Plans to close Sandbach Railway Station's ticket office and 100s more across England have been scrapped, following a government U-turn.

On Tuesday 31 October, transport secretary, Mark Harper, said the government had "asked train operators to withdraw their proposals".

Transport Focus said it had received over 750,000 responses from individuals and organisations in a public consultation.

On Tuesday 31 October, transport secretary, Mark Harper, said the government had 'asked train operators to withdraw their proposals' for ticket office closures (Deborah Bowyer)

99 per cent of these responses were objections, according to the passenger watchdogs.

It was this July, the government announced proposals to close nearly every railway station ticket office across England, with Sandbach included as we revealed here

Last week, the cross-party transport committee of MPs warned the railway ticket office plans went 'too far, too fast,' describing the consultation as lacking in transparency.

Chair of Friends of Sandbach Station (FOSS), John Scarrott, pictured below, welcomed the news in what he called a "badly thought out" idea.

"It's great news the office is staying open. It's only open certain hours and it would be nice to see it open for longer but this is great news.

"It will keep the number of passengers we have at the moment and is good news for disabled passengers and those who don't want to buy tickets on-line. "

A spokesperson for Transport for the North said: "We are pleased that plans to close ticket offices are not being taken forward.

"As today's report from Transport Focus clearly shows withdrawing ticket office staff would leave passengers very disadvantaged and would be a barrier to people using the railway.

"The way that people buy their tickets is changing, and we need to take account of that, but the presence of staff is about so much more than simply retailing tickets.

"They are a human point of contact, including helping passengers who might need assistance or providing reassurance for those who might be wary of travelling alone.

"We believe ticket office staffing should be looked at only as part of a wider review of stations, that takes in pay-as-you-go, retail and other services.

"Done correctly, we can ensure that reform supports growth and the needs of all passengers. But it must not be to the disadvantage of any station users, especially in regards to accessibility and safety."

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