Securing a U-turn on proposed train ticket office closures
In July 2023, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) announced plans to close all train station ticket offices in England and Glasgow. If successful, these proposals would have had a devastating impact on people with sight loss, who can rely on trains to travel independently.
Closing ticket offices would mean more blind and partially sighted people being reliant on inaccessible touch screen vending machines for tickets and information, but our research found that only three per cent of people with sight loss could use these without problems. Additionally, online ticket websites and apps are often full of accessibility issues and relying on these would exclude the large number of blind and partially sighted people without internet or smartphones.
Our immediate response to the plans achieved over 700 pieces of media coverage but we knew that success would require a persistent buzz to keep the issue prominent in people’s minds.
Together, with the support of campaigners across the country, and allies within the disability sector, we fiercely opposed these plans. We made sure our voices were heard, with national media coverage alongside encouraging campaigners to write to their local newspaper, using PR and social media to reach as many people as possible.
As well as taking part in the consultation itself, almost 2,000 people contacted their MP about this issue, reaching nine out of ten MPs. In a parliamentary debate, MPs from across the house shared emails from our supporters and referenced our stats to explain the real-life impact closing ticket offices would have.
The consultation reached 760,000 people in the UK, the largest ever response to a public consultation.
On 31 October 2023, the then Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, made a dramatic U-turn and asked train operators to withdraw their proposals.
RNIB thanks all our campaigners, many of whom are blind or partially sighted, for their hard work and commitment to stopping the closures. This campaign win would not have been possible without them. A fixed train ticket location and office staff available as the first point of contact for many kinds of staff assistance is essential for blind and partially sighted people to travel with confidence and independence.
Listen to our video below to learn about the importance of train ticket offices to blind and partially sighted people: