ScotRail to press ahead with ticket office cuts at 54 stations

The Scottish Government-owned train operator said there would be no job losses, with staff redeployed, such as to check tickets.

The company announced on Thursday it plans to reduce opening hours at 54 ticket offices compared to 117 in the original plans in January 2022.

Proposals to close three offices - at Clydebank, Cartsdyke in Greenock and Woodhall, near Port Glasgow - were put on hold a month later and have now been withdrawn.

ScotRail said it also planned to increase hours at 12 offices. The changes, which follow a consultation by passenger watchdog Transport Focus, are expected to be introduced next year.

Opening hours will remain unchanged at the other 77 stations with ticket offices.

However, the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, ScotRail’s largest, described the cuts as “closure by stealth” and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) said it would “vehemently oppose” them.

Among the reductions, Kilmarnock’s ticket office will close at 6pm on Mondays to Thursdays compared to 11.35pm at present and 5.30pm under the original proposals. It will close at 7.45pm on Fridays, 6.15pm on Saturdays and 4.50pm on Sundays.

Paisley Gilmour Street, Scotland’s fourth busiest station, will have its office’s evening opening hours curtailed by up to nearly 90 minutes, closing between 9:45pm and 10pm - which were in the original proposals.

The ticket office at Partick in Glasgow, the fifth busiest station, will close two-and-a-half hours earlier, at 9pm on all, but Fridays and Saturdays, also in line with the original plans.

The one at Linlithgow, in Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop’s constituency, which is on ScotRail’s busiest line, between Glasgow and Edinburgh, will have its closing time brought forward from 11pm to 7.30pm on Mondays to Fridays, 6pm on Saturdays and 7pm on Sundays.

Among ticket offices which will have extended opening hours, Bathgate’s will close at 8pm on Mondays to Saturdays compared to 1.40pm-2pm. It will close at 7pm on Sundays compared to 2pm, but open an hour later at 9am.

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ScotRail said the moves had been prompted by a significant switch in ticket buying from offices to online and vending machines, with sales in offices halved over the past ten years. It said only 16 per cent of sales were at ticket offices and 90 per cent of them were at just 20 stations.

By contrast, 43 per cent of tickets were bought online or via the ScotRail app, and 20 per cent at ticket machines at stations.

ScotRail said passengers would benefit from staff being more visible at stations, including to tackle anti-social behaviour.

However, concerns have been raised about passengers who want the reassurance of having the correct ticket by buying it in person, and those without access to the internet or a mobile phone.

ScotRail customer operations director Phil Campbell said: “Transport Focus carried out an extensive consultation on these proposals, which received feedback from thousands of people across Scotland.

“We have listened to our customers and updated our proposals based on that feedback. These changes will provide a service that is better suited for today and the ticket-buying habits of our customers, as well as create an environment that improves safety and customer support.”

Transport Focus senior stakeholder manager Robert Samson said: “More than 1,500 people got in touch to share their views. Overall, they reinforced evidence from our existing passenger research that people value a visible staff presence at stations.

“Our discussions with ScotRail based on the consultation response led to amendments and revisions to original proposals, which we welcome.

“Transport Focus will now be seeking further reassurances from ScotRail on the issues raised by passengers, including the principle of redeploying staff at some stations from ticket offices to improve the overall offer to the passenger, on how this will be achieved.

“Passengers must be confident they can get help when needed and buy the right ticket in time for the right train.”

A spokesperson for the RMT, which represents the most ticket office staff, said: "We have a meeting tomorrow with ScotRail where our focus will be protecting jobs and the vital role that ticket offices have in supporting passengers throughout their journeys in Scotland.

“We will not accept the closure of ticket offices by stealth."

Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the TSSA, which also represents ticket office staff, said: “ScotRail’s announcement is disingenuous, amounting to little more than backdoor staff cuts and putting women and vulnerable passengers at risk.

“Without staffed ticket offices, there is a significant risk stations will become less safe, particularly for women.

“ScotRail’s claim that staff will remain in stations rings hollow when experience shows that staff are often reassigned elsewhere, leaving passengers without vital on-site support.”

Kevin Lindsay, Scottish organiser of train drivers’ union Aslef , said: “Booking offices are the focal point of stations. Having stations staffed brings greater security and makes stations a safer environment, which in turn encourages more people to travel.

“Having fewer staff at stations is a concern which we will be raising with ScotRail.”

Claire Baker, Scottish Labour's transport spokesperson, said: "This consultation has made clear how much Scots value face-to-face interactions with ticket staff.

"On-the-ground staff are a vital support for passengers especially those who are older, have disabilities, or caring for young children.”

Scottish Conservatives transport spokesperson Sue Webber said: “I am disappointed to learn that more ticket offices are seeing their opening hours reduced. The SNP claim they want to get more people out of their cars and onto public transport, but their shambolic handling of ScotRail is likely to have the opposite effect.”