Railway regret

Some journey times are being lengthened to accommodate timetable changes. Overcrowding remains chronic. And now, according to documents leaked to the rail unions, a raft of ticket offices could close under cost-cutting measures. The precise consequences are unclear – the suggestion to shut 675 offices was only discovered in the small-print of Sir Roy McNulty’s report into the future of the railway industry, though it was omitted from his executive summary.

If the stations in question were little used, there would be some justification for this move. However, they are not. Stations like Beverley, Garforth, Goole, Hebden Bridge, Malton, Rotherham Central, Menston, Selby and Cross Gates on the outskirts of Leeds are popular.

These staff do not just sell tickets. They are also advocates for the rail operators, providing help to those with more complicated queries – or those travellers without internet access.

Another point also needs to be made. Switching to automated machines and electronic information screens to inform passengers about possible delays may work on the continent, where trains operate like clockwork, but that cannot be said here.

In too many instances, passengers continue to be treated like second class citizens who are not deserving of first class service or accurate information. As such, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond should not hesitate to halt this programme of cuts until the rail operators show that their consumer procedures are far more robust. For, rather than penalising the passenger yet again, how about achieving savings from the vast bureaucracy that supports the inefficient railway industry?