Nearly every ticket office in the country will close in the next three years, it has been revealed.

The announcement is expected to be made by government ministeers tomorrow morning and could impact 105 railway stations in Kent.

It is understood the Rail Delivery Group is set to bring forward plans to get rid of up to a thousand offices and there will be a consultation within the next two months, the PA news agency reports.

This would mean those travelling would need to buy their tickets online, use their cards to tap in or use self-service ticket machines.

It is reportedly in an effort to get workers out of kiosks and helping passengers, as just 12% of ticket sales are made through offices.

Greg Smith MP, chair of the Transport Committee, told The Sun: "We need to have a realistic conversation about ticket offices, especially those that are simply not used.

"But when unions are unleashing maximum disruption, having this debate on ticket offices now is putting a rocket under union anger and will only bring more disruption for travellers.”

Attempts to close them will spark fury among trade unions involved in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

Last year, protesters rallied against the government's plans to shut down railway ticket booths in Gillingham.

They highlighted the issues of computerised ticket machines, the important service booking clerks provide and the thousands of jobs that will be lost.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch has previously warned the union would “vigorously oppose any moves to close ticket offices”.

An RDG spokesman said negotiations with the union over the changes have “stalled” and the industry is “now looking at how to move forward”.

He added: “Any changes would be subject to employee and public consultations.

“Staff always remain front of mind, so as you would expect from a responsible employer, if and when the time comes for proposals on ticket offices to be published, they will be the first to know.”

The news comes after it was announced this morning 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.