Jeremy Hunt tried to save railway ticket offices in his own constituency the day before government-backed plans for widescale closures were announced.
According to Mirror reports, the chancellor contacted South Western Railway, which runs services in his South West Surrey constituency, earlier this month to raise concerns about the impact on local passengers.
The next day train operators announced they want to close ticket offices at 974 stations across England.
Passengers only have until Wednesday to have their say on the devastating proposals. So far around 170,000 members of the public have responded to the consultation.
Despite Mr Hunt’s private criticism of the planned closures in his area, the Government is supporting the mass closure of ticket offices.
Transport Minister Huw Merriman a fortnight ago told MPs: “I fundamentally believe that rather than the railway being stuck in the past, the railway needs to adapt and change in the manner that its passengers are doing so.”
A source close to Mr Hunt said he was “just doing his job as a local MP” by “conveying constituent concerns to rail companies”.
But his concerns are widely shared across the country.
Footage posted on social media has emphasised the crucial role ticket offices play.
And things could be about to get a lot worse.
Five Labour metro mayors are preparing to take legal action in a bid to stop the “rushed” planned mass closure of railway station ticket offices.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who is one of those involved, declared “we will fight this all the way” as he launched a bid to prevent the action.
He said: “These closures will affect over 2,000 jobs.
“It’s just not the case that this is about redeploying staff. This will be a serious reduction in the level of support available to people when they are travelling.
“It will further erode what remains of trust in travelling on our trains and we think it is the wrong move at the wrong time.
“We’re very worried that these plans are being railroaded through.
“Today we are confirming that as five mayors representing millions of people across England, we are fighting back.”
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