Protest against ticket office closures held outside Hastings station

The demonstration, called by Hastings Green Party, saw more than 30 people take part, waving placards.

The event was held in the wake of the recent announcement by rail companies on the proposed changes.

The ‘Save our ticket offices!’ protest was part of day of action called by the rail workers’ union, the RMT.

An RMT spokesperson said: “On the back of their announcement, they are issuing statutory redundancy notices for hundreds of railway workers, something RMT will fiercely oppose.”

General Secretary Mick Lynch added: “The decision to close up to 1,000 ticket offices and to issue hundreds of redundancy notices to staff is a savage attack on railway workers, their families and the travelling public.

“Travellers will be forced to rely on apps and remote mobile teams to be available to assist them rather than having trained staff on stations. This is catastrophic for elderly, disabled and vulnerable passengers trying to access the rail network.”

The union is encouraging members of the public to respond to a consultation’, which closes next Wednesday (July 26), using an online webtool: at https://tinyurl.com/save-our-ticket-offices.

A second protest at Hastings station, backed by Hastings Trades Council, will take place at 10am this Saturday (July 22).

Cllr Julia Hilton, Green councillor on Hastings Borough Council, said: “Any decision to close station ticket offices would be another short-sighted decision by a government that does not care about people who use public transport to get around.

“Being able to speak to someone is vital for many passengers and plans to close ticketing offices will make travelling by train more difficult for thousands of passengers, especially passengers with disabilities, those with limited mobility and parents travelling with children. We urge members of the public to take two minutes to respond to the current 'consultation' before it closes on July 26.

“We also encourage everyone to support local rail workers on their picket lines this month.”

On July 5, transport watchdogs London TravelWatch and Transport Focus launched public consultations on behalf of rail operators across the country, including Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), ‘to consider how tickets are sold and to improve customer service in the future’. GTR operates Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern services.

A GTR spokesperson said: “The proposal is to move ticket office colleagues out from behind traditional ticket office windows, which would close, onto station concourses The aim is to improve customer service and better reflect how most passengers now buy tickets – nine in 10 purchases are outside of traditional ticket offices. No station that is staffed today would become unstaffed; in-person help would still be available and accessibility support will continue.”