Ten charities for visually impaired people have banded together to protest against plans for the mass closure of station ticket offices.
A government consultation on the proposals has been extended to 1 September, after the RNIB warned blind and partially-sighted people would be prevented from taking part by the original tight timescale.
Some train companies did not provide accessible formats. The RNIB, alongside charities including Retina UK, Guide Dogs and Glaucoma UK, warned closing ticket offices would limit the opportunity to travel independently.
They signed a joint letter to transport secretary Mark Harper, warning only 3 per cent of blind and partially sighted people in RNIB research said they could use a ticket machine without difficulty. More than 50 per cent said it is impossible.
Matt Stringer, RNIB chief executive, said: “Since plans to close train ticket offices were announced we have heard in great detail from blind and partially sighted people about the hugely damaging impact that this will have on their ability to travel independently, to buy tickets, and arrange assistance.
“We urge train operators to make the consultation itself more accessible through a standardised process, a tool to allow people to determine which train operating companies run the stations they care about and making formats such as large print or braille more quickly and easily available.
“We will continue to urge Mark Harper and rail minister Huw Merriman to halt these proposals and keep ticket offices open as the risk is to leave blind and partially sighted people behind a new barrier.”
The RNIB research also found nearly 88 per cent of respondents said that a static point to meet rail staff was important or very important.
More than 170,000 responses had been received by the end of July, according to consumer watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch.