Plans scrapped to close rail ticket offices in Maidenhead, Windsor and Slough

Railway ticket offices in Maidenhead, Windsor and Slough will no longer be shutting after the Government shelved plans for nationwide closures.

The future of ticket offices across the country have been under threat after train operators put forward plans to close all ticket office windows by December 2024.

The Rail Delivery Group said its proposals would allow the railway to respond to a ‘generational shift in customer behaviour’ which has led to an average of 12 per cent of rail tickets being sold at ticket offices this year, compared to 82 per cent in the 1990s.

Transport secretary Mark Harper confirmed today that the Government has asked train operators to withdraw their proposals.

He said in a statement: “We 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.”

The Department for Transport said it plans to continue working to reform the country’s railways with measures such as the expansion of contactless pay as you go ticketing.

Jacqueline Starr, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, said: “These proposals were about adapting the railway to the changing needs of customers in the smartphone era, balanced against the significant financial challenge faced by the industry as it recovers from the pandemic.

“At a time when the use of ticket offices is irreversibly declining, we also want to give our people more enriching and rewarding careers geared towards giving passengers more visible face-to-face support.

“While these plans won’t now be taken forward, we will continue to look at other ways to improve passenger experience while delivering value for the taxpayer.

“Our priority remains to secure a vibrant long-term future for the industry and all those who work in it.”