Plans to close Chesterfield ticket office labelled "dangerous" by campaigners

The Rail Delivery Group recently announced plans that could see up to 1,000 ticket offices across the country closed - including in Chesterfield. The group said ticket kiosks would remain in large stations whilst staff elsewhere would sell tickets on concourses but there was anger that commuters were given only 21 days to engage in a public consultation.

Members of Chesterfield and District TUC held a demonstration at the station on Tuesday, July 18 where they handed out “save our railway ticket offices”.

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Cllr Anne-Frances Hayes said the demonstration had received strong support and the proposals would make the train station a “much scarier place”.

She said: “Ticket offices are a lifeline especially for women and travellers late at night and the early morning. They’re going to be a much scarier place to be in (without ticket offices) and they also help navigate us through the ridiculous complex pricing system we have in the railways at the moment. It would be a much scarier place without these guys and girls in there.”

James Eaden, Chesterfield and District TUC member, added: “We think these closures will be a really, really bad idea for both the travelling public and obviously workers who work in the ticket offices themselves.

“There’s a myth that they’re not used at all - they are used widely and particularly for any passenger who is disabled or has issues about travel: they need that help and assistance.”

When announcing the consultation the Rail Delivery Group said any closures would be in an effort to reduce costs but were unable to say how many jobs could be lost as a result.

The RDG claims that only 12% of train tickets are bought from kiosks at stations - down from 85% in 1995.

But the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) said closures would be “hugely detrimental” for blind and partially sighted people.

Vivienne Francis, chief social change officer at the RNIB, said: ““The Government claims it wants to "bring staff out from behind the glass" but in truth, it risks leaving blind and partially sighted people behind a new barrier.”