๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐.
Under plans put forward by Great Western Railway, ticket offices in Penzance and St Erth were threatened with closure and a consultation took place over the summer. The Transport Secretary has now said that the proposals did not meet the high thresholds of serving passengers set by Ministers, and asked train operators to withdraw their proposals.
Derek Thomas MP has always made his views clear about the plans for our local ticket offices to Great Western Railway as the local MP for West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Derek Thomas said, "This is great news and I want to say a particular thank you to the thousands of people who supported our campaign to save our ticket offices and who worked hard to make this happen, such as local campaigner Mary-Jane Willows who spent days out in front of Penzance station collecting signatures for a petition to keep the ticket office open."
In total 2,075 people took part in the official consultation in support of Penzance Ticket Office (this is 10% of the total objections to station specific GWR ticket office closure plans).
This was the highest figure on the GWR network and nearly 900 more people than the campaign to save Stroud ticket office which enjoyed the second highest show of support.
The Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, said; โThe consultation on ticket offices has now ended, with the Government making clear to the rail industry throughout the process that any resulting proposals must meet a high threshold of serving passengers.
โWe have engaged with accessibility groups throughout this process and listened carefully to passengers as well as my colleagues in Parliament. The proposals that have resulted from this process do not meet the high thresholds set by Ministers, and so the Government has asked train operators to withdraw their proposals.
Derek Thomas added, "This means a great deal to all those who rely on the excellent staff at the ticket office to plan their journey, get the best price and be confident that the tickets they purchase meet their travel needs."
