Train passengers have complained about long queues after the ticket office at the North East’s busiest railway station was closed and replaced by a kiosk.
LNER has recently moved the ticket office at Newcastle Central Station to a new kiosk in front of the departure boards on the station concourse.
But the North East Public Transport Users Group (NEPTUG) has branded the arrangement “deeply unsuitable”.
The passenger group said that the kiosk, which serves as both serves as both a ticket window and an information point, was experiencing long queues of more than half an hour which had led some people to miss their trains.
They also aired concerns about difficulty hearing staff behind the glass kiosk window above the hub of the station and platform announcements, saying there was a “serious equality concern” for those with hearing impairments and people whose first language is not English.
Image: Paul Littlefair
Alistair Ford, chair of NEPTUG’s Newcastle branch, said that the system “isn’t fit for purpose, with passengers struggling to obtain information, finding it hard to hear during transactions, and missing trains due to long queues”.
Dr Ford added: “Whilst only around 10% of rail passengers buy their tickets at a ticket office, these passengers are often those with additional needs, complex queries, or visitors to the UK. LNER’s new provision falls well short of ensuring those passengers’ needs are met and is far inferior to the previous office on the station. We hope that LNER will listen to passenger concerns and reinstate a proper ticket office in Newcastle, a major gateway to the North East.”
NEPTUG has also received complaints that the kiosk can block some passengers’ view of the departure boards, making it harder to see important information about train services.
An LNER spokesperson said: “The ticket office has been relocated to the heart of Newcastle station to make it easier to find and available to as many customers as possible.
“We also have LNER colleagues situated throughout the station, including an increased presence on the main concourse to assist with customer queries, provide advice about journeys, or sell tickets from handheld devices. In addition, customers can purchase tickets from the ticket vending machines, with support available if required.”
There had been plans in 2023 to close large numbers of ticket offices, which would have left Newcastle and Hartlepool as the only North East stations to have one.
But those proposals were ultimately scrapped following a public backlash, amid particular worries for the impact on the disabled and rail users without access to the internet.
