Thank you to more than 1300 residents who signed our petition against the plans to close ticket offices at over a thousand train stations.
After being extended, the public consultation closes today. If you haven’t yet done so, you can submit your objection to the plans by emailing ticketoffice.Northern@transportfocus.org.uk.
Over the summer St Helens Borough Labour councillors and members have been out at stations across the borough with our petition letting people know about the proposals, and we have submitted an objection to the plans with our petition and residents’ support as evidence of the strength of local feeling.
Read the objection from Council Leader David Baines and Deputy Leader Seve Gomez-Aspron below:
Dear Transport Focus,
On behalf of St Helens Borough Labour Group and more than 1300 local residents who have signed our petition at https://www.sthelenslabour.org/saveourticketoffices/, we are formally responding to this consultation to oppose the proposals to close ticket offices at our stations in Earlestown, Eccleston Park, Garswood, Newton-le-Willows, Rainhill, St Helens Junction, Thatto Heath and Lea Green.
In our borough, we have both the oldest staffed train station in the world at Earlestown, and we are shortly due to have one of the newest at Lea Green which is undergoing a £15m redevelopment.
We believe that properly funded, high quality public services are what people want and deserve. Closing ticket offices it totally contrary to that. It would hit all passengers but would affect the most vulnerable the hardest, and it would significantly harm rail services, further discouraging people from using public transport.
We strongly urge you to think again.
Regards,
Cllr David Baines, Leader of St Helens Borough Council and Labour Group
Cllr Seve Gomez-Aspron, Deputy Leader of St Helens Borough Council and Cabinet Member for Strategic Transport
Thank you to all those who supported our campaign to save ticket offices. Now we wait to see what rail operators and the government decide.
