Esther McVey: 'I want Tatton ticket offices to remain open'

I have made it clear to all that I want the ticket offices at stations across Tatton to remain open for I know how much they are valued locally.

I met with the Rail Minister and Secretary of State who assured me jobs were not being lost, it was about taking the staff out of the office and to support passengers across the station - from help with tickets to helping them onto the train.

However, my constituents feel help would be better served from the ticket office.

In recent weeks people of all ages have told me how they value the staffed offices at Knutsford, Wilmslow, Handforth and Alderley Edge.

They rely on the knowledge of ticket office attendants to help them purchase the correct tickets for their journeys, often after having been given advice on ticket cost and connections.

If the office is closed how do passengers contact the member of staff?

By tannoy or a buzzer, most have said for ease they’d prefer they were in a fixed place another reason the offices should remain open.

I fed all these points back to ministers at the Department for Transport during my meeting.

That’s why I welcome the consultation so all these problems or misunderstandings can be ironed out and clarity can be sought on what will happen to the staff and from where they can best help customers - elderly, disabled, those with prams and young children.

A consultation into the proposed closures was extended allowing more people to contribute and will end this week.

I have formally lodged an objection, setting out my concerns and those of local rail users, rail groups and residents.

It is estimated about 12 per cent of people still need to or choose to buy their tickets from staff at a ticket office.  

There needs to be a solution that benefits everyone and ensure that those who want to or need to buy a ticket from a ticket office are not disregarded, isolated or stop travelling on our trains.