A plan to close Hale Station ticket office - and hundreds of others around the country - has been scrapped.
Proposals designed to reshape how stations are run had been unveiled by industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) in July.
It would have represented the biggest upheaval in the railway industry for a generation, with the vast majority of railway stations in England - including Hale, Stockport, Alderley Edge, Heald Green and Wilmslow - left without ticket offices.
But today, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the government had asked train operators to withdraw their proposals because they failed to meet high passenger standards.
The move had been designed as a way to save money, with rail firms arguing that only 12% of tickets were now bought at station kiosks.
Rail users objected to the proposals in their numbers however, with 750,000 responses from individuals and organisations in a public consultation.
Passenger watchdog Transport Focus said the responses “contained powerful and passionate concerns about the potential changes” that would have resulted in almost all ticket offices closing in the next few years.
Harper 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.”
