EXCLUSIVE: Every single London Tube ticket office could be axed in plan to save millions

 
Closure plan: All 268 Tube ticket offices face the axe
Dick Murray12 August 2013

All 268 Tube ticket offices could be closed under plans to save millions of pounds, the Evening Standard has learned.

Ticket offices would be replaced by 20 plus “travel centres” at the larger stations such as Waterloo, Euston and King’s Cross.

Passengers wanting to buy tickets at other Tube or London Overground stations would have to use automatic machines instead.

This newspaper has seen a confidential TfL document which lists all 268 stations. It poses the question alongside each one are “ticket offices staying open?” By each station named it states the word “no”.

Transport for London refused to confirm or deny the move saying various proposals were being discussed and staff “would be told first”.

But TSSA union bosses, which represents ticket office staff, said 2,000 jobs could be lost in two years.

The union claimed thousands of jobs across the capital’s Tube and Overground services could go “by the end of the decade”.

Other roles under threat range from train guards to management and IT staff. Cuts are being planned by a Transport for London team working out of offices at Kings Building in Smith Square. The squad is headed by Mike Strzelecki. former safety director and now re-titled Director of Transformation.

The job losses are the result of a 12.5 per cent — £220 million — cut following the government’s June spending review. The TfL spokesman described one claim of 6,000 job cuts as “not recognised and completely unfeasible.” He said any figures were “pure speculation” and TfL had a no compulsory redundancy policy.

Mike Brown, managing director of London Underground and London Rail, said: “We are investing in LU to support jobs and growth in London and across the UK. We are committed to running more trains and that all stations will continue to be staffed in the future with staff visible and available to help our customers.

“Learning lessons from the successful London 2012 Games we are looking at how we can improve the service to our customers while delivering the best possible value for fare and taxpayers money.”

There was a furious reaction from Labour politicians and the transport unions which threatened waves of strike action if compulsory job cuts are forced through.

Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA union whose members work in the ticket offices, said: “We have a deal with TfL which clearly rules out compulsory redundancies.”

Sadiq Khan, Labour shadow minister for London, said: “These secret plans will have a devastating effect on the daily commute.”

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