(Cleethorpes) (Con): I am
fortunate to have 10 railway stations in my constituency, but
only one, Cleethorpes, currently has a ticket office. Transpennine
which manages Cleethorpes station along with neighbouring Grimsby
Town station, has issued the following statement:
“If a customer specifically needs station staff assistance to
access rail services, by providing help through the station, then
outside station staffing times, alternative transport to the
nearest accessible station or to their destination will be
provided”.
That is complete madness. Not all journeys are planned: an
elderly lady might receive a call at 4 o’clock in the afternoon
from her daughter saying, “My husband’s gone into hospital and I
need your help,” or some other scenario. How is that lady to get
a ticket, arrange a journey and somehow get Transpennine to
provide a taxi or—the dreaded words—a replacement bus service?
This is nonsense. How is it going to apply?
Considering that Transpennine and
other railway companies are subsidised by the taxpayer, who is
actually going to pay for the taxi driver or the ticket? Is the
taxi driver going to collect money on behalf of Transpennine
Is it ever going to reach the company? The whole thing is a
nonsense. Grimsby Town station, which is used by many Cleethorpes
residents, had its ticket office modernised a few years ago in
partnership with North East Lincolnshire Council. Public money
was used to modernise the ticket office, which is now proposed
for closure...
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