Two local councillors have slammed proposals to cut hours at Shotts train station ticket office.
Kenneth Stevenson and Martin McCulloch, Labour councillors for Fortissat, say the proposals are "not good for the community".
Rail operators ScotRail are proposing to have the ticket office staffed for 24 hours 15 minutes per week - that's a reduction of around 17 hours from the current 41 hours .
The councillors argue that passengers are reliant on the staff in the ticket office, with some unable to buy tickets online.
Councillor McCulloch told Lanarkshire Live : "This is very bad for passenger safety.
"Many passengers, particularly vulnerable people, feel that unstaffed stations are unsafe.
"Staff in ticket offices support passengers as well as giving out tickets. Profit should not be put before passengers and their safety should never be compromised.
"I would urge my constituents from Shotts and surrounding areas to register their opposition to these proposals by emailing schedule17.sr@transportfocus.org.uk before February 1."
The ticket office is currently open from 6.30am to 1.20pm Monday to Saturday, with the changes seeing that change to 6.45am to 9.15am Monday to Friday, and 8.15am to 12.30pm on a Saturday.
One of the main concerns the councillors have is with the older generation, who may not know other ways to buy a ticket.
They are also concerned about who will be manning the station when the office is closed.
Councillor Stevenson told us : "We have a lot of older travellers who use this station and the first thing many of them will do is go and speak to someone.
"It isn't always a matter of jumping on and off the train, people may need to switch trains and they will need to get help from someone at the station.
"In Shotts as well we can have really bad snow and ice, so we are concerned that there won't be anyone here to salt the paths and make the station safe for passengers."
Phil Campbell, head of customer operations for ScotRail, said: “There has been no real review of our ticket office opening hours for 30 years.
"It is important we keep up with the changing habits of customers who no longer rely on purchasing tickets in that way.
“With more than a 50 per cent drop in the use of ticket offices, heightened by the pandemic, we want to do everything we can to make sure everyone has a hassle-free journey.
“Nobody in ScotRail will lose their jobs as a result of these changes and it is important to note that, rather than being about cutting jobs, this is about adding value for our staff and customers.
“Over the coming weeks, we’ll be talking to customers, staff, and stakeholders about the improvements they can expect to see and experience as they travel around Scotland’s Railway.”
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