Railway ticket office closure plans scrapped

Plans to close hundreds of railway ticket offices across England have been scrapped.

The proposal to shut down ticket offices, which was announced in the summer, was argued by many campaign groups, not least by people with sight loss.

The government’s plans went out to consultation, with the decision to stop any railway ticket offices from closing confirmed on Tuesday, 31 October.

Concerns were raised not only by the Macular Society but many other sight loss charities who were concerned about the impact the closures would have on visually impaired rail users.

The Macular Society, Thomas Pocklington Trust, RNIB, Guide Dogs, Retina UK, Blind Veterans UK, Glaucoma UK, Visionary, SeeAbility and Fight for Sight all sent a letter for the attention of the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Mark Harper MP opposing the proposals.

Macular Society chief executive, Cathy Yelf said: “The decision to scrap these plans is welcome news to many people, including the sight loss community.

“There were a great deal of strong feelings against the plans and I am delighted people have been listened to and will be able to benefit from ticket office services up and down the country.”