I remain completely opposed to the closure of ticket offices at Levenshulme, Gorton and Manchester Piccadilly. At Levenshulme and Gorton, there will be a reduction in staffed time of over 70%. This is simply not acceptable, and will particularly impact older people and those with additional access needs.
Over the last few weeks, I have collected hundreds of responses from constituents against the closures of the ticket offices. I’ve sent this petition to the Managing Director at Northern Railway, as well submitting them to the official consultation. It is my intention to submit the petition formally in Parliament when we return from recess.
I have also written to the Secretary of State for Transport to express my concerns. You can read this letter, and that to Nick Donovan, below.
I will continue to oppose the closures of these ticket offices, working with stakeholders locally and nationally, including the RMT.
My letter to the Chief Executive of Northern:
Dear Nick,
Levenshulme Station and Gorton Station ticket office closures
I am writing on behalf of my constituents in the Manchester Gorton constituency regarding your plans to close railway ticket offices at Levenshulme Station and Gorton Station, as well as at over forty other stations across Greater Manchester.
As you know, on 5th July the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) confirmed plans to move staff out of ticket offices and, nebulously, ‘into stations’, with the consultation on these significant changes to last just 21 days. I found the length of the consultation on such a radical change to our railways disgracefully short, and it is a decision of which Northern and other members of the RDG, as well as the Secretary of State, should be ashamed.
This news is deeply worrying to my constituents, many of whom have taken the time to get in touch with me. This includes those who are elderly and disabled, alongside the hundreds of thousands of people employed in our rail industry, the staff employed at Levenshulme and Gorton stations, and all those who rely on the support and advice provided by staff in ticket offices.
You will be aware that one in nine tickets are still sold at physical ticket offices. That represents over 150 million of the 1.4 billion rail journeys recorded over the past year. But it is wrong to assume that the role of ticket offices and staff is purely about selling tickets. They help and support customers with routes, pricing, delays and access, and are a vital part of the local community. At Levenshulme, the station staff – supported by Northern – have always been proud to be engaged with our local Friends group, and support initiatives such as the swap library hosted at the station. It is likely that with a such significant reduction in staffing, many of these initiatives will be forced to end.
Further, the fact that many of those passengers relying on ticket offices will be older people and disabled rail users that may otherwise struggle to use digital alternatives, it is vital that you offer assurances that those rail users will still have access to the support they need to use our rail network with confidence. Research by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), for instance, has found that only 3% of people with sight loss said they could use a ticket vending machine without problems and 58% said it was impossible. I have no confidence that the current proposals by Northern would not lead to a significant reduction in support available to these passengers.
At Levenshulme, the proposals will see the station staffed by so-called ‘journey makers’ for only 24.5 hours per week, as opposed to 88.5 h that the ticket office is open at present. At Gorton, the staff station hours will drop from around 50 h per week to just 14 h. These are reductions of over 70% in staffed hours and reduce the time that customers with additional needs will be able to access and use our suburban stations. It is difficult to see this as the ‘modernisation’ that the RDG claim we need and not merely a cynical cost cutting exercise at a time when we should be encouraging more people to use our railways, not making it harder.
Given these serious concerns, I would appreciate answers to the following questions:
- What will happen to the rail staff currently deployed in rail ticket offices at Levenshulme and Gorton stations?
- What will the impact be on their job security?
- What the impact of ticket office closures will be on the safety and accessibility of the local rail network for disabled and older passengers at Levenshulme and Gorton stations.
- When will digital and pay as you go ticketing technology be available across the whole of your existing network?
Passengers in Manchester are already suffering due to the chaos on our railways. They should not have to face any further disruptions to their travel plans due to rushed changes to our rail networks. Hundreds have written to me or signed my petition with messages expressing their shock at these proposals. Meanwhile, it is vital that staff have clarity about their job security and that vulnerable passengers have certainty that they will not be forgotten about as changes are made to the way our stations operate.
I have submitted a copy of this letter to the official consultation, along with the petition and messages from constituents. I will also be presenting the petition in the House of Commons when we return from recess.
I look forward to hearing from you.
My letter to the Secretary of State for Transport:
Dear Secretary of State,
Levenshulme Station and Gorton Station ticket office closures
I am writing on behalf of my constituents in the Manchester Gorton constituency regarding plans to close railway ticket offices at Levenshulme Station and Gorton Station by Northern, as well as by Avanti at Manchester Piccadilly, and at over forty other stations across Greater Manchester.
As you know, on 5th July the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) confirmed plans to move staff out of ticket offices and, nebulously, ‘into stations’, with the consultation on these significant changes to last just 21 days. I found the length of the consultation on such a radical change to our railways disgracefully short, and frankly you should be ashamed that this has been approved by your Department.
This news is deeply worrying to my constituents, many of whom have taken the time to get in touch with me. This includes those who are elderly and disabled, alongside the hundreds of thousands of people employed in our rail industry, the staff employed at Levenshulme and Gorton stations, and all those who rely on the support and advice provided by staff in ticket offices.
You will be aware that one in nine tickets are still sold at physical ticket offices. That represents over 150 million of the 1.4 billion rail journeys recorded over the past year. But it is wrong to assume that the role of ticket offices and staff is purely about selling tickets. They help and support customers with routes, pricing, delays and access, and are a vital part of the local community. At Levenshulme, the station staff – always supported by the operating company – have always been proud to be engaged with our local Friends group, and support initiatives such as the swap library hosted at the station. It is likely that with a such significant reduction in staffing, many of these initiatives will be forced to end.
Further, the fact that many of those passengers relying on ticket offices will be older people and disabled rail users that may otherwise struggle to use digital alternatives, it is vital that you offer assurances that those rail users will still have access to the support they need to use our rail network with confidence. Research by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), for instance, has found that only 3% of people with sight loss said they could use a ticket vending machine without problems and 58% said it was impossible. I have no confidence that the current proposals by Northern and other operators would not lead to a significant reduction in support available to these passengers.
At Levenshulme, the proposals will see the station staffed by so-called ‘journey makers’ for only 24.5 hours per week, as opposed to 88.5 h that the ticket office is open at present. At Gorton, the staff station hours will drop from around 50 h per week to just 14 h. These are reductions of over 70% in staffed hours and reduce the time that customers with additional needs will be able to access and use our suburban stations. It is difficult to see this as the ‘modernisation’ that both the Government and the RDG claim we need, and not merely a cynical cost cutting exercise, and part of a strategy of managed decline on behalf of the Government.
Passengers in Manchester Gorton are already suffering due to the chaos on our railways. They should not have to face any further disruptions to their travel plans due to your poor management of our rail networks.
Under this Government, private operators have been allowed to profit whilst cancellations have reached record highs, basic services like Wi-Fi are at risk of being taken away, plans to bring forward legislation to reform services have been scrapped and now ticket offices are facing closures without thought for the vulnerable users that rely on them.
Our rail network is already failing passengers in Manchester and is in desperate need of reform. But my constituents have long lost confidence in your Government to deliver a rail network that works for passengers.