How changes to rail ticket office opening hours will impact Fife stations

ScotRail has announced the changes at some stations will be introduced from March 31 in what it says is a move to “deliver more visible customer support” at stations.

Those stations in the Kingdom to be impacted include Aberdour, Cowdenbeath, Cupar and Leuchars.

Last October the rail operator published proposed changes to ticket office opening hours based on an assessment which showed a dramatic increase in the number of tickets bought on the ScotRail website, app or at ticket machines, with a significant decrease in customers buying at ticket offices.

News of the reduction in ticket office opening hours was met with opposition from trade unions and politicians.

ScotRail said that in the past ten years alone there has been a 50 per cent drop in ticket office sales.

A public consultation previously held by independent passenger watchdog Transport Focus received feedback from more than 1500 people across Scotland. Further changes were then made to the proposals by ScotRail.

And over the past few months, since the announcement in October the rail operator says there has been “extensive consultation” with affected staff and trade unions resulting in some changes to previous proposals.

The ticket office at Aberdour station is currently open from 6.45am to 10am Monday to Friday and from 8.10am to 11.30am on Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays. From March 31 it will be open fewer hours – from 6.45am to 9.15am Monday to Thursday; 7.15am to 9.45am on Friday; 9am to 11.30am on Saturday and closed on Sundays.

In Cowdenbeath, the office will open later and close earlier on Mondays to Fridays. The current hours are 6.30am to 1pm Monday to Friday; 9am to 1pm on Saturdays and closed on Sundays. The new hours being introduced will be 8.10am to 10.50am Monday to Thursday; 9am to 11.45am on Fridays; 9am to 1pm on Saturdays and closed on Sundays.

The ticket office in Cupar will see its hours remain the same from Monday to Friday (6.45am to 8.30pm) and on a Sunday (11.30am to 5pm), however it will be open longer on a Saturday from the end of March with its hours that day changing from 8.10am to 3pm to 8am until 9pm.

At Leuchars the ticket office will close earlier each day under the changes. It’s currently open 6.20am to 9.45pm Monday to Saturday and from 10.10am to 10.15pm. The new times will be from 6.20am to 6pm Monday to Thursday and Saturday; 6.20am to 6.30pm on Friday and from 10.10am to 2.40pm on a Sunday.

At Dunfermline City the current times of 6.40am to 7.45pm Monday to Saturday and closed on a Sunday will remain in a change to previous proposals from October.

ScotRail said that the changes to ticket office opening hours will not affect trains stopping at the station as set out in the timetable and no ticket offices will close.

They said there will be no job losses or redundancies as a result of the proposals and where ticket offices see reduced hours, staff will carry out other customer supporting duties within their existing job description. They also said customers will benefit from increased staff visibility, helping with ticket selling/inspection and tackling anti-social behaviour.

Phil Campbell, ScotRail Customer Operations Director, said: “The changes that will be introduced from March 31 will provide a service that is better suited for the ticket-buying habits of our customers today, rather than 30 years ago, and will create an environment that improves safety and customer support.

“We have listened to colleagues, customers, and the trade unions throughout this process and have made changes to the proposals based on that feedback. We will now redouble our efforts to grow passenger numbers and revenue as we deliver a safe, reliable, and green railway.”