Protests over rail ticket office closures
The RMT's organised a national day of action - a demo has already taken place in Penzance
A series of protests against proposals to close railway station ticket offices is taking place today.
The national day of action's been organised by rail union the RMT, with demos taking place at stations including Exeter St David's and Exmouth.
GWR says the closures are down falling numbers with transactions at some stations falling below 15%.
But at Penzance station, where a protest has already taken place, that number is thought to be considerably higher - with MP Derek Thomas telling us it's more like 34%.
He says, "Some stations' ticket offices are really seldomly used, there's no doubt about that - it's not true of Penzance, and we need everyone involved to really make the case it's a ticket office that needs to stay open."
Former MP Andrew George was at the demo in Penzance on Tuesday - in a statement on his Facebook page, he said, "The plans are based on a fiction dreamt-up by remote and out-of-touch managers who have a naive faith in the infallibility of technology.
"They want to hide behind their ’smart’ systems, ‘apps’, and station concourse vending machines. Leaving frustrated and bewildered passengers to seek assistance from a few already harassed platform staff - if they can find them."
GWR says, "The consultations are happening as part of an industry-wide set of proposals that would mean ticket office staff would work on station platforms and concourses where they can be closer to customers. Subject to consultation, ticket offices could be phased out over a number of years.
"Ticket office staff would be freed up to work in other areas of the station where they are closer to customers and better placed to help, in line with models already in place at some Great Western Railway stations such as Newbury or Reading Green Park."
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "These industry-led consultations are about enhancing the role of station workers and getting staff out from behind ticket office screens and into more active, customer-facing roles that will allow them to better support all passengers.
"This is not about cutting jobs - no station which is currently staffed will be unstaffed as a result of these proposed reforms.
"We have been consistently honest about the need for our railways to modernise if they are going to survive. Reviewing the role of ticket offices - with the least busy selling only one ticket an hour - is a crucial part of this."
You can take part in the consultation here.