgivable and absolutely disgusting” that the cuts to opening hours were already being planned before last year’s announcement of mass closures by train companies.

An NFBUK spokesperson “This is not a minor change, it is a significant one, and the proposed changes need to be urgently U-turned.

“Ticket office staff are essential and there should be no reduction in staff hours at these stations.

“It is like our safety, our accessibility and our travel needs are once again being treated as dispensable.

“Louise Haigh [the transport secretary] needs to act urgently to stop this move by Southeastern and put a strong message to other companies thinking the same, that this is not acceptable.”

NFBUK also called on Haigh to “urgently investigate” anecdotal reports that train operators were not replacing staff who leave their jobs, which was leading to “staffing issues at ticket offices”.

Emma Vogelmann, head of policy, public affairs and campaigns at Transport for All, which also played a central role in last year’s campaign against the closures, said: “Last year, the British public spoke in the largest ever public consultation response.

“Their message was clear: ticket offices are essential, they help us all travel more safely and easily, including millions of disabled people.

“It’s worrying to see research from ABC showing that train companies are ignoring the public and trying to sneak closures through under the table.

“We offer our support to the researchers and campaigners behind the report; we need to make sure that ticket offices stay open for everyone.”

Sarah Leadbetter (pictured last year), a disabled accessible transport campaigner who also played a key role in fighting last year’s closure plans, predicted a year ago that new rail industry proposals on cuts to ticket office hours would follow.

She said the news revealed by ABC last week was “horrendous”.

She said: “If Southeastern can do this to its train station ticket offices, will this happen to the other ticket offices at train stations run by the other train companies?

“I know what it’s like to not have a ticket office open for part of the day, to not have someone there to help you in lots of different ways.

“It isn’t safe for someone that’s blind or visually impaired to wander up and down a platform to find a member of staff.”

Emily Yates, co-founder of ABC, has submitted a complaint to ORR about Southeastern’s actions, and has alerted the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

She said yesterday (Wednesday): “The issue at Southeastern is just a taste of what could happen if other operators decide to exploit the rules around schedule 17 to make ticket office cuts without consultation.”

Southeastern has insisted that it did not conceal the changes, that the new opening hours were publicised on its website and on station posters, and that additional platform staff will mitigate the impact on disabled passengers of the ticket offices not being open, while stations will remain staffed, “with accessibility and safeguarding assistance provided by platform staff”.

ORR declined this week to say if it had been aware of Southeastern’s plans before they were exposed by ABC; if it had any concerns about the impact of the reduced opening hours on disabled passengers; or if it was concerned that other train companies might be planning similar action.

But an ORR spokesperson said in a statement: “Changes to ticket office opening hours (including closures) are governed by the processes set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA) and guidance published by the Department for Transport.

“ORR does not have a decision-making role on any changes to ticket office hours or closures.

“ORR’s role is to ensure that operators remain compliant with their regulatory and consumer law obligations.

“We have contacted Southeastern to initiate engagement on how they propose to remain compliant with the detailed requirements in our Accessible Travel Policy guidance while making changes to staffing arrangements.

“Operators need to secure our approval to any material changes to their Accessible Travel Policies.”

Ruth Cadbury declined to say if the transport committee was concerned by Southeastern’s plans and the possibility that it had breached its duties to disabled passengers, or if the committee would be investigating its actions.

But she said in a statement: “The newly-formed committee plans to continue to engage with stakeholders before concluding its inquiry into accessible transport.

“The consultation on closing ticket offices across the network was an area of significant concern during that inquiry, and our members will continue to take an interest in the actions of train operating companies in this space.”

RDG said it was not its place to have a view on Southeastern’s ticket office opening hours, and was not aware of other train operators that were planning similar cuts, although it had been made aware of Southeastern’s plans.

An RDG spokesperson said in a statement: “We have no formal decision-making role regarding ticket office opening hours and it is a responsibility of individual train operators to consult on such changes.”

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