Southern Rail staff set for fresh strike action next month

Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, said: "Both London Travel Watch and Transport Focus have knocked back the ticket office closure plans after RMT mobilised a huge public campaign of opposition.

"It now appears that not only are GTR planning to ignore that massive opposition to their cuts, but the consultation itself was fundamentally flawed and omitted a central aspect on the location of ticket machines that has severe consequences for our members.

"RMT is totally opposed to the closure or reduction in opening hours of ticket offices, cuts in station staff jobs and the introduction of lone working at stations, and the union will continue our fight against these attacks on our members' jobs, safety and living standards."

GTR is proposing to closed about 80 ticket offices and has said staff will be more visible and helpful to passengers if they are based on station concourses rather than in ticket offices.

A statement on Southern's website reads: “At some of our stations we know that our ticket offices sell fewer than 12 tickets per hour and the vast majority of customers don't use the ticket offices on a daily basis.

“At these stations we want our staff to become more available for all users of the station and ensure there is a visible presence on our station concourses where they can help customers with all of their queries, provide information, offer assistance and have the ability to sell tickets when needed.

"We already sell approximately 70 per cent of our tickets through ticket machines, online, smartcards, Oyster and contactless payments, and this trend is forecast to continue.

"However, we also know the importance of having staff members visible and available to help when needed."

Additional reporting by Press Association.