Lanarkshire councillors angry over proposals to cut hours at station ticket office

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Two local councillors have slammed proposals to cut hours at Shotts train station ticket office.Kenneth Stevenson and Martin McCulloch, Labour councillors for Fortissat, say the proposals are "not good for the community".Rail operators ScotRail are proposing to have the ticket office staffed for 24 hours 15 minutes per week - that's a reduction of around 17 hours from the current 41 hours .The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android The councillors argue that passengers are reliant on the staff in the ticket office, with some unable to buy tickets online.

Councillor McCulloch told Lanarkshire Live : "This is very bad for passenger safety. "Many passengers, particularly vulnerable people, feel that unstaffed stations are unsafe."Staff in ticket offices support passengers as well as giving out tickets.

Profit should not be put before passengers and their safety should never be compromised."I would urge my constituents from Shotts and surrounding areas to register their opposition to these proposals by emailing schedule17.sr@transportfocus.org.uk before February 1."The ticket office is currently open from 6.30am to 1.20pm Monday to Saturday, with the changes seeing that change to 6.45am to 9.15am Monday to Friday, and 8.15am to 12.30pm on a Saturday.One of the main concerns the councillors have is with the