​EMR have installed a new ‘Welcome Point’ in the booking hall at Market Harborough.  This is one of a small number of these on a trial at several of EMR’s stations.  The purpose is to enable disabled passengers or others who have booked assistance to alert staff to their arrival at the station when the booking office is unattended.  The large black and yellow cabinet is designed to be eye-catching.  Users place a hand where indicated on the panel on the front of the kiosk.  This messages the staff, who may be up on the platforms for example, to say they are there.  Staff can then come down and provide assistance.  In the meantime, the screen on the kiosk ‘wakes up’ and assurance is given both visually, with sign language, and by spoken announcement, that staff are on their way.
It is only an experiment, but in principle it is a good idea. HRU have given comments back to EMR to the effect that something similar in the car park pay-station would be worthwhile.  Station staff have told us it would be useful if the device had a camera and microphone such that they could interact with the customer before returning to the booking hall.  For example, there may be a delay in their attendance at the booking hall because they are engaged in urgent duties on the platform – such as assisting another disabled person in boarding a train.

​The train operating companies, both individually such as EMR, and collectively through the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), launched a consultation on a proposal to close most station ticket offices throughout the country.  They state that only 12% of ticket sales are now made at ticket offices; EMR say that only 5% of their tickets are sold this way.  The majority of tickets are now sold online or via mobile phone apps, or at self-service ticket machines.  The instigator of this proposal is the Government, which wants to reduce costs and ‘modernise customer service’.  The stated aim is not to de-staff the stations; rather, it is to bring ticket office staff out from behind the glass and into more wide-ranging ‘customer help’ roles around the station.  There is a parallel here with the changes recently seen in the banks and supermarkets.  More on the RDG’s position can be found here: https://media.raildeliverygroup.com/news/proposals-to-update-the-railway-for-how-passengers-use-it-today
However, the proposals are proving controversial. 
We in Harborough Rail Users accept modernisation on the railways just as much as anywhere else.  For Market Harborough, the proposal is to close the ticket office and to reduce staffing hours at the beginning and end of the operating day.  Staff will still be available to assist passengers, but we also wonder about the implications for them if the ticket office is closed.  Will they be expected to be on their feet all day in the booking hall as well as their duties on the platforms?  In any case, our station team are already multi-skilled, undertaking various customer-facing duties around the station.
We therefore have serious concerns about the implications of what is proposed, both for station users and the staff.  Among these are:

• Continued availability of all services currently provided by the ticket office, such as Advance tickets, Season tickets and Photocards, Railcards, Ranger and Rover tickets, and ticket refunds
• Reduced staffing hours at the station, which are part of the plan
• Accessibility and equality: for example, many elderly and disabled people are uncomfortable with or unable to use online ticket purchase, mobile phone apps, etc, and may struggle with self-service ticket machines
• Assistance with the car park barriers – which are monitored from the ticket office.

• We also do not want to see any potential reduction in the availability of other station facilities, such as the waiting rooms, toilets, and the footbridge lifts. 

We are seeking assurances where possible regarding the intended arrangements.

Have your say.  Please respond to the consultation,
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO FRIDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER:

• By using the online form at https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/ticket-office-consultation/
• Or emailing your comments to [email protected]
• Or you can write to Freepost: RTEH-XAGE-BYKZ, Transport Focus, PO Box 5594, Southend on Sea, SS1 9PZ.

REMINDER: THE CONSULTATION CLOSES ON FRIDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER 2023
You can also write to your MP. 
Contact email addresses for our local MPs are:

• Neil O’Brien, MP for Harborough: [email protected]
• Philip Hollbone, MP for Kettering: [email protected]
• Chris Heaton-Harris, MP for Daventry: [email protected]
• Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland and Melton: [email protected]

​We are not opposed to modernisation, but it must be done in a way that does not disadvantage anyone.  The railway is a public service that must be accessible and available to all.