Last chance to have your say in station ticket office shutdown row

Embattled trade unionists who have slammed plans to dramatically slash the operational hours of Cumbernauld station’s ticket office are not alone after MSP Mark Griffin and others took issue with the cutbacks.
Critics of potential changes say that rail travel will become a less attractive optionCritics of potential changes say that rail travel will become a less attractive option
Critics of potential changes say that rail travel will become a less attractive option

Last week we reported that Scotrail wanted to make changes which would mean that the facility will only be open between 7.30am and 9am Monday to Thursday, and between 10.30am and 1.30pm on Saturday.

And it will be closed closed entirely on Friday and Sunday if plans go ahead.

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This means that a service which operated for 41 hours per week will now only operated for nine.

Fears were expressed by the RMT union that this would turn the unsupervised station complex into “a mugger’s paradise” and that the public were being denied the customer service they required.

Scotrail has insisted that the plans are in line with the degree to which the ticket office is being used. It insisted this week that ramp access for the disabled could also be arranged.

However Mr Griffin, who represents Labour on the Central Scotland List, said: “We’ve already seen routes slashed and fares hiked and now ticket offices are being hit. We should be encouraging more people to travel by train, not making it harder and less safe to do so. I’d encourage local people, especially those who will be directly affected by the changes, to take part in the consultation and make their views known.”

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That call was reinforced by the Scottish Socialist Party in Cumbernauld whose spokesperson Andy Locke said “ “This proposal is completely a step in the wrong direction.

"The party believes that these measures will put people off travelling on Scotland’s Railways and will reduce the money available for investing in improving services for passengers and negatively effect the battle against climate change.

Feedback can be submitted on these proposed changes until Wednesday, February, 2 by either writing to Transport Focus Freepost (RTEH-XAGE-BYKZ), PO Box 5594, Southend on Sea, SS1 9PZ or by email to [email protected].​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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