IT can sometimes seem that the world of national politics is far removed from local affairs, but recent news concerning the forecast closure of most of England’s railway ticket offices has demonstrated clearly that Westminster and Craven are not poles apart.
What has been decreed by the Government will affect communities up and down the land. Craven residents are lucky that our own Skipton station is, according to speculation, to be saved for the time being, but this is not the case for hundreds of other offices currently serving small and sometimes much larger communities.
No wonder opposition is growing, not just from unions, but from groups such as the RNIB and others who need personal assistance rather than an unresponsive machine.
The Rail Delivery Group has been pushed by the Government to take this step. The industry claims that only 12 per cent of tickets are now bought at offices. I would argue that 12 per cent is a significant minority that needs not to be brushed aside, a minority than includes many vulnerable people of all ages. The measure of the health of a society is its care for such as these.
Celia Midgley
Skipton
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