Bexley Council has urged Southeastern to “think sensibly” before making changes to its stations following proposals to close eight of its stations’ ticket offices.

Southeastern announced plans to close 40 ticket offices at stations across London and Kent, which were previously under consultation between July 5 until September 1.

Eight of Bexley’s stations were part of the consultation and could see ticket offices closed in the proposed plans by Southeastern.

The eight Bexley stations are:

  • Albany Park
  • Barnehurst
  •  Belvedere
  • Bexleyheath
  • Erith
  • Falconwood
  • Slade Green
  • Welling

If plans go ahead, 14 of Southeastern's busiest stations would have Travel Centres dedicated to providing travel information and ticket support for customers.

Ticket offices at some of Southeastern’s medium and larger stations would also be closed where agreed under new plans.

18 of Southeastern's smaller stations currently unstaffed would be restaffed following plans to reallocate staff where needed.

Southeastern has also said that 27 of its unstaffed stations would also continue to have mobile assistance teams for accessibility support.

According to Southeastern, these plans have been put forward in response to a change in the way customers purchase tickets, with more customers using smartphones, websites and contactless payment methods to buy tickets.

Under new plans, ticket office staff members would instead be trained to provide further face-to-face support for customers.

According to the train company, 140,000 e-ticket journeys are made a week as Southeastern continue to introduce more e-ticket routes across its network.

Following feedback, Southeastern has said it will be reviewing responses and will be working with London TravelWatch on next steps.

In a response, Bexley Council addressed concerns expressed by local rail users towards the proposals to close ticket offices at these Bexley stations.

According to the Council, concerns were expressed towards online systems or ticketing machines allowing Southeastern customers to purchase “all types of tickets.”

Additional recommendations were made by the council that all Ticket Vending Machines (TVM) within the London Zones should have the ability for Oyster top ups.

Further recommendations were made including ticket machines facilitating the option to add other payment options or credits, such as Freedom Pass users traveling within London zones to destinations outside of London not covered by the Freedom Pass scheme.

Concerns were also addressed concerning disabled passengers, regarding the proposed level of face-to-face support for passengers with access needs travelling at these stations.

In a statement the council said it was “aware” that not all of its stations currently have step free access between platforms, including Albany Park, Barnehurst, Belvedere, Erith, Falconwood, Slade Green and Welling which are currently part of the consultation, along with Sidcup and Crayford which were not part of the consultation.

Bexley Council advised Southeastern about the provision of face-to-face support on all platforms, particularly those without step-free access.

Responding to the proposals, Bexley Council also called for further clarification from Southeastern on how staff will provide support at split level stations, including Albany Park and Falconwood, where platforms are not visible from the booking office area.

Cabinet Member for Places, Cllr Richard Diment said: “I hope that Southeastern will think sensibly before they introduce changes to our stations.

“Having spoken to local rail users and looked at the plans I feel we have fed back our concerns in full.

“I look forward to being engaged in the second phase of consultations when they are announced and will be encouraging anyone that uses our ticket offices to also have their say.”

We have contacted Southeastern for comment on this.