Protesters gathered outside Birmingham New Street Station to raise concerns over staffing on the West Coast Main Line. They say ticket offices are often left shut when they should be open, affecting passengers who rely on in-person help.
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00:01Just outside the entrance to the station, campaigners from RMT have set up with placards and leaflets,
00:08drawing attention to staff shortages at one of the country's busiest rail stations.
00:13Dysay Avanti West Coast has failed to replace levers, leaving New Street and other key locations
00:19without enough cover to keep ticket offices running as advertised.
00:23That's led to queues, missed fares and fewer staff available when things go wrong.
00:27So what's driven this campaign to set up outside Birmingham's biggest station?
00:33For the last four years, Avanti West Coast have failed to fill the ticket office vacancies and station staff jobs at Birmingham New Street.
00:42A couple of years ago, we managed to save all the ticket offices in the country
00:46when the previous government and the train operators were trying to close them all.
00:50What we've got now is an attempt by Avanti to enshrine the cuts they've already made
00:55to keep these jobs unfilled, these vacancies unfilled.
01:00So we've got a situation where the queues get ever longer at the ticket offices for passengers
01:05and yet they won't fill the vacancies that they're supposed to be filling.
01:08We think that's wrong. We want the station properly staffed and we want the passengers properly looked after.
01:13And that's why we're protesting.
01:15People often complain that we're always taking strike action and stuff to stop these sort of cuts.
01:18We're actually campaigning among the public now to say to Avanti West Coast, staff our stations, fill the vacancies and cut the queues.
01:26The focus isn't just on workers, it's on the knock-on effect for passengers.
01:31Campaigners say the gaps in staffing aren't being filled and that's leaving vulnerable or less tech savvy travellers without the help they rely on.
01:39Ticket machines and apps might work for some but they don't suit everyone, especially when there's disruption or confusion.
01:47Leaflets handed out here have highlighted the challenges many face.
01:51So what are rail users saying when they hear about the aims of this campaign?
01:55The reality of it is all we're asking for is the vacancies that are existing should be filled, those jobs should be filled.
02:04So there's people in Birmingham today who could get employment covering these jobs in the ticket office at Birmingham New Street
02:10and providing the service to the passengers. Cut the profiteering with the train operating companies
02:15and make sure that the stations are properly staffed. That's all we're asking for.
02:18But what we won't accept, what we won't accept is cuts by stealth and another attack on the ticket offices.
02:25I think the passengers are really brassed off with the short staffing at ticket offices.
02:30I was in New Street Station this morning and there was three windows open and I think that's out of about 13 or 14.
02:37So it's quite ridiculous really that, you know, we're not getting the service that we want for passengers.
02:42We're expected to pay more and more for tickets but don't get the service that goes with it.
02:46Same here. The positive outcome of this campaign today, everybody's talking to us, everybody's taking the levers
02:55and they're sympathised with us that what's going on is not right.