Consultation to close railway ticket offices including Morecambe and Lancaster extended for number of weeks

It means passengers will now have until September 1 to complete the consultation, which they can do online on their local train company website or by visiting https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/

In increasing the time available, train operators say they are listening to feedback and hope that more people will have the opportunity to have their say in to changes to how tickets are sold at stations.

Together with the extensive and on-going engagement with accessibility groups, as well as the independent passenger watchdogs scrutinising the proposals, the responses will shape final plans so that all passengers are supported as railway retailing is updated for the smartphone era.

In addition to these proposals, the rail industry continues to roll out improvements to ticketing such as pay as you go and single leg pricing.Although local plans vary, overall the proposals aim to bring staff out from behind ticket office windows to provide more support for customers buying tickets and navigating stations, as they move in to new, multi-skilled ‘customer host’ roles.

An estimated 99% of all transactions made at ticket offices last year could be made online or on ticket vending machines (TVMs).

Where needed, TVMs across the network will be upgraded to sell a greater range of tickets and in rare cases where customers are unable to buy the ticket they need at a station, they would be able to buy on their journey, at a ticket selling facility en-route or at their end destination.

Jacqueline Starr, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, said: “Train companies have listened to feedback, and are extending the time available to respond to the consultation on changes to how tickets are sold at stations to September 1.

"Operators are keen to give more people a chance to give their views on the proposals, so they can bring the railway up to date with dramatic shifts in customer buying habits, while supporting all its customers as the railway evolves and adapts.”

Full details of the proposals and the public consultation can be found at https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/consultation for Lancaster ticket office or https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/consultation-2023 for Morecambe ticket office.