Cornwall ticket office closures Tory MP and Labour responses

Welcoming the news that the Transport Secretary had decided to stop the closure of the ticket offices across the country following a public consultation, Falmouth and Truro MP Cherilyn Mackrory said it was “brilliant news”.

“[It is] Brilliant news that Truro station's ticket office will stay open,” she said in a post on Facebook.

Cherilyn Mackrory MP, welcomed the decision on ticket offices (Image: Cherilyn Mackrory)

“So many people in our community depend on access to the ticket office to be able to travel, and see their friends and loved ones.

“An excellent result, down to the hard work of people across Cornwall standing up and being heard!”

The move follows protest from commuters up and down the country including at Penzance’s iconic station.

Labour’s Parliamentary candidates also welcomed the government U turn: the decision not to close rail ticket offices and reduce staff at stations.

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Jayne Kirkham, standing in Truro and Falmouth, said: “This proposal would have made access to our railways much harder for so many people. I am very glad the government has seen sense and scrapped it – the idea should have been ditched before money was wasted trying to foist it on the public. Labour will focus on bringing our railways back into public ownership and making them more accessible and user friendly, not less.”

Camborne & Redruth candidate Perran Moon said: “ Our campaign to reverse this decision has worked and I want to thank all those who helped collect petition signatures and responses to the consultation.

“Government is blaming rail operators for this fiasco and the operators say the government asked them to do it. Once again, it shows the utter incompetence of Ministers, wasting time and money on chaotic ideas, while our railways are crying out for investment to create a rail network fit for the future.”