Hartlepool to survive threatened cuts to train station ticket offices

By Gavin Ledwith
Published 19th Jul 2023, 11:40 BST
Updated 19th Jul 2023, 11:40 BST
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Hartlepool’s main train station is to escape threatened cuts to ticket offices nationwide.

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents the operators of services, has announced plans to close nearly 1,000 offices across England.

They insist purchasing habits have changed with technological advances and that only 12% of tickets are now bought over counters.

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But critics fear that vulnerable customers will be marginalised with legal action promised in a bid to thwart the plans.

An artist's impression of how Hartlepool Railway Station will look after the £12m improvement project is completed later this year.An artist's impression of how Hartlepool Railway Station will look after the £12m improvement project is completed later this year.
An artist's impression of how Hartlepool Railway Station will look after the £12m improvement project is completed later this year.

In the meantime, a public consultation period has started over the proposals.

Rail operator Northern, which runs Hartlepool’s main station, aims to close 131 of its 149 ticket offices.

Hartlepool is one of the 18 – and one of only two in the North East alongside Newcastle – to survive.

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Under the proposals, the ticket office would open seven days rather than six.

Northern’s consultation document states that it would open 6am-6pm from Mondays-Saturdays and 9am-5pm on Sundays.

It currently opens 7.25am-6pm from Mondays-Saturdays and is closed on Sundays.

The station is undergoing £12m of improvements with Northern promising “an uplift” in services once a footbridge and second platform are opened later this summer.

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Northern, meanwhile, plans to introduce “journey maker” roles at stations if the closures are approved.

The firm insists: “They’ll be available in other areas of the station to help customers face to face with a wide range of needs.

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"This includes supporting people who need extra help travelling through our stations and onto trains.”

Comments on the proposals must be submitted by 11.59pm on Friday, July 28, via email to [email protected]

They can also be posted via freepost to RTEH-XAGE-BYKZ, Transport Focus, PO Box 5594, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 9PZ

Related topics:HartlepoolEnglandNewcastleNorth East