The ticket office at Alfreton’s train station could close as part of proposed reforms to modernise the rail industry.

East Midlands Railway (EMR) will launch a public consultation on the proposal to close the ticket offices – and some others in its network – as part of national reforms announced by the Rail Delivery Group today (Wednesday, July 5).

The ticket office at Alfreton train station is currently open between 6.45am and 6pm Monday to Saturday, and between 10.30am and 6.30pm on Sundays.

The proposal is to close the ticket office and make staff more visible elsewhere in the station to support passengers with accessibility needs and offer advice about train fares.

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EMR said: “We will be closing the ticket office at this station. This will be a phased approach based on those with the lowest usage being closed first.

“Although the ticket office will close, we expect daily visits from mobile staff at the station.”

The reforms are being considered as part of plans to bring “customer service roles up to date”.

EMR said: “The proposals would help bring station retailing up to date from the mid 90s, when the rules on how to sell tickets were set and before the invention of the smartphone.

“Back then, over 80 per cent of all tickets were sold at ticket offices, compared to just 12 per cent nationally and less than five per cent at EMR stations on average today.

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“Bringing staff out from offices would allow the railway to respond to that generational shift in customer behaviour, in common with many other industries and organisations that have long since done so such as Transport for London, most airlines and many banks and supermarkets.”

EMR’s consultation will close on Wednesday, July 26.

If you would like to take part, email your views to ticketoffice.emr@transportfocus.org or write freepost to RTEH-XAGE-BYKZ, Transport Focus, PO Box 5594, Southend on Sea, SS1 9PZ.

You can find more information about the proposal to close Alfreton station’s ticket office here.

You can read more about the Rail Delivery Group’s proposal for national reforms here.

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