London's biggest rail operator is planning to cut the opening hours of scores of ticket offices, it has emerged.

South West Trains was accused of putting profits before passengers as it revealed proposals to reduce manning levels at 114 stations.

Under the plan, stations will be left without any staff for longer periods of the day particularly late at night.

Staff will be withdrawn from 84 stations either for Sunday or the whole weekend by the operator which carries 340,000 passengers a day in the South West - more than half into Waterloo. Passengers and the rail unions have combined forces to condemn the move saying it would lower safety standards.

The move flies in the face of Boris Johnson's decision to reverseKen Livingstone's plans to close and reduce opening hours at Tube ticket offices.

SWT is owned by transport giant Stagecoach which recorded pre-tax profits of £174.4 million for the year ending 30 April. A spokeswoman said staff would be replaced by more and improved ticket vending machines and suggested passengers should make any inquiries "while the ticket office is open".

The two largest unions, the RMT and TSSA, today lobbied commuters at Waterloo after the plans went into public consultation with Passenger Focus and London Travel Watch yesterday.

In survey after survey passengers have expressed their fears of not having staff at stations and on trains; concerns highlighted by the Evening Standard's heavily endorsed Safer Stations campaign launched after the murder of City lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce, 31, two years ago.

Gerry Doherty, TSSA general secretary, said: "Stations will be less safe, especially at weekends and in the evenings. Tickets will be more expensive because you cannot ask a machine to provide you with the cheapest available ticket.Stagecoach is putting profits before passenger services."

Passenger Focus, the national rail watchdog which has the power to challenge the plans, has called on travellers to make their views known.

SWT sought to justify the move saying no ticket offices would be closed completely and that the plan reflected changing passenger needs.

A spokeswoman said: "We take security very seriously and we are spending an awful lot on CCTV."

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