What ticket office closure plans could mean for Greater Manchester's railway stations - and which stations are affected
manchestereveningnews.co.ukA ticket office will remain open at Manchester Victoria railway station, but Manchester Piccadilly's has been earmarked to shut under controversial mass closure plans across England announced today.
Rail operator Northern has also confirmed plans to close manned ticket offices at 45 stations across Greater Manchester, although they will be retained at six other stations.
Avanti West Coast, which runs services to London Euston from Manchester Piccadilly, confirmed a consultation, which will see phased changes over three years, would apply to 16 stations it manages - including Stockport and Wigan North Western - as well as its ticket offices at Network Rail stations where it is the lead retailer, which include Manchester Piccadilly. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. The ticket office at Piccadilly, however, 'will remain open short-term for customers who have complicated ticket queries which cannot currently be dealt with online or at a ticket vending machine', added Avanti.
No time-scale for that was given. Manchester Piccadilly is Manchester's busiest railway station. Elsewhere, ticket offices at Bolton, Manchester Victoria, Manchester Oxford Road, Rochdale, Salford Crescent and Wigan Wallgate stations would remain open, said Northern, but they will have reduced opening times.
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