Norfolk disability protestors against ticket office closures

Disability campaigners have staged a protest at Norwich train station against plans to shut railway ticket offices.

The group Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) oppose proposals put forward by train companies, that would see up to 1,000 ticket booths in England close.

They claim the changes would make life harder for passengers with physical disabilities.

A 21-day public consultation has been launched to collect passengers' views.

Keith Roads from DPAC Norfolk, who uses an electronic wheelchair, said: "If you have a disability where you can't use a ticket machine, and there is no staff around, how are you going to use that train?

"I'm a big train user, both for work and my obsession of Norwich City] but I can't use ticket machines.

"It's due to my cerebral palsy, my dexterity issues and the general panic when there is a big queue behind you and you are trying to spell out Wymondham. It's very difficult to do."

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said only 12% of tickets were sold at ticket offices last year, with the rest bought online or from vending machines.

The RDG's chief executive Jacqueline Starr said: "The ways our customers buy tickets has changed and it's time for the railway to change with them."

The group claims that under the plans, if a passenger was unable to purchase a ticket, they would be able to buy one during the journey, at a ticket office en-route or at their destination.

The rail industry is under pressure from the government to cut costs after being supported heavily during the Covid pandemic.

Currently around three out of every five stations has a ticket office, although some are only staffed part time.

Ticket offices in Norfolk and north Suffolk earmarked for closure over the next three years include Diss, Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn, Lowestoft and Thetford.

Norwich is expected to keep its ticket office but with fewer staffing hours.

"Put yourself in the shoes of someone with a disability," added Mr Roads. "At the moment they [ticket offices] suit people that want to use machines, and it helps people who can't. I would just keep it as it is."

DPAC Norfolk is organising another protest at Norwich train station for next week.

The Department for Transport said the proposals were not about cutting jobs, but about modernising the railway to make sure the sector survived.

The government will make the final decision on which offices will close.

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