Railway ticket office closures could hit disabled people

Self-service ticket machines at railway stations have been used more and more in recent years

Plans to close dozens of ticket offices will remove the "rights" to travel by train from some disabled passengers, BBC Politics East has been told.

Caroline Coster, from Bedfordshire, had her hands and feet amputated after catching sepsis and uses a wheelchair,

She said the cut in staffed ticket offices would limit her freedom.

The Rail Delivery Group said fewer people were visiting ticket offices and the proposals would allow more staff elsewhere on stations to help people.

Caroline Coster had to have both her hands and feet amputated after she caught sepsis

Speaking on the first edition of BBC Politics East since Parliament resumed, Ms Coster said: "The railways are part of what gives me my freedom. If I have to use ticket machines it's going to cause me massive difficulties.

"Obviously [having] no hands makes putting numbers in and choosing options very difficult. Putting a debit card in and taking it out is a real challenge and I can't pick up a ticket either.

"Closing the ticket offices risks removing my right to turn up and go, like everyone else."

Nick Timothy, a former joint chief of staff to Prime Minister Theresa May, is the Conservative candidate who will be bidding to replace Matt Hancock in West Suffollk

Pippa Heylings, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the South Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency, said she had four stations in her area which could lose their ticket offices.

"People are saying 'I'm severely unimpaired because of my vision and I cannot use the ticket machine, nor do I use the internet, and therefore I feel my freedom to travel has been curtailed'," she said.

"My next-door neighbour who uses a wheelchair says the angle of the ticket machines means that when the sunlight's on it she can't see it. This is against the Equality Act."

Nick Timothy, the Conservative candidate for West Suffolk, said: "There are all sorts of ways in which technology can make transport better.

"So if there are staff at stations so that people with disabilities can access those trains and feel safe then that is fine, but it's about getting the balance right."

'Human touch'

Pam Cox, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Colchester, said: "The train companies' own risk assessment shows that they've acknowledged that there'll be an impact on people with disabilities.

"We want to digitise ticket sales but we also need a human touch in public transport."

In last week's parliamentary debate the rail minister Huw Merriman said the changes were about modernising the service, and with just 12% of tickets being bought at the station it made sense that staff were moved on to the platform or concourse to help passengers.

He said he expected the rail companies to take into account the needs of disabled passengers.

BBC Politics East was broadcast on Sunday, 17 September on BBC One and is available on the BBC iPlayer.