<p>The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail outlines the changes and modernisation needed for fares, ticketing and retailing to simplify and improve the passenger experience.</p><p>We want to see customer-facing staff on railways and like those whose jobs are about customer service, staff at stations may need to change what they do or how they do it to ensure that passengers get the services they most want and need. Staff will be able to provide a more personal touch in future, which can be crucial for those who need additional support at stations and those who cannot or do not want to use contactless or mobile tickets. The rail industry is in the lead to make sure this can happen.</p><p>There is a process for train operators to propose any changes to the opening hours of ticket offices or for closing ticket offices which is set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. This regulates what train operators do in terms of fares ticketing and retailing across the network. Part of this process requires train operators to put notices at the station advising passengers of any proposals and what any changes could mean for them. If they have any objections these can be raised via the passenger bodies (Transport Focus and London Travel Watch) for consideration.</p><p>We are not the employer of ticket office staff and therefore would not go into detail of other organisations’ employees.</p><p> </p><p> </p>