By Sally Churchward.
Campaigners from Southampton were amongst those who headed London yesterday for a march which ended in a rally outside Downing Street as part of a final push in support of the Save Our Ticket Offices campaign.
The demonstration against the closure of almost 1,000 ticket offices at train stations came ahead of the final opportunity to take part in the public consultation on the closures today, with the deadline for responding being September 1st.
The crowd were addressed by a number of speakers, including former leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, and Mick Lynch, secretary general of the RMT union.
As well as concerns about job cuts, campaigners are worried that if the closures go ahead it will make train travel less practical and safe for many, with an increased risk of sexual and other forms of assault, difficulties for disabled travellers and an increased risk of drug-related crime amongst the issues raised.
The event fell the day before today and tomorrow’s industrial action by members of train drivers’ union Aslef and the RMT in an ongoing dispute over pay and jobs.
To respond to the consultation, visit: hrmt.org.uk/campaigns/rail/save-ticket-offices/.
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