VIRGIN Trains says it will consult with staff over reported changes to railway ticket offices on the East Coast Main Line which a union says could mean 100 jobs being lost.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) said ticket office staff would be moved out from behind counters onto “customer service zones” on platforms and would sell tickets from hand-held machines.

This would also mean a narrower range of cheaper tickets being available because the machines would not offer a full service.

TSSA leader Manuel Cortes said: "This is another example of passengers finding a service is being cut in the name of private profit.

“It will be a recipe for travel chaos when platforms are at their busiest during peak travel times.

"We should go back to the publicly-run East Coast Main Line franchise which was a non profit-making line where passenger service was paramount.”

A Virgin Trains East Coast spokesman said: “We are always looking for ways to improve things further for our customers, who are at the heart of every decision we make.

“Of course where any of these changes affect our people we'll consult fully with them and their representatives."

Last month the rail firm and its partner Stagecoach Group was forced to respond to suggestions in the national media that the East Coast franchise – which was previously in public hands – was making “serious losses”.

A spokesman said it was meeting its promises of significant investment and its financial commitments to the taxpayer.