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05
Jul 2023
Harrogate survives mass cull of train station ticket offices
Harrogate has been spared in today's announcement that hundreds of train station ticket offices in England will close.
The Rail Delivery Group, the industry body which represents train companies, proposed the closures of almost 1,000 ticket offices, saying it would move staff to “more face-to-face support for customers”.
Northern plans to shut 131 ticket offices — but Harrogate, plus others including Blackburn, Blackpool, Leeds and Skipton, will remain open on amended hours.
Harrogate ticket office will be open from 6am until 6pm Monday to Saturday, as opposed to its current hours of 6.15am until 7pm, and from 9am until 5pm on Sundays.
Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said the "traditional ticket office is no longer required at most staffed Northern stations" as only one on six journeys were paid for through a ticket office.
She added:
Read more:
- Councillor outlines plans for new train station in Harrogate
- Harrogate rail line ‘close to capacity’, says report
Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said the decision to retain Harrogate ticket office "will be welcome news to passengers who value the ability to buy tickets face-to-face". He added:
Consultation on today's recommendations runs from today until July 28. You can have your say here.
Brian Dunsby, of the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, said:
Of the stations between York and Leeds on the Harrogate line, Horsforth is earmarked by Northern to have its ticket office closed.
Knaresborough Train Station
Other stations, such as Knaresborough, do not have offices and instead have machines for passengers to buy tickets.
The decision to close ticket offices elsewhere in the country was condemned by trade unions.
Mick Lynch, general secretary at the RMT, described it as "a savage attack on railway workers, their families and the travelling public", adding:
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