Andy Burnham has vowed to “keep fighting” to make sure train station ticket offices don’t permanently close.
In case you’re not quite up to speed, the Mayor of Greater Manchester has been leading a campaign group of four northern mayors who are taking legal action over the proposed closure of train station ticket offices in England, after the government-run Rail Delivery Group (RDG) unveiled plans back in July back to “bring station staff closer to customers” by moving them out of ticket offices and onto platforms and concourses instead.
Around three out of five train stations in England currently have a staffed ticket office, but all that could change moving forward, with just under 1,000 of them earmarked to close – including at some of the UK’s busiest stations, such as Manchester Piccadilly.
In a letter penned to Transport Secretary Mark Harper to express his discontent at the proposed closures, the Greater Manchester Mayor also called for an “immediate suspension” to rail operator Northern‘s process.
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He claimed he had “no other option” but to take legal action.
Andy Burnham vows to ‘keep fighting’ to stop train station ticket offices closing / Credit: RDG
But now, after a consultation on the proposed closure of ticket offices has officially come to an end, Mr Burnham has joined his fellow mayors – the others of which are Mayor of Liverpool Steve Rotheram, Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin, and Mayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard – they calling for “the right thing to be done by stopping the plans now” in a joint statement.
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“The train companies initially tried to push the closure of ticket offices through, under the radar,” the Mayors’ joint statement reads.
“But together, we made them listen.
🗣️ “There is still an opportunity here to do the right thing and stop these plans now. In the meantime, we stand firm, and we will keep fighting.”
Andy and other England mayors issue joint statement as consultation to close almost all ticket offices ends https://t.co/BIBDA03UZ3
— Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (@MayorofGM) September 1, 2023
“Our legal challenge resulted in the operators extending the consultation process, addressing unfair accessibility issues and producing Equality Impact Assessments which are vital in assessing the plans [and] this meant that more people were able to have their say on the plans – and may otherwise have remained unheard.
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“The law is clear that operators cannot close parts of stations without following the clear procedure set out in the Railways Act 2005.
“This procedure has still not been followed and the process of our legal challenge with the train firms around this remains ongoing.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the call to #SaveTicketOffices. 🙏🏻
You would think even this Government will now have to listen and drop the plans.
If they don’t, you’ve given myself and other Mayors a clear mandate to continue with our legal challenge. 👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/6cVLZjogxG
“Closing ticket offices will hit the most vulnerable hardest [and] at a time when we need more people using the railways, these plans would have the opposite effect.
“All eyes are now on Transport Focus to see how they respond to the hundreds of thousands of responses that we believe they have received, as there is still an opportunity here to do the right thing and stop these plans now.
“But in the meantime, we stand firm – and we will keep fighting.”
Featured Image – RDG
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Greater Manchester among first to get ‘confusing’ rail fares replaced by two simpler options
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester is among the first UK regions to have the current ‘confusing’ range of rail fares replaced by two simpler options.
As it stands, more than a dozen different fares are currently available for journeys on certain train routes, including many which restrict customers to travelling on a particular service or with one train operating company.
But from early next month, all that is set to change.
As of Sunday 7 December, anyone who buys a ticket from any operator on the day they’re travelling between two of the 96 railway stations in Greater Manchester will be offered the following options – ‘anytime’ or ‘off-peak’.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says the new system aims to make ticketing ‘simpler’ and prices more ‘transparent’, so passengers can trust they’ve got the best value for money.
Greater Manchester is among the first to get ‘confusing’ rail fares replaced by two simpler options / Credit: TPE
All single journeys will be half the price of return trips, which means the average train fare in Greater Manchester will fall by 5.6% overall.
Other types of tickets will still be offered to those who book in advance.
The introduction of the two options are part of the Government’s UK-wide transformation of fares in a bid to make them easier to understand and make journeys more ‘seamless’.
As mentioned, Greater Manchester will be one of the first areas in the country to introduce this type of rail fare reform, and TfGM says it will star to ‘pave the way’ for contactless payments and the already-announced integration with the Bee Network from December 2026 onwards.
BIG NEWS
On 7/12/25, GM sees the biggest change to rail services for 30+ years.
A new fairer, simpler fare system will come in across our 96 stations.
🐝 Singles will be half the price of returns 🐝 Tickets will be valid on any operator 🐝 Average fare will fall by 5.6%
It’s said that more than half of train journeys (52%) will be cheaper, with savings of up to £1.50 on some trips, and as many as 4,000 customers saving money, while on the remaining 48% of journeys, customers will see a slight price increase, but for most of these (85%), it will be a rise of 20p or less.
“For too long, confusion around the complicated web of tickets has been a barrier to people choosing the train,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham.
“We’ve seen that making public transport more affordable and simpler boosts passenger numbers, with more people than ever boarding our yellow buses and integrated tap and go payments with our tram network.
“These simpler fares are a stepping stone to bringing rail into the Bee Network in December 2026, joining up trains with buses, trams, and active travel for an integrated public transport system like those enjoyed by other global cities.”
Featured Image – Northern
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‘Manipulative’ man jailed for life after setting ex-partner’s house on fire while she slept
Emily Sergeant
A man has been jailed for life after he set his ex-partner’s house on fire while she was asleep.
Nicholas Martin, from Leicester, appeared at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court yesterday (10 November) where he was sentenced to 30 years in prison after previously being found guilty of attempted murder and assault occasioning actual bodily harm at a trial back in September.
The 63-year-old was also made the subject of a life-long restraining order against the victim.
It comes after Martin, at around 5:10am on 22 October 2024, poured petrol through the letterbox of his ex-partner’s house and set it alight before leaving the area.
The victim was initially woken in the middle of the night after hearing her letterbox snapping closed and then heard a crackling sound which resembled a log burner.
Shortly after she realised her house was on fire, she proceeded to jump out of her first-floor bedroom window to safety, and although she survived the attack, she did suffer two broken ankles and a broken vertebrae in her back from the jump.
Very sadly though, the victim’s pet cat was killed in the fire.
#JAILED | Man jailed for 30 years after setting fire to victim’s house whilst she slept
Nicholas Martin (28/8/1962) of Bosworth Street, Leicester, was found guilty of attempt murder and assault occasioning actual bodily harm at a trial at the same court on Wednesday 10 September pic.twitter.com/pDj8Clh74G
Martin had been in a relationship with the woman since 2019, but became increasingly controlling over the years, and had been monitoring her movements by installing home cameras, prevented her from seeing family members, constantly criticising her, and even controlling what she could eat, wear, and watch on television.
At the time of the offence, Martin was on bail for a previous assault with conditions in place for him not to contact the victim and to reside in Leicester – but he left his bail address, rented a car, and drove to Worsley.
He booked into a hotel and waited until the middle of the night to execute his attack when he knew his ex-partner would be asleep.
Martin was arrested on 23 October 2024 at a hotel in the Lake District, where a can containing petrol was recovered in the hotel room wardrobe.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed he made no comment in his police interview and went on to plead ‘not guilty’ at court. Despite later admitting to causing the fire, he claimed he had no intention to kill the woman.
“Martin undertook a campaign of abuse against his victim lasting a number of years,” explained Detective Constable Zoe Bellis, from GMP’s Salford CID following the sentencing.
“His last act nearly resulted in a woman’s death and I am thankful of [the] sentencing result putting this despicable individual behind bars and away from harming other victims.”
Emily Sergeant -
4th September 2023 
