Nearly half of train stations have no staff

JUST one in ten train stations is fully staffed, Britain’s biggest rail workers’ union found.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) also said about 45 per cent were staffed for only part of the day, while a similar portion had no workers at all.

Stations across England, Wales and Scotland, used by hundreds of thousands of passengers every year, were among those with no staff, the union claimed.

It is calling for a halt to ticket office closures and staffing cuts.

The RMT’s general secretary Mick Cash said: ‘It has never been more apparent that the privatised and fragmented railway has failed to deliver an affordable, accessible and reliable service for passengers.

‘Violence on the railways is soaring, yet the private train companies continue to close ticket offices and cut staffing at stations.

‘The RMT is calling on the Government to prove that it is serious about improving the rail passenger experience.’

A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, the industry body, said: ‘By working together to run more and better services, train operators are now able to employ over 50 per cent more people than 20 years ago.

‘Britain’s railway remains one of the safest in the world and crime rates are low but we are working with the British Transport Police to tackle any anti-social or violent behaviour by investing in new technology like body-worn cameras for frontline staff and encouraging the reporting of crime.’