A U-turn has been made on the proposal to close a train station ticket office in Oldham.

The ticket office at Greenfield Railway Station, in Saddleworth, will be spared after the Conservative government announced its decision to cancel shutting almost all 1,007 offices in England.

The decision comes as a relief for Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, who has campaigned for the Greenfield’s station’s ticket offices to remain manned since the closure was first announced.

She said: “I am delighted with the news that the ticket office in Greenfield Station will stay open.

"I want to say a massive thank you to the many residents who took part in my call for evidence over the summer which informed my letter to the Transport Minister.

"I truly believe that the proposals to close the ticket offices was an exclusionary and discriminatory policy and was pleased that the chief executive of the equality and human rights commission wrote to me to confirm that he 'shared my concerns' about this.

The MP continued: "I will continue in my work to campaign for greater accessibility at the station and am very pleased with the recent news that it will become accessible on both sides.

"This is something I have been pressing for since my election in 2011 and I will continue to press for greater detail on how and when this will be achieved and on what timescale."

The decision was announced over the summer by the Rail Delivery Group, a membership organisation that works on behalf of the rail industry to create a ‘simpler, better railway’.

David Wheeler, a member of the Greenfield Rail Action Group, has urged residents to “use it of lose it” following this recent scare.

The Greenfield man, who has been using the station for 20 years, added: “Excellent news, however people need to use these facilities, and at Greenfield the excellent free staffed car park at the rugby club. Use these facilities or lose them!”

The decision was initially made to close ticket offices as the rail industry aimed to reduce costs after a fall in passenger numbers since Covid.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the proposals to close ticket offices “did not meet the high thresholds” of serving rail passengers.

He said: “The consultation on ticket offices has now ended, with the Government making clear to the rail industry throughout the process that any resulting proposals must meet a high threshold of serving passengers.

“We have engaged with accessibility groups throughout this process and listened carefully to passengers as well as my colleagues in Parliament.

“The proposals that have resulted from this process do not meet the high thresholds set by ministers, and so the Government has asked train operators to withdraw their proposals.”

While Watchdog Transport Focus explained it had objected to all of the proposals to close railway station ticket offices in England.

It stated that following analysis of 750,000 responses to a consultation on whether ticket offices should close, and discussion with train companies "Transport Focus is objecting to the proposals to close" them.

Chief executive Anthony Smith said: “Significant amendments and changes have been secured by the watchdog – for example, reverting to existing times when staff will be on hand at many stations. Some train companies were closer than others in meeting our criteria.

“However, serious overall concerns remain about how potentially useful innovations, such as ‘welcome points’ would work in practice. We also have questions about how the impact of these changes would be measured and how future consultation on staffing levels will work."

He stated that "some train companies" were "unable to convince us" about their ability to sell a range of tickets, handle cash payments and "avoid excessive queues at ticket machines".

Mr Smith added: “Passengers must be confident they can get help when needed and buy the right ticket in time for the right train.”