The Government has warned South West Trains (SWT) against lapses in staffing at its stations, after it rejected plans to close Thames Ditton and Hinchley Wood station’s ticket offices throughout the weekend.

Both station’s ticket offices are currently closed on Sundays, but SWT claimed it did not need to be open on Saturdays either, since the introduction of pay-as-you-go Oyster cards in January.

In a letter to SWT, a Department of Transport official said each station must have a help point which gives access to information, and that SWT did not charge fees for sales made on the internet and telesales services.

He added: “It should also be noted that the Secretary of State expects that the hours you proposed are staffed robustly – and discussions will be finalised with officials on earlier lapses in this regard.”

Sharon Grant, chairman of train watchdog London TravelWatch, said: “Passengers must be able to buy the full range of tickets and to have access to any discount to which they are entitled. If ticket machines do not have this range, it is profoundly unfair for passengers.”