Commuters lobbied on office cuts

The Rail Maritime and Transport union and Transport Salaried Staffs Association will lobby rail users at Waterloo station in London, warning that services to passengers will be hit and up to 140 jobs lost as a result of the proposal.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said plans by South West Trains to reduce opening times at more than 100 stations undermined safety for staff and passengers.

"Passenger numbers on SWT are up by nearly 6% and it is only a couple of weeks since SWT's owners, Stagecoach, announced a massive jump in their rail profits to nearly £60 million on the back of year-on-year ahead of inflation fare increases.

"Rail workers and passengers alike want to see more staff on stations, not fewer, and I hope that passengers will join us in telling SWT that these cuts are unacceptable."

TSSA assistant general secretary Manuel Cortes added: "These cuts will directly hit passengers, making stations unsafe and tickets more expensive.

"Unmanned stations will be less safe for travellers, particularly at the weekends and in the evenings. Tickets will be more expensive because you cannot ask a machine for the cheapest available journey."

SWT said its proposals ranged from "very minor" changes to opening hours to more significant reductions at very quiet stations.

The company said it was investing £12 million in new ticket vending machines, adding that more people were buying tickets through the internet.

The proposals will be the subject of public consultation over the next few weeks.