COUNCIL chiefs have called on railway bosses to extend the opening hours at Evesham Railway Station.
The ticket office at the Worcester Road station is currently only open from 5.20am until 12.30pm Monday to Friday and 6.15am until 12.30pm on Saturdays.
This means that outside of those hours when the office is closed so are all of the other facilities at the station including the toilets, cafe and the waiting room.
When the Station Master is on annual leave or is ill it also means the station does not open at all. As a result the station was closed throughout the day during the summer on a number of occasions.
The issue was raised at Evesham Town Council’s Town Plan committee on Monday where Coun Colin Tether called on Great Western Railway to reinstate afternoon shifts at the station.
The disgruntled councillor said it was important the station was open throughout the day so it can offer a full booking and ticketing service, up to date passenger information when trains are subject to regular delays or cancellations and offers assistance and easier access to trains for disabled passengers.
In his report, Coun Tether said: “Stations on the current London Midland network such as Great Malvern, Droitwich Spa and Malvern Link all have afternoon shifts with booking office hours laid down under agreements with the Department for Transport.
“In addition, and disturbingly, Great Western Railway has stated there is “no business case” for an afternoon shift at Evesham.
“It is therefore suggested that the Town Council should formally contact Great Western Railways asking that Evesham Station should be provided with improved staffing levels and extended hours for the station serving the largest town on the line between Worcester and Oxford.”
Councillors on the committee backed Coun Tether’s calls and recommended to full council that a letter setting out their concerns should be sent to Great Western Railway.
In response, a spokesman for Great Western Railway said: “While the station is staffed during the busier morning peak, we recognise that customers would also like to be able to purchase rail tickets outside of opening hours and we will be installing a ticket vending machine at the station in the near future.”
