One of the glories of York is York Station, not just for the beauty of its design but the excellence of its customer service. The heart of that is the booking office as it now is.

Virgin Trains wants to “enhance the customer experience” by closing the booking office and replacing it with self-service machines, gadgets and scattered staffing.

Their excuse (The Press, May 13) is that “we can give customers the service we know they want”. Luckily for Virgin this will involve paying fewer staff, and no doubt using some freed-up space for profitable sidelines such as yet more fast-food franchises.

The service which as a customer I know I want is an office staffed by friendly professionals with encyclopaedic knowledge of routes, timetables and fares. People who can advise me on the best and most economical plans for a journey. People who can clearly explain a chaotic ticketing system. People who can rectify mistakes. People on the other side of a sensible barrier with all facilities at their fingertips. People who can do what machines can’t.

In short, I want what I have already got. A centre of excellence.

I hope York people will act before it is too late to stop Virgin Trains from “improving passenger experience” by sabotaging it.

Peter Hollindale, Grange Garth, York

York needs proper station facilities

I was shocked to read that Virgin Trains are proposing to stop selling tickets over the counter at the station (The Press, May 13).

A city the size of York with many visitors needs a proper ticket office, not a machine room staffed by attendants!

Graham Collett, Wilstrop Farm Road, Copmanthorpe, York