Proposals to axe five railway station ticket offices in Norfolk have been branded "unacceptable" by angry council leaders.
The facilities at Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn, Thetford, Downham Market and Diss are earmarked for closure under plans by industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).
The ticket office at Norwich will become a Customer Information Centre, with Greater Anglia saying it will "offer a full range of products and provide help with more complex transactions".
The mooted closures are part of a national shake-up, with the RDG saying that moving ticket office staff on to station platforms and concourses would "modernise customer service".
But leaders at Conservative-controlled Norfolk County Council have sent a strongly-worded response to RDG in the consultation over the potential closures.
READ MORE: Fears over Great Yarmouth train station ticket office closure
The council has said it "cannot support" changes which could affect some of the county's most vulnerable people.
Graham Plant, the county council's cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure, said: "The county council cannot support these proposals to replace station ticket offices with roving staff.
"I am concerned that these changes could affect the most vulnerable people in society, who rely on ticket office staff to help them and could struggle to use ticket machines.
"Our recent rail prospectus was informed by consultation, which indicated that, for many people, the absence of station staff and ticket offices acted as a barrier to using the railway.
"It is unacceptable that this consultation is being rushed through in 21 days, without evidence of the demographics of users at individual stations and how potential negative impacts would be mitigated."
The transport secretary will make the final decision in cases where there is an objection by a passenger watchdog.
It is not known how quickly the first sites will close, but the programme is expected to last for three years.
The rail industry is under pressure from the government to save money amid the drop in revenue caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here