These are the railway ticket offices that will remain open in Shropshire under mass closure plans
There will be just three manned ticket offices left open in Shropshire following proposals by the Rail Delivery Group announced on Wednesday to axe hundreds across the country.
Transport for Wales (TfW), which operates many of the stations in Shropshire, says it will not be closing its ticket offices.
Three of its stations - Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Gobowen - have manned ticket offices, and these will be staying open, the operator said.
The vast majority of ticket offices at railway stations are owned and run by train operators, which are under pressure from the Government to save money amid the drop in revenue caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The two other main rail operators in Shropshire - West Midlands Railway and Avanti West Coast - plan to axe their ticket offices.
Marie Daly, Chief Culture and Customer Officer at TfW, said: “The Welsh Government and Transport for Wales (TfW) are not in scope of the ticket office announcement made today by the Department for Transport train operators in England.
“TfW does not have any immediate plans to make similar wholesale changes to any of our ticket offices in Wales, to the ticket offices we manage in England (Chester, Hereford, Leominster, Runcorn East, or Shrewsbury) or to the ticket offices operated by our retail agents.
“We do not have any plans to reduce the number of staff at our stations.”
All the remaining ticket offices in the county are set to close and will join the hundreds across the country set to be axed.
West Midlands Railway says it will retain just six ticket offices at stations in the West Midlands, including Birmingham Snow Hill, Sutton Coldfield, University, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Worcester Foregate Street. The rest are set to be scrapped.
The operator says outside of the six main hubs, the rest of its ticket offices will close, including the two stations it runs in Telford and Wrekin that currently have manned offices.
Telford Central in the town centre has a ticket office that is currently open during the day on Monday to Friday, as is Wellington Station's ticket office, but both will be permanently closed by West Midlands Railway under the plans.
The company, alongside other train operators in England, is holding a consultation for its proposals.
Ian McConnell, managing director of West Midlands Railway, said: “We need to evolve with our customers, as well as creating a more sustainable railway that’s fit for the future.
“Our proposals would mean staff being more visible and available where customers most need them; on concourses and platforms to help with journey planning, finding the right ticket and supporting passengers with accessibility needs.
“We understand that some customers have complex needs and some are less comfortable using digital technology. That’s why we will be consulting widely with relevant groups and looking at ways of supporting all our customers to ensure that no-one is left behind.”
Avanti West Coast network, which also operates trains in Shropshire, also launched a consultation into its ticket office closures on Wednesday.
It says that ticket offices in all of its 20 stations that it manages, including Birmingham New Street, Stafford and Stoke on Trent could close under the plans.
Posters were being displayed at the vast majority of these on Wednesday informing passengers about the potential closure of the ticket office.
