I have received complaints about a lack of ticket-office staffing and the conduct of ticket-barrier staff at Bexhill Railway Station. I am keen to hear from other constituents as to their experience and I am seeking reassurances from Southern Rail that our station will be adequately staffed for its passengers.

Having received testimony from a passenger that there was no ticket office window open on the first working day in January, and other examples of staff absence, I wrote to Southern Rail and told them that it is absolutely essential that they have adequate staffing levels to meet passenger demand. Having received the second complaint about staff behaviour, I have written again to Southern Rail and sought an assurance that those employed to interface with customers are equipped with the skills and sensitivities to do the job around their passengers.

Southern Rail have responded to my concerns about ticket office staffing levels and confirmed that two permanent ticket office positions have become vacant due to staff departures. Whilst one replacement has started in training, the second position remains vacant. Passengers would rightly expect Southern Rail to have adequate relief staff in place and I have written back to Southern to ask that these be utilised until new permanent replacement members of staff are fully trained to serve passengers. I visited Bexhill Station on Friday and, whilst I was pleased to see one ticket office opened up to customer service, the other was closed and a queue was forming. Getting a train is a challenge in itself so I have urged Southern Rail to ensure that their passengers do not miss a train due to delays at the ticket office.

Separately, I have asked Southern Rail to investigate conversations which have been reported by a constituent as having taken place between staff at the ticket barriers. The terms conveyed to me have no place in a public space and I hope that Southern Rail can reassure me, and all passengers, that they will not only have the station staff in place but will ensure that these staff are trained to deliver a positive experience for passengers who continue to have a miserable time on this rail network.

A copy of Southern Rail’s response to staffing levels is attached below. I am awaiting a response to the complaints as to conduct of those staff who have been in place at the ticket barrier. 

Response from Southern Rail:

Dear Huw,

Thank you for your email regarding station staffing at Bexhill which Charles asked me to look into and then to respond to you direct.

As you may be aware, we proposed changes last year to the staffing model at some of our stations which would have seen staff come from behind the ticket office window to be out on the concourse ready to help with queries, assistance or ticket advice and in many cases – including at Bexhill – we would have someone at the station with ticket knowledge available for longer than the current ticket office hours. 

We ran a consultation on this approach which led to a six month trial now underway at eight stations, prior to further implementation.  This means that this model is yet to go ahead at Bexhill and so we are continuing to work to the original staffing plan there.

The current situation is that the two permanent ticket office positions at Bexhill are vacant.   Inevitably the recruitment and training timescale is longer than the notice period and in this case, with two positions vacant simultaneously, this is causing some issues with cover at the station.  One position is filled and the new recruit will start their ticket office training this week, with the aim that they are fully productive by March.  The second position is advertised and we hope to fill that very soon.  In the meantime, we are covering the shifts with our relief staff as much as possible.

We would like to apologise to customers at Bexhill who have been inconvenienced when the ticket office has been closed and we will aim to provide notice when it is likely to be closed, although our aim is to cover the station wherever possible, something that will be easier when at least one of the positions is filled and the member of staff fully trained.