Oldham residents are being urged to speak out on plans to close the ticket office at Greenfield train station, the borough's only mainline rail link, amid fears elderly and disabled rail users will suffer.

Earlier this month, industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) unveiled plans for a mass closure of railway station ticket offices in England.

The proposals could lead to nearly all offices being shut, with facilities only remaining open at the busiest stations.

The RDG has said moving ticket office staff onto station platforms and concourses would “modernise customer service”.

At Greenfield station the ticket office, which is currently open weekdays from 6.30am to 2.25pm and Saturdays from 7.45am to 3.20pm, will close.

The station will be staffed weekdays from 7am to 9am and on Saturdays from 9am to 11am.

Councillors in Saddleworth are calling on residents to submit their views on the closure of the ticket office in a consultation ahead of its deadline on Friday (July 21).

The call comes amid fears over how the plans will impact staff currently employed at the station and rail users, particularly those who are elderly and disabled.

Greenfield resident, David Black said: “I rely on public transport, and I always get a lot of help from the Greenfield ticket office staff when I travel.

"They really know their stuff and help to find the cheapest fares.

"Having staff at the station for two hours in the morning can’t possibly provide the same level of service.

"It’s bad enough that half the station is inaccessible for disabled travellers, now there won’t be any help at all for most of the day.”

Figures from January 1 to December 31 last year, gained under a Freedom of Information request submitted by Nicholas Carter to Northern Trains Limited, show that 77 per cent of tickets issued at Greenfield station were sold at the ticket office.

During the time period, the number of tickets issued at the office was 25,156 and the number of tickets issued through ticket vending machine sales was 7,509.

In response to the closure plans, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, Debbie Abrahams has written to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the country’s human rights watchdog, regarding the Government’s “failure to hold an equalities impact assessment on their proposal to close ticket offices”, including Greenfield.

Within the letter, she wrote: “I am extremely worried about the impact that these plans will have on both elderly and disabled constituents” adding: “The face-to-face support that staff at ticket offices offer is paramount for both disabled and older people to use our train system.”

In a statement, a Department for Transport spokesperson said: “These industry-led consultations are about enhancing the role of station workers and getting staff out from behind ticket office screens and into more active, customer-facing roles that will allow them to better support all passengers.

“This is not about cutting jobs – no station which is currently staffed will be unstaffed as a result of these proposed reforms.

“We have been consistently honest about the need for our railways to modernise if they are going to survive. Reviewing the role of ticket offices – with the least busy selling only one ticket an hour – is a crucial part of this.”

Each rail company is running its own consultation on the plans, with Northern running a consultation for Greenfield station.

Residents can submit their views via the online consultation or go to the ticket office in person and add their names to the petition.