'Huge victory' as railway ticket offices to remain open after mayors threaten legal action

A U-turn on plans to close nearly all railway station ticket offices in England has been hailed as a 'huge victory' by Labour mayors who threatened legal action over the proposal. The government has announced today (October 31) that the closures would not go ahead.

Ticket offices were set to close at around 50 stations in Greater Manchester - including Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport and Wigan North Western. In July, a public consultation on the controversial proposal by train companies was extended following a backlash.

However, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said this five-and-a-half-week extension was not enough. He criticised the proposal, arguing that it would have a 'huge impact' on passengers and disproportionately affect the disabled and most vulnerable.

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Joining forced with his mayoral counterparts across the country, he promised to pursue legal action if the consultation continued. The consultation has now ended and today (October 31), the government said it has asked train operators to withdraw their proposals.

Transport secretary Mark Harper said that the proposals do not meet the 'high thresholds' set by ministers and that the government is expecting train operators to withdraw them. Earlier this year, the Department for Transport said reviewing the role of ticket offices - which sell as little as one ticket an hour - was a 'crucial' part of modernising the railways which is needed if they are going to survive.

Just 12 per cent of tickets were sold at ticket offices last year with the rest bought online or from vending machines. The Rail