Fate of railway ticket booths to be decided

Ticket offices under threat of being axed in Thatcham, Theale, Pangbourne, Tilehurst, Goring and Streatley

THE fate of several railway ticket offices across the region under threat of axe could soon be decided.

The Department of Transport confirmed to Newburytoday.co.uk that the Transport Secretary Justine Greening is to make a decision on the future of 675 manned ticketing booths across England and Wales, including those in Thatcham, Theale, Pangbourne, Tilehurst, and Goring and Streatley “by the end of January”.

Reading West is also on the list, which was drawn up in Sir Roy McNulty's report, “Realising the Potential of GB Rail: Report on the Rail Value for Money Study”, as part of plans to cut costs and maximise revenue from Britain's railways.

Widespread condemnation of the proposals came from all sides.

A decision had been expected in November but the fallout from a Government scandal which saw former Defence Secretary Liam Fox removed from his post to be replaced by the then-Transport Secetary Philip Hammond caused delays.

Commuter group Railfuture argued that closing the manned booths and replacing them with automated ticket machines was poorly thought out, and without a human presence on the lines some of the stations could become a magnet for anti-social behaviour and even a danger to women.

The machines were labelled “unreliable” and criticised for not showing correct information.

Newbury Labour party began a “Save our Stations” campaign, backed by the national party's shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers, to highlight the fears, and collected thousands of signatures from commuters at the stations affected in West Berkshire.

Campaign organiser Richard Garvie, the Labour Party spokesman for West Berkshire, said the support from commuters was proof that the proposals were not wanted and that there was genuine concern about the safety of using a railway station that was not staffed.

The MP for Newbury Richard Benyon also expressed concern at the proposals, which he called “worrying”, and said could put people off train travel.

Rail unions warned of the “single biggest attack on the railways since the 1960s” following the publication of a list of stations across England and Wales set to lose their manned ticket offices.

A spokesman for Britain's largest specialist transport union RMT, general secretary Bob Crow, said the Government was “twisting the knife” into passengers and called for the plans to be scrapped.

Train operator Network Rail was the sole voice welcoming the proposed changes, which it said would “bring change for the better”.