Partial reprieve for Shoreham Railway Station's ticket office

Shoreham Railway Station's ticket office has been given a partial reprieve, but Lancing Railway Station, pictured, is set to lose its ticket office facilities

Earlier this year Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates the franchise, unveiled plans to close a number of ticket offices across Sussex, including those at Shoreham-by-Sea and Lancing, with ticket selling relocated on to a ‘station hosting point’ on the concourse or through self-service machines.

Labour campaigners said they were ‘dismayed’ at proposed changes, while East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton called plans ‘crazy’.

But now several ticket offices, including the one at Shoreham, previously earmarked for closure will remain open from 7-10am from Monday to Friday.

Station hosts will operate from 5.30am to 11pm Mondays to Saturdays, and 7am to 11pm on Sundays.

Meanwhile at Lancing the hosts will be at the station from 5.30am to 10pm Mondays to Saturdays, and 7.30am to 10pm on Sundays.

There is also a commitment to ‘soft launch’ the concept at a select number of stations towards the end of the summer and according to GTR if necessary make any changes to reassure passengers, staff and stakeholders that the concept works and will improve the service provided at stations.

Anthony Smith, chief executive at Transport Focus, said: “We are pleased to see that GTR has listened to passengers’ concerns and changed their plans to reflect these. The pilots are an opportunity to test these plans and monitor their impact.”

Keith Jipps, passenger service director at GTR, added: “We appreciate the assistance and views of Transport Focus and London TravelWatch and for their support for our plans going forward. We think the consultation has been a success as we’ve been able to listen to our passengers and modify our proposals to meet their needs now and in the future.

“We believe our new station hosts will be of great benefit to our passengers, providing assistance for more hours each day with the same tickets available as today.”

What do you think of revised proposals? Comment below or email the newsdesk.

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