Passengers affected by rail delays are now able to receive cash compensation instead of vouchers, in a major change to policy by operators.
Travellers with some of the UK’s biggest rail companies can now also make claims for trains that are 30 minutes late..
A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, representing train operators and Network Rail, said: “Planned changes to the national rail conditions of carriage will enable passengers to claim their compensation in cash, instead of rail vouchers. This will be a welcome move for passengers.”
Less than half of the 26 companies running rail services in the UK are signed up to the “delay repay” guarantee agreement, but most of the others do have alternative compensation schemes for late trains.
The change was welcomed by many rail users on social media.
@TransportFocus delay repay in cash is great, now we just need to make it easier to get. @SouthernRailUK are awful, it takes months & months
— Annette Sherrard (@nettynoo73) June 6, 2015
Glad to train commuters will be able to get cash refunds but I think all train companies should be part of the Delay Repay scheme.
— Dave Stubbings (@DStubbings14) June 6, 2015
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: “Our latest train survey showed that people are dissatisfied with the service provided by many of the operators, and it’s little wonder when three in 10 people suffered a delay when they last travelled.
“As ticket prices continue to rocket, train operators must do more to improve levels of satisfaction and to inform people of their right to a refund as a result of delays.”
Some watchdogs have said more changes still need to be made, with one claiming many people were now opting to make claims for delayed services they had not travelled on to compensate for multiple, shorter delays.
Figures from the website Delay Repay Sniper showed in January 2015 that as many as 52% of the 3,466 trains on the Brighton-to-London services run by Southern were late.
But passengers could only claim compensation for 59 of the journeys, because of the 30-minute rule.
Delay Repay Sniper technical adviser Lee Fortnam said it did not condone fraudulent claims, but added that it could be that passengers who had been delayed five minutes on Monday, five minutes on Tuesday, 10 minutes on Wednesday and 10 minutes on Thursday could be tempted to put in for a 30-minute claim for a service they did not use.
