LABOUR'S parliamentary candidate for Carlisle, Julie Minns, has written to the managing director of Avanti West Coast urging him to rethink the proposed closure of the ticket office at Carlisle railway station.

In the letter - shared with The Cumberland News - the candidate draws on her experience working for disability charity Scope as one of the reasons she wants to see a delay to the proposed closure of all the ticket offices across the UK's rail network.

Noting that a large number of rail travellers who purchase tickets at physical ticket offices are older or disabled, Julie believes the closure will disproportionately affect Carlisle which has a higher-than-average percentage of residents aged over 64, and where one in five residents are disabled.

"These proposals are being rushed through with a speed that is uncharacteristic of Avanti," said Julie Minns.

"It is vital that people are given more time to respond to the consultation and that the impact on older and disabled passengers in particular is fully considered and fully answered."

There has been concern about the proposed ticket office closures following the announcement by the Rail Delivery Group earlier this month that train operators plan to move staff out of ticket offices and into stations, with the consultation on these significant changes to last just 21 days.

Some Conservative MPs have railed against the proposals, but in a letter to former city councillor, Elsie Martlew, Carlisle MP John Stevenson said that the plans would allow staff to provide a ‘more personal service’ which is ‘crucial’ for those who need additional support.

Meanwhile Labour have come out against the proposals, with Julie Minns describing them as a 'retrograde step'.

"At a time when we want people to shift to more sustainable forms of transport, we should be doing everything we can to encourage people onto our trains and buses, but instead the Government is intent on ignoring the warnings from everyone from passengers, disability organisations, to trade unions and environmental groups," she said.

“Sixty years after another Conservative Government hired Dr Beeching to take an axe to much loved railways like the Carlisle to Silloth line, we have another Conservative Government wielding the axe on our ticket offices. It is madness."

Managing director of Avanti West Coast, Andy Mellors, said: “It is important for the rail industry to change the way it retails tickets as customer behaviour has evolved over the last three decades.

“Our proposals would mean more staff on hand to give face-to-face help with a much wider range of needs, from journey planning, to finding the right ticket and helping those with accessibility needs.

“Our commitment is that we will always treat our people fairly, with support and extra training to move in to new and varied roles with a number of responsibilities without compromising on the safety of them or our customers.

READ MORE: MP hopeful and RMT boss hit out at proposed ticket office closures

“We also understand that our customers have differing needs which is why we will be consulting with accessibility groups on this consultation.”

One in nine tickets are still sold at physical ticket offices. That represents over 150 million of the 1.4 billion rail journeys recorded over the past year.

The consultation on the proposed closures ends on July 26.

Anyone wanting to respond should email their comments to TicketOffice.Avanti@transportfocus.org.uk or write to: RTEH-XAGE-BYKZ, Transport Focus, PO Box 5594, Southend on Sea, SS1 9PZ.