Labour's Parliamentary Candidate for Carlisle, Julie Minns has launched a petition to keep Carlisle's Rail Ticket Office open.

The petition follows a letter sent by the candidate last week to the Managing Director of Avanti West Coast urging him to rethink the proposed closure of the ticket office Carlisle railway station ticket office.

Earlier this week Julie Minns spoke with passengers and rail staff at Carlisle Station to hear firsthand what they think of the Government backed plan to close up to 1000 ticket offices across the UK's rail network.

"I spoke with one passenger who travels regularly for work and finds herself often reliant on ticket office staff for advice about last minute changes and delays," said Julie.

"Another local resident said she would probably stop using the railway if the ticket office closed because she is not able to use the internet to book online. 

"Carlisle's ticket office is more than just a place to buy tickets.

"It is a source of information, advice, and assistance for travellers of all ages and abilities.

"We cannot just stand by and let it be replaced by machines that don't care." 

With over 150 million rail journeys made using tickets bought at ticket offices in the past year, five Labour metro mayors have also announced plans to take legal action to stop the mass closure of railway station ticket offices.

Despite the 'rushed' consultation process, Julie Minns believes the closure of Carlisle ticket office can still be halted, and called on people to sign the petition,

"The closure of Carlisle's ticket office is not a done deal yet," she said.

"We still have a chance to stop it if we act now and make our voices heard.

"I urge everyone in and around Carlisle to sign the petition and to share it with your friends, family, and neighbours. Together we can save our ticket office." 

The petition can be found at julieminns.org.uk/save-carlisles-ticket-office/

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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.

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