STATION ticket offices across Lancashire - including one which is the centrepiece of a new £2million railway development - could be axed.

A hit list of 675 station ticket offices - including 114 in the North West - has been drawn up for ministers, the TSSA rail union revealed.

Under the controversial cutbacks being considered by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond, Accrington and Burnley Central’s ticket office could close.

The move would come just nine months after the new £2million ‘eco-station’ for Accrington, capped off by a new ticket office, was opened.

And Burnley Central’s station house is home to the Ruswarp memorial - the plaque dedicated to the border collie who stayed by the side of his master Graham Nuttall for 11 weeks after he died walking in the Welsh hills.

Coun Miles Parkinson, leader of Hyndburn Council, said: “This would be a retrograde step, especially after the investment in the railway station and the efforts which have been made to encourage people to use public transport.”

Extra rail passengers would materialise if efforts to reinstate the Todmorden Curve, offering a faster service to Manchester, are successful, added Coun Parkinson, who is also concerned about the safety aspect of closing the offices.

Other Lancashire stations under threat include Kirkham & Wesham, Poulton-le-Fylde and St Annes-on-the-Sea.

Union chiefs have established a Save Our Stations campaign after uncovering the move, tucked away in McNulty’s report.

A Transport and Salaried Staff Association spokesman said: “This is a double whammy for millions of passengers.

"Last month they were told that fares will rise by 25 per cent over the next three years.

“And they are now set to lose one in four ticket offices.

"Not only are unstaffed stations less secure, tickets bought from machines are usually more expensive.”

Officials from pressure group Together For Transport also claim it would also mean passengers lose the chance to obtain face-to-face rail travel advice or report accidents or assaults at stations.

But rail firms claim ticket purchasing over the internet and ticket machines now accounted for two-thirds of all sales.

An Association of Train Operation Companies spokesman added: “The industry needs to cut costs as a way of limiting future fare rises and providing better value for money for the taxpayer.”