Railway Stations in Cumbria: Staffing Changes

Opened the debate

Tim Farron is concerned about the proposed staffing changes in Cumbria that would lead to the closure of ticket offices at several stations, including Penrith, Oxenholme, Appleby, Windermere, Grange-over-Sands and Ulverston. He highlights that these closures will significantly impact rail users, especially those with disabilities and older populations who rely on staff for assistance. The proposed staffing changes would result in reduced hours of operation at these stations, making them inaccessible to many residents and visitors.

Government Response

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McDonagh. I thank the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) for securing this important debate on staffing changes and ticket offices in his constituency. Together with the rail industry, we want to improve and modernise the experience for passengers by moving staff out from behind the ticket office screens to provide more help and advice in customer-focused roles. There are currently about 980 Department for Transport-regulated ticket offices; 43% of them do not have any ticket office facility. People are still able to use those stations to access trains despite the shift in how passengers purchase tickets, with only about one in every ten transactions now taking place in a ticket office, down from about one in three ten years ago. The rail industry launched consultations on the future of ticket offices under the ticketing and settlement agreement process, which yielded more than 680,000 responses. We expect train operators to work collaboratively with independent passenger bodies during the remaining weeks to respond to concerns raised. Where agreement cannot be reached, individual cases may be referred to the Secretary of State for Transport. The TSA guidance is clear that a wide range of factors should be considered including customer support, security at stations, modernised retail practices such as pay-as-you-go ticketing, and support for passengers with disabilities or other equalities-related needs. I reiterated at the last Westminster Hall debate that no currently staffed stations will be unstaffed as a result of the reform, with staff still there to provide assistance and additional support where needed. Should ticket offices close following the process, we would expect staff to be redeployed and multi-skilled to provide advice and assistance across stations. Exact arrangements will vary operator by operator and will be the subject of collective bargaining with the trade unions. The Office of Rail and Road's latest annual consumer report highlights that Passenger Assist booking has significantly increased since last year, which is why I believe bringing staff out from behind glass screens to help those who need assistance is a step in the right direction.