Why Barnstaple train station's ticket office should stay open - Selaine Saxby

Great Western Rail have announced that they, along with other rail operators in England, will be closing ticket offices across their network.

Whilst at many stations, ticket offices are rarely used, that is certainly not the case in Barnstaple. For 45% of journeys made from Barnstaple the tickets are bought in the ticket office, and with the ticket machine more are bought at the station overall than online.

This will not surprise anyone who has travelled through Barnstaple station, its is a great community hub, welcoming to locals and tourists alike. Not only does it have a popular café, but the whole area is well cared for by volunteers such as Barnstaple in Bloom and Tarka Rail Association.

As the gateway to North Devon visitors have access to facilities such as bike hire and it is just a short walk to the bus station where people can take advantage of the £2 bus fare to explore along our coast and visit our beautiful countryside.

The ticket office is not just a convenient and friendly option for those who opt to use it, for many it is the only way to buy tickets. I recently attended a local Age Concern event where I heard first hand how isolated our older members of society can feel as businesses move online, and away from traditional cash and customer service.

Only 47% of their recent survey had a computer or laptop, and only 70% had a mobile phone. Of course, digital connectivity offers fantastic opportunities to rural areas, but we cannot move all of our services exclusively online when so many of us are either still lacking a reliable online connection or do not have the confidence or skills to use them.

As Chair of the All Part Parliamentary Group for Broadband I recently met with Simon Blagden, Chair of Building Digital UK, and Simon Fell MP, the Government’s newly appointed Rural Connectivity Champion to discuss broadband rollout. Whilst Project Gigabit, the Government’s £5 billion project to connect the UK, has done great work connecting isolated towns like Lynton and Lynmouth it is important that there is more coordination as we connect our most remote areas which are not necessarily attractive to commercial suppliers.

I also met with Wildanet who are committed to increasing the rollout of broadband in the harder to reach areas of Devon which currently lack a reliable connection. Their research shows what we all know, that reliable broadband not only connects communities but brings growth opportunities to level up rural areas like North Devon.

However, at present we need physical services like our ticket office, I met with Huw Merriman, Minister for Transport, to discuss why the Barnstaple ticket office should stay open and its role in our community. After working with the Department for Transport they have recently begun to incorporate rurality into their funding decisions, such as the awarding funding for the Tarka Trail in the recent Active Travel round. I hope they and Great Western Rail (GWR) also recognise the importance of services such as ticket offices in rural areas.

I will be meeting with GWR to discuss this further but I have also formally submitted into their consultation which is running until Wednesday the 26th July. Thank you to everyone who has written in to my office but I would also ask that people write directly into GWR’s consultation at https://www.gwr.com/haveyoursay.