RAIL union TSSA has slammed ScotRail plans to cut the opening hours of 54 ticket offices which will put “women and vulnerable passengers at risk.”

The union has warned that reduced staffing hours at offices often leads to entire train stations becoming unstaffed, leaving passengers who need assistance with mobility needs without vital support and and removing a “critical deterrent against anti-social behaviour.”

Announcing the move on Thursday, the Scottish government-owned company noted that ticket office sales had fallen by 50 per cent over the last decade to just 16 per cent of all sales, while a fifth are now made at vending machines and 43 per cent online.