Train commuters in despair as ticket office due to close months after re-opening
Commuters at a station where the ticket office is earmarked to close just months after it opened were in despair at the decision.
Hattersley station cost £570,000 to redevelop and looks brand new. Well, it should, it only opened in February 2023 with local dignitaries cutting a ribbon and praising the move after years of battling for a train station on the sprawling estate in east Manchester.
But today an official poster proclaimed it was earmarked to close alongside a poster advertising a public meeting to campaign to keep it open.
Stalybridge and Hyde MP and shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds hailed as "part of what I think is perhaps the most successful regeneration project in the north of England, which is Hattersley as a whole".
It comes as union leaders issued an urgent plea to passengers to join the fight against the mass closures, which will see almost every ticket office axed.
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Members of the public have just seven days left to have their say on the proposals put forward by train operators to shut ticket offices at 974 stations across England. The consultation - which only started a fortnight ago - will close on July 26, which is next Wednesday.
David Southern, 74, said the ticket office is 'vital' for older people (CHRIS NEILL)
19-year-old Tobias Chambers thinks it was a ridiculous decision (CHRIS NEILL)For 19-year-old Tobias Chambers it was a ridiculous decision. “Look it has only just opened its doors,” he told the Mirror, speaking at Hattersley station.
“It should be kept open, I get most of my tickets online but when my grandma comes to visit she doesn’t get tickets online and has missed trains dithering around at the machine. Just leave it as it is.”
Andrew Sagar, 33, also buys tickets using an app but added: “There are plenty of people who don’t use them. The ticket office is a good thing and it serves everyone around this area.”
David Southern, 74, said: “I’m partially sighted so I have a pass which I use but for a lot of people the ticket office is vital, especially older people.”
Eighteen-year-old Tracy Chambers was shocked by the news: “What, they’ve only just opened the doors and they want to shut it. Before the ticket office there was a machine and quite often it was broken. It meant you couldn’t get a ticket and if there was no-one on the train to buy one from you would find yourself at the other end being threatened with a fine which just wasn’t fair.”
Hattersley station only opened in February (CHRIS NEILL)Eighteen-year-old Thomas Owen said: “Honestly I support everything the RMT and the other rail unions are doing. They want to make sure everything is safe and that people get the service they deserve. The ticket office closing is just another symptom if the companies wanted to make as much profit as they can with as little investment as they can.”
Elderly and disabled could be hit hardest
Rotherham is also set to lose its ticket office, with fuming passengers warning the elderly and disabled could be the hardest hit by forcing customers to go online.
Retired nurse, Lyn Paul, 55, speaking outside Rotherham Central, said: “I think it’s terrible and feel for the elderly who don’t use online services. My dad’s got an iPad but he still gets stuck and needs help.
"Nobody is happy about this. Human contact is really important and sometimes you need help to work out which train you have to get. It’s not always so straightforward. It’s just another example of everything being squeezed or privatised. You get sick of it and it’s why I took early retirement.”
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Art student Amelia Rowland, 17, said: “I normally book online but the other day I lost my phone on the bus so I couldn’t get tickets online. That would stop me seeing my friends or going to concerts.”
The majority of ticket offices across England are set to close (CHRIS NEILL)
A notice showing the proposed closure of Hattersley ticket office (CHRIS NEILL)Dad-of-three Michael Afolabi, 36, a factory worker in Rotherham, said: “This will hurt the disabled, the elderly and the blind. They can’t always go online and it’s less stressful for them to speak to someone.”
Graham Penn, 64, a security officer, said: “This is not fair. I like to deal with human beings. I worry it will get to the stage where there will be no cash and it will all be contactless. We need to keep them open and I feel so sorry for the staff who will lose their jobs.”
Paul Scott 37, a carer for his wife Emily Moule, 27, who have a three year old son called Noah, also blasted the move.
“What about the old people who haven’t got smart phones?” and Emily added: “It’s like they are abandoning them. This will hurt the town.”
Paul said: “I’m going to Cornwall now and I’m dyslexic so I find doing it online hard and need help and support. I can ask someone how much it will cost. My mam could not do that either because she’s old and would struggle. She wouldn’t understand.”
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