Train ticket offices in Worcestershire threatened with closure

Every ticket office in Worcestershire except for Worcester Foregate Street would close under the new plans revealed by the railway industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).

West Midlands Railway, which runs trains between the city and Birmingham and towards Malvern and Hereford, said Worcester Foregate Street would become a ‘customer information centre’ which meant staff would be available throughout the week to assist passengers and help buy tickets.

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The other county stops on the line, including Bromsgrove, Kidderminster and Droitwich Spa, would all close.

West Midlands Railway said ticket offices at those stops would be manned by staff from new “mobile teams” on a “flexible” basis.

STAYING: Worcester Foregate Street would become a 'customer information centre' under the new plans meaning which means staff would be available throughout the week to assist passengers and help buy tickets

The ticket office at Worcester Shrub Hill would also close under plans by Great Western Railway (GWR).

GWR said it expects ticket offices at Worcestershire Parkway near Norton and Evesham to be closed by the end of 2024.

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Just over ten per cent of tickets at Worcestershire Parkway were bought from the ticket office, according to GWR, with 13 per cent of tickets purchased from the ticket office at Evesham station.

The Rail Delivery Group, which is made up of Network Rail and the various railway operators, said passengers would be asked to pay for journeys by tapping contactless cards on barriers, using self-service machines, or buying tickets from staff on station concourses or onboard trains.

The planned mass closures come after government transport secretary Mark Harper wrote to train operators asking them to cut costs.

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The RDG said moving staff out of ticket offices and onto platforms and concourses would “modernise customer service” and make “more staff available to give face-to-face help.”

A campaign to save the county’s ticket offices from closure has been launched by the Mid Worcestershire Labour Party.

A spokesperson said: “The planned closures are another example of the service provided to passengers being worsened despite the yearly price increases we have seen year after year.

“We oppose these proposed changes to ticket offices. We believe that ticket offices and station staffing must be protected in order to maintain passenger service, safety, security and accessibility.”