The planned widespread closure of railway station ticket offices in England has been scrapped.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the Government has asked train operators to withdraw their proposals, which were brought forward due to pressure from ministers to cut costs.
This is in response to watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch announcing they opposed every single planned closure due to issues such as the impact on accessibility.
Mr Harper said: 鈥淲e have engaged with accessibility groups throughout this process and listened carefully to passengers as well as my colleagues in Parliament.
鈥淭he 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.鈥
Plans to close the vast majority of station ticket offices in England, plus Avanti West Coast鈥檚 ticket office at Glasgow Central, were brought forward by train operators and their representative body, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).
This followed pressure from the 海角视频 Government to save money amid the drop in revenue caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
A train operator source told the PA news agency: 鈥淭here is quiet fury in the rail industry about where we鈥檝e got to.
鈥淭he plan was signed off by civil servants and ministers. They鈥檝e U-turned.鈥
In September, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggested closing ticket offices was 鈥渢he right thing for the British public and British taxpayers鈥 as 鈥渙nly one in 10 tickets are sold currently in ticket offices鈥.
Transport Focus and London TravelWatch were required to review each proposal to close a ticket office based on criteria relating to customer service, accessibility and cost-effectiveness, before deciding whether or not to object.
Anthony Smith, chief executive of Transport Focus, said 鈥渟ignificant amendments鈥 to the plans were secured, such as reverting to existing staffing times at many stations.
But he added that 鈥渟erious overall concerns remain鈥 over issues including how so-called welcome points would work, how operators would sell a 鈥渇ull range鈥 of tickets, and how excessive queues at ticket machines would be avoided.
RDG chief executive Jacqueline Starr said the proposals were about adapting the railway to the changing needs of customers 鈥渋n the smartphone era鈥, balanced with the 鈥渟ignificant financial challenge faced by the industry鈥.
She continued: 鈥淲hile these plans won鈥檛 now be taken forward, we will continue to look at other ways to improve passenger experience while delivering value for the taxpayer.鈥
Labour鈥檚 shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said: 鈥淭hese shambolic plans have fallen apart under scrutiny.
鈥淭he Government failed to come clean on the impact of these proposals for accessibility and job security and now have been forced into a humiliating climbdown, disowning the very proposals ministers championed from the start.鈥
Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union general secretary Mick Lynch said that it was a 鈥渞esounding victory鈥 for the campaign against the closures.
He added: 鈥淲e are now calling for an urgent summit with the Government, train operating companies, disabled and community organisations and passenger groups to agree a different route for the rail network that guarantees the future of our ticket offices and station staff jobs, to deliver a safe, secure and accessible service that puts passengers before profit.鈥
Katie Pennick, campaigns manager at accessibility charity Transport for All, said: 鈥淲hile we are proud of the incredible tenacity of disabled people and our community for securing this major campaign victory, the outcome is bittersweet.
鈥淭he disastrous and discriminatory proposals should never have been put forward.鈥
