The time offered to have your say on the closure of the vast majority of rail ticket offices right across the rail network, including the one in Frome, has been extended.

The consultation, seen by many as simply a rubber-stamping exercise to confirm hundreds of closures, had been due to end today (July 26).

Now that consultation, which will mean Frome rail users can offer their thoughts to the two companies which pass through the town's station, GWR and South West Trains, has been extended until September 1.

Frome Nub News was at the station this morning (July 26) and there were three passengers queueing to get their tickets from the office, with the first passenger, and we hope that she will not mind us writing this, quite elderly. The member of staff behind the counter was explaining which train the passenger could take and from where, while the ticket machine on the station concourse itself was also in use and a train was pulling into the station.

Frome Town Council, which has formally responded to the proposals also asked what will happen to the waiting room and toilets at Frome station, which are both opened and maintained by the station staff.

According to the BBC more than 170,000 responses have been received according to watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch.

The plan sparked concern from rail unions over job cuts and disability groups over accessibility issues, particularly from the Royal National Institute for the Blind who say that their research showed that :

• Only 3 per cent of blind and partially sighted respondents said they could use a ticket vending machine without problems.
• 76 per cent said they would prefer to buy tickets from a person at a ticket office.

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