“No plans” to close Rotherham Central station’s ticket office say transport bosses

Councillor Tony Griffin, Labour councillor for the Sitwell ward, told the South Yorkshire’s transportation advisory board that local residents had raised the issue of the ticket office being “on a list for closure”.

Coun Griffin told the local democracy reporting service: “A couple of residents with disabilities have brought it to my attention.

“We as councillors, we can’t do very much – councils don’t run these things anymore.

“I don’t think [the station] is easy to get into and around, and the people that brought it to my attention needed the help of station staff.

“If they were taken away, there would be a problem.”

A response from the Transportation Advisory Board states: “Any closure of rail station ticket office would need to go through a rigorous consultation process, which would include an Equality Impact Assessment.

“There are no plans to close Rotherham rail station ticket office and mention of ticket office closures have come about during the recent industrial action and speculation from the unions.

“To avoid any doubt there are no plans to close Rotherham rail station ticket office.”

A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, said that “no decisions have been taken over ticket offices”.

“The pandemic has been an unprecedented financial shock to the railway. While no decisions have been taken over ticket offices, with the acceleration of changing travel patterns and more passengers migrating to digital technology, many jobs will need to change to become more passenger-centric,” said the spokesperson.

“Train companies want to work with unions on how to address those changes, while making sure the industry takes no more than its fair share from the taxpayer.”

A spokesperson for the The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) said that ticket office closures “will begin as part of a rolling programme that could start as early as October this year and consultation could begin sooner than that.

“The Rail Delivery Group have confirmed to RMT negotiators this will happen and they aim to complete the process in 18 months.”