CAMPAIGNERS have welcomed news that a £1.5 million revamp of York Railway Station will include a traditional ticket office after all.

Susan Leadley launched a petition in the summer after station operator Virgin revealed it wanted to dispense with staff sitting behind counters under plans to create a new 'customer zone.'

It said then that staff should instead ‘interact’ with passengers, selling them tickets with new technology such as hand held devices or helping them to use new ticket machines if they wanted assistance.

The petition, which was headed Save York Station Ticket Office and Staffing Levels and urged Virgin to retain the office and staffing, and their knowledge and expertise, was signed by more than 2,700 people.

The Press reported on Saturday that under proposals going shortly to City of York Council, there had been a U-turn by Virgin and it now planned to have staff behind desks in an area of the new customer zone, situated in the current ladies toilets.

Susan, from the Fulford Road area, said yesterday that many people had said how much they valued the service provided by ticket office staff.

"The staff are friendly and helpful and have a depth and breadth of knowledge and expertise in assisting people to plan their journeys, especially if they are complex ones: advise on the best times and routes to travel and achieve the best prices," she said.

"Many people do not like using ticket machines and some people have difficulties using them. This includes people with disabilities, for instance visual problems, people with learning disabilities and some with mental health problems, as well as those with physical disabilities. Some people prefer face to face interaction."

Micklegate councillor Jonny Crawshaw said:“I am pleased that Virgin have listened to the views of a great many rail users who, like Ms Leadley and I, really value the face-to-face contact, knowledge and advice that is currently on offer via York Station’s ticket office.

“Our primary concern was to ensure no cuts to the current service level and in particular to protect more vulnerable rail users who may struggle with complicated ticketing, using ticket machines or making online purchases."

He said that having spoken with Virgin and the TSSA union, which represents ticket office staff, he was pleased to note there would be no changes to the opening hours and staffed counters would remain part of the offer. He was also reassured that a fair deal had been reached for those staff affected by the proposed changes.

"It should be acknowledged however that there have been voluntary redundancies as well as changes to staff rostering which may need time to bed in," he added.