Penrith and the Border MP Neil Hudson is on board with the campaign to save the town’s railway station ticket office from closure.
Speaking after a protest which was held at the station’s forecourt last week, Dr Hudson said: “I implore Avanti West Coast to maintain Penrith’s ticket office and keep our public transport services on track.”
The station’s ticket office is one of about 1,000 nationwide which rail union the RMT says the Government and train companies like Avanti — which operates the Penrith North Lakes Station — are looking to close as part of wider plans to cut staffing and costs.
Nicola Hawkins was one of four Penrith town councillors who joined the protest to support the staff of Penrith station.
“They are incredibly worried about what is going to happen to our ticket office here in Penrith. I am worried, too, I am a regular passenger and I can stand testament to their hard work,” said Ms Hawkins.
“They go above and beyond here to reach out to the community. You can see that if you just walk into the booking hall and see all the different community work that they support, from mountain rescue to the community gardeners.”
Ms Hawkins said she had been helped by the ticket office staff and sees other people being helped by them all the time.
It was not just the elderly and disabled seeking advice, said Ms Hawkins, but people of all ages, both young and old, who ask all sorts of questions, including where things are in Penrith, as well as travel information.
“They are a really vital part of our community,” said Ms Hawkins, who added that she really hoped the area’s MP would “get on board” with the campaign.
“Avanti are not really coming clean about what their priorities are and what the changes would actually mean for us in terms of the service we get here and I can see that that is why the staff are so worried.
“What we really need is for our MP and for as many other people as possible to keep putting the pressure on Avanti so that they can understand just how important it is to us,” she said.
Craig Johnston, who is the lead officer for Avanti West Coast for the RMT, said: “It has been an excellent turnout in Penrith which goes to show how concerned people are at the possibility of any reductions in the ticket office and the potential closure of the ticket office at this particular location and at others across the country as well.
“I think people need ticket offices. They make the railway much more accessible to everybody. I think that de-staffing the railways is a really retrograde step and the people of Penrith have said that today in the numbers that have turned out to this protest.”
There were also protests at Carlisle, Oxenholme and Windermere stations. Mr Johnston said: “People don’t understand that this is on the agenda of the Government, the Rail Delivery Group and the train operating companies and they are really taken aback when you tell them that this is a possibility.
“It is more than a possibility, though. I am in the negotiations.
“I know that this is what the Rail Delivery Group want to do. They want to physically close every ticket office in Britain and I think that will be appalling for people with disabilities, for people with access issues.
“It will also be appalling for the economy, for local communities, and it will be bad for tourism. People get off the train at Penrith and they go into Keswick and they go into the Lake District. Some people need advice and information about how to do that and how to get there and that won’t be available to them with these ticket office closures.”
Dr Hudson said: “With poor mobile signal and broadband speeds in areas across Penrith and the Border, an in-person ticket office is such a valuable resource for people here.
“As such, I’ve written to both the Department for Transport and Avanti West Coast, urging them to maintain Penrith’s ticket office.
“From the emails and phone calls I’ve received on this issue, it’s clear the strength of feeling among our communities and I’d like to reiterate that it’s always been a policy of mine to make it as easy as possible for passengers to travel on our railways.
“Better connectivity, both with transport and digitally has been a key pillar of my campaigning since being elected to Parliament and although we are making progress with broadband rollout and transport for schoolchildren, there is clearly a long way to go.
“As modern ticketing and payments methods roll out more widely, the Government has promised to ensure that all passengers are able to buy a ticket including those who need to use cash or do not have access to smartphones or the internet.
“On a personal level, I much prefer meeting our hard-working station staff who provide such a great service when I’m traveling between Westminster and my home in Brampton.
“Again, I implore Avanti West Coast to maintain Penrith’s ticket office and keep our public transport services on track.”
