Closing ticket offices at tube stations across Hounslow from April next year will hit elderly and disabled passengers hardest, it has been warned.

Hounslow East, Hounslow Central, Stamford Brook and Turnham Green will be the first stations in the borough to lose their ticket offices, with work due to start at ticket halls there as early as April.

Transport for London is closing the majority of ticket offices across the capital in a move it claims will free up staff to assist passengers more effectively.

Although all stations will continue to be staffed, hundreds of jobs are going as a result of the closures, which unions have claimed could compromise safety, particularly in the event of an emergency.

London Assembly member Murad Qureshi today echoed their concerns after TfL published the timetable of ticket hall 'transformations'.

"More people than ever are using the tube network yet Boris Johnson's cuts will mean hundreds fewer staff there to help passengers.

"It is outrageous that just a month after Londoners face another round of fare rises, Boris Johnson plans to cut the service they are offered. It's a real case of the mayor asking Londoners to pay more and get less in return.

"This fight isn't about whether staff are based in ticket offices or on platforms, it's about whether there are enough staff overall to provide customers with a good service, particularly the elderly and disabled.

"Before he was elected Boris Johnson promised voters he would not close any of the capital’s ticket offices. Now he is set to axe them all. Londoners will have to ask how much the mayor’s word is really worth."

According to the timetable, ticket offices at all stations in Hounslow will close by the end of next year, with those at Chiswick Park and Hounslow West the last to go.

London mayor Boris Johnson has said the closures, which TfL estimates will save £50 million a year, were part of wider plans to improve the service next year, including the introduction of 24-hour tubes at weekends.

In a statement published last week he said: "Today, less than three per cent of journeys involve a visit to a ticket office, and an increasing number of customers top up online and use contactless payment, with hundreds of thousands of journeys made using the new technology each day.

"There will be more staff visible and available than ever before to help people buy the right ticket and plan their journeys, and to help them feel safe and secure as they travel.

"By the end of 2015 there will be more staff on platforms, at ticket machines and concourses than ever before.

"All stations will remain staffed at all times whilst services are running, and there will be more staff visible and available to offer assistance to customers where it is needed most."

TIMETABLE OF TICKET HALL 'TRANSFORMATION' WORKS IN AND AROUND HOUNSLOW

Tube station Scheduled start date for work Estimated duration
Boston Manor July-September 1 month
Chiswick Park October-December 1 month
Gunnersbury TBC TBC
Hatton Cross July-September 1 month
Heathrow Terminals 123 October-December 3 months
Heathrow Terminal 4 July-September 1 month
Heathrow Terminal 5 not LU operated N/A
Hounslow Central April-June 1 month
Hounslow East April-June 1 month
Hounslow West October-December 1-3 months
Osterley October-December 1 month
Stamford Brook April-June 1 month
Turnham Green April-June 1 month