Ticket Office Closures Stopped

Edinburgh West MP Christine Jardine has welcomed the success of the campaign she supported to prevent the closure of ticket offices on mainline routes from the city.

Operators on both the main East and West coast lines had tabled proposals, with government support, which Christine had spoken out against in the commons.

Welcoming news that operators had backed down Christine said:  “This is a victory for common sense and for recognising the need to make it easier for people to use public transport.

“For many people travelling to or from Edinburgh to stations like Berwick on Tweed and Durham, the prospect of unmanned stations would be a difficult tone.

“It would have reduced accessibility and at a time when we are tryibng to encourage people out of their cars this would not have helped.

“However the poor performance of our railways serving Edinburgh West continues to be unacceptable.”