MP for Worcester Robin Walker has backed plans to add ticket barriers to Foregate Street Station to combat fare dodgers as part of a £1million upgrade programme.

The Member of Parliament met with West Midlands Rail in Westminster earlier this month to discuss the investment plan, which would also see improvements to the ticket office.

Speaking outside the station yesterday, Mr Walker said: “It’s fairer to the travelling public, for everyone to have a ticket than that people think they can get away without.”

“When I’m in London, I go to work every day on the tube and use ticket barriers. They do allow for a smooth flow of people,” he continued.

“I think there has been a concern at this station, particularly, that a lot of people can travel between one or two stations without ever getting a ticket checked. So, I can see why ticket barriers from that perspective are considered a good idea.”

Mr Walker said, during his meeting with WMR he outlined the importance of improving the customer experience as part of the upgrade programme, including accessibility of the station for older and less mobile passengers.

He believed the installation of ticket barriers would help with this.

“Once you have ticket barriers there with disabled access gates, it also means there has to be someone on hand to support people, which many times, there is actually no one visible at the station, out of hours.”

He went on to say, he was on a train recently when someone was found to be travelling without a ticket, but the ticket inspector did not have the power to impose a fine.

“A couple of people traveling on the train were very unhappy about the fact that someone was effectively let off.

“The ticket barriers do at least give them a chance to say to people: ‘hang on a minute, you can’t get on until you pay’.”

Mr Walker said many constituents have contacted him about concerns regarding any changes to the travel centre within the station.

But he said while the centre may be moved or the layout changed, he was “reassured” by WMR that any changes will not impact on the services it currently provides – while there will be an “increase in staffing”.

The MP did reiterate that WMR “haven’t come to their final conclusions” about the upgrade scheme, including ticket barriers, and will be consulting with the public.

“There is an opportunity for the public, for people who use the railway, to get involved, help shape the future of Foregate Street Station, and make sure we benefit from a better service.

“That’s what really matters to me, at the end of the day, my constituents getting a good service, being able to buy tickets, get advice on season tickets and that side of things, when they need to,” he added.

An additional 413 carriages are due to be in service in the region by 2021, with WMR promising a 25 per cent increased capacity to alleviate overcrowding in carriages and platform waiting times.