South Western Railway rethinks ticket office plan after outcry

A train company that planned to close ticket offices is rethinking the proposal after feedback from visually-impaired passengers.

South Western Railway (SWR) said it was working to ensure staff would be on-hand to help in stations.

Under the original plans, hundreds of staffed kiosks across England were set to be closed over the next three years, in favour of self-service machines.

Affected rail users say they still have concerns over the revised proposals.

Ms Cole said it was "essential" for some people to have a human being help them at railways stations

SWR spokesman Mark Lever said the revised plan would see staff brought out from behind the kiosk windows, to be made available across the station.

He added the company also planned to have an employee on every SWR train.

"What we do understand is we need people in our stations to help our customers make that transition," he said.

Sam Cole from Weymouth, Dorset is visually-impaired and regularly uses trains with her guide dog, Anouka.

She said she felt "frightened" at the idea of trying to get the train on her own and was still concerned by SWR's latest plans.

"How many people are going to be here? Who's going to put the ramp out for the wheelchair? Who's going to help elderly people buy a ticket on a machine they can't use?"

A national public consultation was held on plans to shut more rail ticket offices

"With all of the ticket machines that I've felt and experienced... the ordering screen is all touch-screen, that is completely inaccessible to blind people."

Chris Loder, MP for West Dorset, described the plans as "completely disingenuous".

He said: "We're actually seeing a proposal that's slashing staffing hours here by at least half and that is a real problem in a station that is as inaccessible as Dorchester South is."