Sarah Dyke MP has called on the government to use the funds previously allocated for the Northern leg of HS2 to save Somerton & Frome's ticket offices.

With tens of billions of pounds for the Northern leg for HS2 now going unspent, Somerton & Frome's Liberal Democrat MP has called on the government to use those funds to save ticket offices that have come under threat of closure.

Ticket offices at local stations face being shut down under current plans which Sarah Dyke MP has staunchly opposed. Sarah Dyke MP has previously written to the Secretary of State for Transport to urge him to prevent the closure of local ticket offices. Elderly and disabled rail users are especially reliant on ticket offices to ensure they get the support they need when using the rail network. 

Liberal Democrat MP for Somerton & Frome, Sarah Dyke MP said:

"This Conservative government has utterly neglected vital transport projects, both here in Somerton & Frome and across the country. This shambles over HS2 should at least mean that ticket offices are saved. 

"Elderly and vulnerable people face uncertainty when they go to the train station with no ticket offices and many are left isolated in our community, struggling to leave their homes with insufficient local transport links.

"Just like northern areas no longer benefiting from HS2, our community has been taken for granted at every turn by the Conservative Party.

"This extra money for transport links must urgently be invested in rectifying this situation. That means, saving Somerton & Frome's ticket offices with the funds from the abandoned Northern leg. 

"A failure to do so would be another slap in the face for all those that have suffered at the hands of this Conservative government."