Kidsgrove Station is included in the government’s proposals to shut down almost all of the 1,007 remaining station offices in England, except at the busiest stations, within three years in an attempt to “modernise” the railway.
The Rail Delivery Group who are responsible for the decision says it wants to modernise customer service, and that the industry is also under pressure from ministers to save money amid huge losses due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The closures will mean that passengers will have to buy their tickets from ticket machines or online. These closures will undoubtedly have a negative impact on older travellers who may not be confident using automated ticketing machines, or apps to buy their tickets.
Before implementing the changes, rail operators will be holding a short public consultation where they are inviting feedback on the plans.
The plans have caused outcry from many rail users where stations will be losing ticket offices with claims that taking ticket office staff away will be bad news for those with mobility issues, older people and people who are not well versed in the technology to use ticketing machines and apps
East Midlands Railways who manage Kidsgrove Station said:
“We are supporting an industry consultation on the modernisation of the industry so we can adapt to our customers’ changing travel patterns.”
We will be closing the ticket office at this station. This will be a phased approach over a 2 year period starting in the second half of 2023 based on those with the lowest usage being closed first.
Although the ticket office will close, we expect weekly visits from mobile staff at the station.”
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.