Blackburn Council urged to back ticket office protest
Earlier this month it was announced Northern plans to close the ones at the Accrington, Burnley[1] Manchester Road and Burnley Central train hubs for good.
This would just leave the ticket office at Blackburn[2] station operating in East Lancashire.
Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidates for Hyndburn[3] and Burnley, Graham Jones and Oliver Ryan, immediately launched bids to save the threatened ticket offices, backed by Burnley Council leader Cllr Afrasiab Anwar.
Now Blackburn with Darwen[4] Council’s full forum meeting on Thursday will be asked to support the opposition to the closures.
The borough’s health boss Cllr Damian Talbot has tabled a motion for debate which says: “A key priority of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is in tackling digital exclusion and social isolation.
“This council therefore notes with dismay, the recent announcement of proposals for hundreds of train station ticket offices to close.
“These include nearby stations such as Preston (a mainline station with over four million passenger movements in 2021-22), Accrington[5] and Burnley – all of which will be used by Blackburn with Darwen residents.
“Not only do our railways provide a vital service in ensuring that our residents and communities stay connected, but they also form a key element of the climate change strategy.
“Government’s role should therefore be to encourage rail use and this announcement contradicts statements in support of increasing rail travel.
“The provision of ticket offices is vital in ensuring that those not in a position to purchase tickets online or via machines (including the elderly and those with learning difficulties) are able to do so and it is inevitable that many passengers will stop using trains if they are not able to continue booking tickets at ticket offices.
“This will be yet another lifeline cut off for potentially millions of individuals.
“This council therefore condemns the recent announcement of ticket office closures and requests that our chief executive and leader raise these concerns with the transport secretary and our local MPs.”
Northern’s chief operating officer Tricia Williams has said: “Only one in six journeys on Northern services are purchased through a ticket office, this compares to almost half of all journeys in 2018.
“We need to modernise to meet the changing needs of our customers.”