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Save Wakefield’s Ticket Office
Every year 2 million passengers use Wakefield Westgate station, with many relying on the ticket office to purchase their travel. Across the country, one in nine tickets are sold through ticket offices, with any changes affecting more than 150 million rail journeys a year. They also help passengers travelling late at night, those with disrupted journeys and assist with accessibility issues.
But now rail companies are consulting on closing most railway ticket offices, leaving offices at just the busiest stations. This means that LNER are currently planning to close the ticket office at Wakefield Westgate station.
After pressure from MPs and campaigners, the consultation has now been extended until 1st September. As Wakefield’s MP, I have already written to the Transport Secretary and LNER, but now it’s time to make your voice heard.
The consultation has now closed, but keep checking back for the latest campaign news!
Presenting my Bill in the House of Commons
LNER’s plans for Wakefield Westgate
LNER say that “we want to modernise the way we retail tickets and support our customers at this station. As a result, we are proposing to close the ticket office.”
At the moment, the travel office is open Monday to Friday 6am to 7pm, Saturday 7am to 7pm and Sunday 9am to 4pm.
If the changes go ahead, some ticket options would no longer be available from Wakefield Westgate and customers would be directed to York or Doncaster for Rail Cards, Photocards, Refunds and Rovers & Rangers tickets as well as refunds and seat reservations.
Under these plans, Wakefield Westgate would still be open and staffed from the first train to the last train each day, and LNER say that assistance with ticketing will be available during these times.
Labour’s plans for our railways
The rail network is under managed decline from this Conservative Government. Cancellations at record highs, reforming legislation abandoned and even wi-fi being potentially taken away.
The Tories have also scaled back Northern Powerhouse Rail and scrapped the HS2 Eastern Leg. The next Labour Government would keep these promises, building NPR and the HS2 Eastern Leg in full.
In England, four railways have now had to be nationalised under this Government’s watch. This cycle of private operators being taken over indicates that the rail system is fundamentally broken. So the next Labour Government would also put the public back in control of the public transport they depend on, by bringing railways back into public ownership as the current contracts expire.
As one of Labour’s Shadow Transport Ministers, I look forward to being part of the team that gets Britain’s railways and public transport back on track.
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