Rail franchises paid out £90m in delay refunds last year
Rail franchises paid out nearly £90m to passengers in refunds for delays last year, new figures from the Department for Transport showed today.
In total, the 27 franchises paid out £89.4m, £10m more than they did the prior year.
Nearly a quarter of that figure came from London North Eastern Rail, which gave passengers £21.4m in compensation.
Great Western Rail and Virgin Trains West Coast also handed back over £10m each.
It was also revealed that more than half of rail passengers experienced a delay to their journey eligible for compensation in 2020.
This year 55 per cent of travellers were delayed by 15 minutes or more, up 10 per cent from the previous survey in 2018, and 18 per cent on 2016.
Officials said that the reason for the increased number of refund-worthy delays was that more rail franchises had started offering compensation for journeys delayed by at least 15 minutes, rather than 30 minutes.
However, the data also showed that the proportion of those claiming for delays of more than 30 minutes had increased seven per cent over the last two years.
That figure now stands at 46 per cent, while the proportion of those claiming for 15-29 minute delays is now at 22 per cent.
DfT commissioned travel watchdog Transport Focus to survey 11,656 people to come up with the figures.
Delay repay was first introduced in 2007 and has slowly been rolled out across the UK’s rail franchises. As of today, 17 of the 27 companies offer refunds for delays of 15 minutes or more.
The figures come with rail franchises now under government control due to a collapse in revenue caused by flatlining passenger numbers as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rail companies will remain under government management for the next 18 months, after which the current franchise system, which was creaking even prior to the pandemic, will be replaced.
Today’s figures also showed that franchises had improved in their handling of refund payments, with 94 per cent of all claims dealt with within four weeks of being submitted.
In addition, only a quarter of passengers now have to chase to get compensation, down from 29 per cent in 2018.
A DfT spokesperson said: “As Delay Repay 15 is rolled out by more operators across the country and people are increasingly aware of their rights, it is positive to see a higher proportion of passengers claiming.
“Our focus is delivering reliable, punctual journeys, but when there is disruption it is vital that passengers are able to claim simpler, quicker compensation.”