Southeastern has launched a consultation on the future of ticket offices across its network which could lead to job losses.

From today people can comment on the future of stations in Bromley and Bexley such as Bexleyheath, Belvedere, Bromley North, Bickley, Erith, Shortlands and Welling.

All other stations, including those in Kent, will be consulted on in autumn which could result in nearly every ticket office in Kent closing within the next three years.

The train company says the aim is to make staff more available to assist customers face-to face, for those that need help, and to provide technology like e-tickets and Pay-As-You-Go for those happy to self-serve.

The consultation comes as more people are buying their tickets online, with contactless cards and on apps.

Retailers like Trainline sell five million e-tickets a week and this number is expected to continue to increase.

To comment on the proposals, contact London Travel Watch by Wednesday, July 26 by emailing Southeastern.Consultation@Londontravelwatch.org.uk

At the conclusion of the consultation, it is being proposed to provide Travel Centres at 14 of the busiest stations which will offer information and ticketing solutions.

Proposed Travel Centre locations include Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford International, Dover Priory, Canterbury West, Margate, Rochester and Dartford and Bromley South.

Southeastern’s medium and larger-sized stations, where it is agreed ticket offices are no longer required, will be closed and will have fewer workers.

At the smaller stations, where the only worker is the person in the ticket office, they will be available to provide a wider range of customer support.

The train company said “in terms of financial sustainability, it must manage costs and reduce taxpayers’ subsidy” and “this approach will provide a better service at a lower cost”.

KentOnline asked about the possibility of job losses with a Southeastern spokesman responding: “We’ll work with trade unions on a new role and we envisage that suitable alternative employment will be offered.

“We’ll also consult with trades unions to mitigate any redundancies, and will consult on the use of a voluntary severance scheme.”

Southeastern has said it will ensure skilled staff who currently work in ticket offices will get support and training to transition to new roles and workers will provide a wider range of customer support including helping people with accessibility requirements and keeping people safe by deterring anti-social behaviour.

Every station currently staffed will continue to be staffed and subject to consultation, these changes are expected to be phased over the next two years.

To protect the interests of people with accessibility needs, Equality Impact Assessments (EqIAs) will be made available on the Southeastern website for every ticket office subject to consultation.

Conductors, onboard managers, and station staff will continue to be on-hand to provide support.

Bringing more staff into direct contact with customers is hoped to mean more people will be available to help customers with accessibility requirements.

Southeastern’s consultation will take place in phases.

The first will be on 40 tickets offices in Southeastern’s Metro area that each sell fewer than 50 tickets daily and where customers can already use Pay-As-You-Go for their journey.

Many of these sell 10 tickets or less daily at the window.

The news comes after it was announced yesterday that six train stations in Kent would be introducing tap-in tap-out ticketing.

The Oyster ticketing system is already widely used in London and will be coming to Otford, Bat & Ball, Eysnford, Dunton Green, Shoreham and Sevenoaks by the end of December.

Southeastern managing director Steve White said: “The world has changed we want to change with it by offering a better, more reliable, and sustainable railway. An overhaul of the way we operate our stations is long overdue.

“Customers love our people not our ticket offices. This consultation proposes making more of our people available to help customers face-to-face providing a wider range of support, including accessibility assistance and deterring anti-social behaviour.

“With customers buying holidays, shopping and banking online they can now also buy rail tickets on their phone at a time that suits them.

“For those happy to use self-service, buying a ticket will be as easy as possible whether on our app, website or at our ticket vending machines (TVMs) and this consultation will ensure they can do that.

“For customers who need ticketing assistance this will remain available through our travel centres, station colleagues and 24/7 helpline for assisted travel.

“At the same time, we want to reduce taxpayers' subsidy of our business and ensure a sustainable future as a vital public service. The aim is to provide a better service at a lower cost.

“This consultation will mean change for customers and for colleagues. We are completely committed to a meaningful consultation that should provide, if agreed, a better service for customers and more rewarding careers for Southeastern’s committed, hard-working teams across our network.”

All other train providers in the UK are looking at closing their ticket offices too.

General Secretary of the RMT Mick Lynch said: "The decision to close up to 1,000 ticket offices and to issue hundreds of redundancy notices to staff is a savage attack on railway workers, their families and the travelling public.

"Travellers will be forced to rely on apps and remote mobile teams to be available to assist them rather than having trained staff on stations.

"This is catastrophic for elderly, disabled and vulnerable passengers trying to access the rail network.

“The arrangements for ticket office opening hours, set out in Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, are the only statutory regulation of station staffing.

“It is crystal clear that the government and train companies want to tear up this agreement and pave the way for a massive de-staffing of the rail network.

"Some of the train operators issuing our members with statutory redundancy notices today are cutting two thirds of their workforce.

"It is clear that the whole enterprise of closing ticket offices has got nothing to do with modernisation and is a thinly veiled plan to gut our railways of station staff.

"Fat cat rail operators and the government do not care one jot about passenger safety, or a well-staffed and friendly railway open to all to use.

"They want to cut costs, make profits for shareholders, and run the network into the ground without a thought as to the vital role the rail industry plays in the country's economy.

"RMT is mounting a strong industrial, and political campaign to resist ticket office closures and station staff cuts. And we will continue our fight on July 20, 22 and 29 when 20,000 railway workers on the train operators go on strike."