The extent of public opposition to the proposed closure of railway ticket offices was unmistakably demonstrated by the 680,000 responses to the plans when they were put out for consultation.

Charities championing the elderly and the disabled were among those objecting in unusually vehement terms, pointing out that effectively removing advice and assistance from stations would make it difficult, and perhaps impossible, for some passengers to travel.

Now the Commons Transport Committee has added its voice to the objections, condemning the planned closures as going too far and too fast, and calling for pilot schemes to gauge the impact on the travelling public.

If anything, the committee’s intervention does not go far enough. It should have stood firmly with the public and called for the proposed closure programme to be abandoned as the misguided and harmful notion that it undoubtedly is.

The rail network is already bad enough without vital assistance for passengers at stations being axed. Travellers face a bewildering array of tickets and the help of knowledgeable staff at counters is essential for many.

Closing ticket offices feels like yet another example of rail operators putting their own convenience ahead of that of passengers. They claim the measure is needed to save money because passenger numbers have fallen as a result of the pandemic and changed working patterns. That may be so, but closures place obstacles in the way of people wishing to use trains, which is surely counter-productive in persuading more of them onto the railways.

Transport Committee highlights why rail ticket offices must remain open - The Yorkshire Post says