Southern railway unveils ticket office closure plan

Southern said more people were buying tickets online or with smartcard technology

Southern ticket offices could close or have their hours cut under plans to modernise, the rail operator has said.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which runs Southern and Gatwick Express, said more passengers were buying tickets online or using smartcard technology.

But the RMT union said stations would be less safe and campaigners said ticket offices were needed to help people with complex ticketing systems.

The plans affect 51 stations in London, Sussex and Surrey.

Under the proposals, some ticket windows will close and others will only be staffed at peak times.

GTR said the company wanted to modernise its operation, but all affected stations would be staffed for longer.

A GTR spokesman said: "Where sales from a ticket office are low, we will bring staff out from the ticket office on to the concourse as station hosts, where they will be readily available to help with ticket purchasing and offer assistance to passengers."

'Lone working fears'

Southern runs trains between London, Sussex and Surrey and in parts of Kent and Hampshire

But Paul Cox, from the RMT union, said stations would be less safe, staff and the public would be more vulnerable, and the union was concerned about both job losses and lone working.

He claimed Southern wanted to turn ticket offices into shops and said the scheme involved the loss of 93.5 posts.

Mr Cox said stations currently had "gateline" staff and ticket office clerks, but Southern wanted to create multi-functional gateline staff who could also carry out sales.

Under current arrangements, ticket office staff were able to phone police or call for assistance if gateline staff needed help, he said.

But he said: "When they take the ticket office clerk away, the individual will be on their own - and now they are going to ask him to collect money. We believe people will be vulnerable when left to collect money on their own."

Mr Cox said reducing staff would make stations less welcoming and less inviting and added: "The public obviously becomes more vulnerable."

He said the outcome would be the public "just won't use the service."

The closure of ticket offices on the London Underground prompted strike action

Similar plans on the London Underground led to a prolonged industrial dispute.

Steven Joseph, from the Campaign for Better Transport, said: "It's one thing to do this on the London Underground where the fare structure is relatively simple and London Underground have done that in London.

"It's another thing to do it when you've got this incredibly complex fare structure.

"It depends on how it works out in practice, I think we'll want to see what happens."

Southern said no ticket offices would close immediately and proposals would go through consultation, be discussed with London TravelWatch and Transport Focus and require approval from the Department for Transport.

The rail firm said it was talking to trade unions and there would be no compulsory redundancies.

The company runs rail services between London and the south coast, through Sussex, Surrey and parts of Kent and Hampshire.