Cumbria ticket office cull 'will give tourists a bad welcome'

The Rail Delivery Group says the changes are long overdue following a 'collapse' in numbers using ticket offices

A tourism boss has criticised plans to shut several rail station ticket kiosks in the Lake District, which he says would give visitors a "bad welcome".

Operators have proposed to shut nearly all booking offices across England as part of cost-cutting measures, barring large stations.

The Rail Delivery Group said only 12% of tickets were bought from offices.

However, Cumbria Tourism president Jim Walker said train journeys needed to be "pleasant, not stressful".

The proposals were announced on 5 July, with a 21-day public consultation due to end on 26 July.

While some ticket kiosks would remain in large stations, elsewhere staff would sell tickets on concourses.

Cumbria Tourism fears visitors to smaller stations such as Windermere would be unable to access help

Mr Walker told BBC Radio Cumbria it was "really bad news" for visitors to Cumbria which he said could leave overseas tourists left struggling.

"You judge a destination by the warm welcome that you get," he said.

"If you are abandoned on a station and haven't got a clue what you are doing - perhaps in Windermere on a Sunday or at Oxenholme, which is a major interchange for people coming up from Manchester Airport or from the south having flown in - that is a really bad welcome to the area."

About 15.8m visitors come to the Lake District each year, according to the Lake District National Park

He said customer inquires should have been counted towards the plans.

"A lot of people go to booking offices to ask for information, journey planning, advice, bits of information and they are not logged anywhere," he added.

"I understand the pressure on the finances but this is completely the wrong time to do it, when we are trying to get our public transport systems back on track."

A campaign has been launched against the proposals

Several protests have been held over the plans, with fears over job losses.

Jacqueline Starr, Rail Delivery Group chief executive, said the proposals would mean "more staff on hand" to give face-to-face help with a "wider range of support".

"The ways our customers buy tickets has changed and it's time for the railway to change with them," she said.

"Our commitment is that we will always treat our staff, who are hugely valued and integral to the experience our customers have on the railway, fairly, with support and extra training to move into new more engaging roles."