Fears for disabled and elderly passengers as Northern Ireland Railways look to replace manned ticket offices with ticket vending machines

The union pointed out that on the Belfast to Londonderry route alone there are no fewer than 27 different ticket types available to purchase. TSSA believes the machines will cause confusion for passengers over pricing, making it harder to find the cheapest and best options for any journey.

TSSA organiser, Gary Kelly said: “Any proposal to replace a member of staff with a machine would be a terrible decision, not only for our members who face being made redundant, but for the communities that depend upon their local ticket offices.

“Passengers depend on the ticket offices, not just for ticket sales but also for advice, safety, and assistance.

“The move will particularly affect vulnerable communities who need extra support. Ticket vending machines and automatic barriers can’t help disabled or elderly passengers on and off the train.

"Northern Ireland Railways need to drastically rethink their plans and retain the ticket offices for the good of their passengers and the communities they serve.”

He said the union also had significant concerns that stations will be left to operate with one member of staff – as currently happens in Newry – where one person is responsible for train despatch, selling tickets, barrier security, station maintenance and passenger assistance.

Mr Kelly said: "What were to happen if this member of staff faces antisocial behaviour or has a serious accident at work? Who will be present to raise the alarm or to seek medical assistance?

“It is our view that the company have mismanaged booking offices through understaffing and poor rostering for several years leaving many windows unstaffed which has an impact on revenue collection.

"Any decision to replace ticket office staff with machines based on the current revenue figures taken from the ticket offices will be misleading at best.”

A Translink spokesperson confirmed the company planned to introduce ticket vending machines but would continue to offer “traditional channels” for passengers to purchase tickets “where appropriate”.

The spokesperson said: “We will use a range of channels to sell tickets, take payments and meet our passengers’ needs.

“These will include ticket vending machines which can speed up transactions and allow passengers to make quick and easy ticket purchases and take advantage of contactless payments and account-based ticketing.

“We will also continue to offer traditional channels such as ticket offices where appropriate and our MLink mobile ticketing and eCommerce web sales.

“Translink is committed to offering the highest levels of customer service – staff advising and helping passengers will be a vital component of that.

“We are in the very early stages of development and will be working closely with our trade unions as we progress through this project to enhance the overall customer experience and ensure services are accessible to all”.