CONCERNS have been raised over proposals to axe staff at four of the borough's overground stations.

Waltham Forest's London Assembly member Jennette Arnold said she is worried about the potential impact of reducing workers at Walthamstow Queens Road, Blackhorse Road, Leyton Midland Road and Leytonstone High Road stations on the Gospel Oak to Barking line.

The proposals come in a Government-commissioned report on increased rail efficiency by Sir Roy McNulty, who suggests closing ticket offices and cutting workers at 675 stops nationwide.

According to the Together for Transport group, the stations earmarked typically only have a single member of staff working at a time, but they say this could still have a major impact on travellers.

But Transport for London (TfL), which manages staffing at the four stations in the borough, says it has no plans to axe staff.

The government says no decisions have been made and any changes will be consulted on.

But Ms Arnold said commuters in London were facing a bleak future with a “triple whammy” of staff cuts, Tube fare rises and bus price increases.

She said: "This is more bad news for passengers. Not only are fares under this mayor and government rocketing but now we're being told ticket offices could be closed and stations left without staff.

“I'm really worried that stations that can already feel less than safe will become more intimidating places for passengers and more inviting places for criminals."

In his report, Sir Roy said the railway sector had been “slow” to exploit the use of ticket machine technology and said many ticket offices were only busy at peak commuting hours.

He added: “"It has been argued that the staffing of ticket offices affects perceptions of personal safety...research shows that customer concerns over safety and security increase after 8pm.

“This may be a reflection of societal concern generally about security during the evening hours rather than being transport, rail or station specific.

"There is no evidence from National Passenger Survey data that train operating companies with later closing times for ticket office[s] achieve higher customer satisfaction in respect of station security.”

His report estimates that implementing its recommendations could save between £700million and £1billion annually by 2019.

It was published earlier this year but union TSSA claims the proposals were buried in small print and not included in an executive summary.

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “We are currently considering the findings of Sir Roy McNulty’s independent report and any of his proposed changes to rail fares or ticketing will be examined as part of a Government review.”

A TfL spokesman said: "The staffing of these stations is a matter for TfL, not the Department for Transport.

"We have always committed to staffing our stations at all times while services are operating, and that commitment remains.”

Click here to follow the Waltham Forest Guardian on Twitter