Campaign and petition email responses

Rail ticket office closures

The move to close almost all rail ticket offices in England is unacceptable and should be rolled back immediately.

Almost 1000 ticket offices face closure, which will be a devastating blow to commuters, especially the most vulnerable.

The Scottish Government’s advisors on accessible transport have described the move as “entirely unacceptable”.

It appears tory ministers know how bad the move will be for their constituents, with the Chancellor reportedly trying to protect his own constituency from the closures before they were announced.

While ScotRail had consulted on ticket office closures but did not go through with it in Scotland.

Unlike the Scottish Government, the UK is refusing to hear what the public want and is powering ahead with the closures. Rather than listen to the concerns of staff, rail companies are threatening to fire those that speak out.

While Scotland has mostly been protected from these closures due to ScotRail’s nationalisation by the Scottish Government, and therefore its prioritisation of public good over profit, Scots will still be negatively affected by closures in England when travelling across the border.

The SNP call on the UK Government to rethink this decision, and follow Scotland to nationalise the remaining private rail providers in England; ensuring that service run for the people, not for profit.

It is unacceptable that these closures, forced through with no negotiations by private companies in England, will affect Scottish stations.

As these companies are privatised and based in England, the Scottish Government cannot force them to remain open, only the UK Government can.

This is why the Scottish Government, and the SNP, call on Westminster to act and prevent closures.