Ticket office U-turn ditches hated rail policy but where will savings come from now?

Unpopular proposal for England came on back of crisis that has engulfed the industry in Britain since Covid hitRail ticket office closures in England scrapped in government U-turnSo, welcome back, ticket offices – not yet four months after their wholesale closure across England was announced by train operators. Back then rail executives breezily assured us that virtually no one bought an actual ticket from a person in an office: just for 13% of journeys, in an era of trains filled by happy smartphone users.But then it turned out, according to the passenger watchdogs who compiled and analysed 750,000 responses to the public consultation, every single one of the 1,007 menaced offices needed to stay open after all. Transport Focus – independent, but not notable for outspoken condemnation of either industry or government – said serious concerns remained despite long discussions over the detail of options proposed by train operators to serve all passengers.