Barnstaple Station ticket office to stay open as Government halts closure plans

The Government has scrapped plans to close hundreds of railway station ticket offices, which means the Barnstaple station office will stay open.

The original plans to close hundreds of offices across England and direct passengers to buying tickets from machines or online had sparked thousands of objections, with many fearing older or vulnerable passengers could struggle.

Today (Tuesday), Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the government had asked train operators to withdraw their proposals because they failed to meet high passenger standards.

Rail bosses are said to be ‘furious’ at the backtracking, the BBC has reported.

But North Devon MP has welcomed the decision to keep the ticket office at Barnstaple open, after she had written Mr Harper MP met with Railways Minister Huw Merriman.

The withdrawal of the proposal comes after the Transport Focus consultation ended on September 1. Transport Focus and London TravelWatch received 750,000 responses from people and organisations to the consultation.

A statement from Selaine Saxby’s office said more than 45 per cent of the ticket sales in Barnstaple were via the ticket office, the highest customer rate in the South West.

It said another statistic from the RNIB suggests that more than 76 per cent of people blind and partially sight person said they preferred buying their tickets from a person at a ticket office.

Ms Saxby said: “I am very glad that train companies and Transport Focus have listened and withdrawn their proposals to close the ticket office at Barnstaple train station.

“This is what consultations are for, I was against these proposals from the start, with 45.5% of ticket sales in Barnstaple made face to face at the ticket office, I did not see any reason to close it, when what we “”

“We can and should be doing more and moving forward, I would like to see GWR invest in our much loved Barnstaple station, enhance the facilities that we already have and make them even better so that residents and tourists can travel comfortably.

“I would like to thank every single one of you who have completed the consultation and have written to me about the closure because together we have made a real change to travel in North Devon.”

Devon County Council leader John Hart also welcomed the news, saying: “I wholeheartedly welcome and support the Government’s decision to tell railway operators to scrap plans to close ticket offices.

“The county council voted unanimously to oppose the closures and lobby strongly for them to be retained. Devon is a very rural county with a higher than average number of older people who often rely on this service.

“Our Cabinet member, Andrea Davis, who chairs the Peninsula Transport board, has also been very vocal in making our views known to the rail operators and Ministers. This is a sensible, commonsense decision.”

In his statement, the Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “The consultation on ticket offices has now ended, with the Government making clear to the rail industry throughout the process that any resulting proposals must meet a high threshold of serving passengers.

“We have engaged with accessibility groups throughout this process and listened carefully to passengers as well as my colleagues in Parliament.

“The proposals that have resulted from this process do not meet the high thresholds set by Ministers, and so the Government has asked train operators to withdraw their proposals.

“We will continue our work to reform our railways with the expansion of contactless Pay As You Go ticketing, making stations more accessible through our Access for All programme and £350 million funding through our Network North plan to improve accessibility at up to 100 stations.”

North Devon Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Ian Roome said: “Today’s utterly predictable Conservative U-Turn on ticket offices is absolutely a victory for common sense and I am relieved that Barnstaple’s ticket office will now remain open.

“However, these proposals should have been shot down long ago. The nature of this last minute U-Turn just highlights how directionless this government has become. Lurching from bad decisions to embarrassing U-Turns is no way to run a country. North Devon and the UK as a whole deserves better.”

Speaking earlier this year, when the plans were first announced, Ian Roome said: “As the Leader of North Devon Council and a concerned resident of North Devon, I firmly believe that the ticket office in Barnstaple should remain open, as its closure would significantly impact a large portion of the population, particularly those with accessibility challenges and the older generation who are not as tech-savvy.

“Northern Devon is home to a diverse community, and accessibility remains a significant concern for many residents in this region. By providing a staffed ticket office, Great Western Railway ensures that passengers with disabilities, reduced mobility, and other accessibility issues can access essential travel services with ease.”