South Leicestershire MP, Alberto Costa, recently met with representatives from East Midlands Railway and the Friends of Narborough Station (FONS) to discuss local concerns about the future of the ticket office at Narborough Railway Station.
The ticket office at Narborough Station, currently open from 6.40am to 1pm Monday to Saturday, is one of hundreds earmarked by train companies for closure as part of a reallocation of staff to more visible and accessible roles across train stations.
The Rail Delivery Group are overseeing a consultation on the proposals running until 26th July.
The MP joined the Friends of Narborough Station (FONS) group in expressing their concerns to East Midlands Railway (EMR) about the lack of facilities for passengers to purchase tickets at the station with no electronic ticket machine in place.
During the meeting, East Midlands Railway confirmed that if the closure of the ticket office did go ahead then an electronic ticket machine would be installed soon after.
Alberto said, “I was pleased to organise this meeting with East Midlands Railway and the excellent Friends of Narborough Station (FONS) group to discuss the Rail Delivery Group’s proposals for the closure of the ticket office at Narborough Railway Station. I very much share local concerns about the loss of this important service, and I was pleased to put these points forward to East Midlands Railway.”
Mr John Harrison, Chair of Friends of Narborough Station (FONS), added, “I am very grateful to Alberto for facilitating this meeting between FONS and Senior Managers at East Midlands Railway. It was made clear that FONS will strongly oppose the closure of the Ticket Office, Toilet and Waiting Room facilities at the station”.
Alberto concluded, “While I appreciate that the numbers of those purchasing tickets at stations has decreased in recent years, it is important that my constituents and other passengers have options in terms of how they choose to purchase tickets. These proposals do not seem to take account of those who may not be able or confident in purchasing their tickets online, and therefore it is important that EMR consider these options before they make any final decisions on any changes at Narborough. With the consultation regarding these closures now open until 26th July, I would strongly encourage constituents to please respond to this and make your views known”.
Members of the public can have their say on the Rail Delivery Group’s consultation here: https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/uk-rail-industry/customer-focused-reform/customer-focused-stations
