A new version of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage comes into effect from 19th July 2015.
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/NRCOC_effective_from_19_July_2015.pdfThe major change is that compensation for delays can now be claimed in 'money' or Rail Travel Vouchers. With that choice resting with the passenger.
42. Compensation for delays
(d) Compensation will be paid in rail travel vouchers or, at your request, in money. This will be by means of a refund to the debit or credit card used to pay for your ticket or, at the Train Company^s discretion, in notes and coins, a cheque or a bank transfer payment (usually referred to as a BACS payment).
The minimum amount of compensation for delays has also risen from 20% to 50%. Nearly all train companies with their Delay Repay or Passengers' Charters already match or better this though.
42. Compensation for delays
(b) The amount of compensation offered by each Train Company in its Passenger^s Charter varies from Train Company to Train Company. However, as a minimum, if you arrive more than 60 minutes late at your destination station you will be entitled to compensation in accordance with the table below:
Single ticket, or Return ticket with delay on both the outward and return journey: 50% of the price paid
Return ticket with delay on outward or return journey: 50% of the price paid for the relevant portion of the journey
Season Ticket: The discount or compensation arrangements in the relevant Train Company^s Passenger^s Charter apply
Other changes to the Conditions of Carriage relate to lost or stolen duplicate season tickets and refunds on duplicate season tickets. Here, a person may be required to attend a short interview.
34. Lost, stolen or mislaid tickets:
If you subsequently lose or mislay your duplicate Season Ticket or it is stolen, then further duplicate Season Tickets will be issued on the same basis as your first duplicate Season Ticket. However, you may be asked to attend a meeting with the Train Company concerned to explain the circumstances in which your duplicate Season Ticket(s) was lost. Train Companies have agreed a Code of Practice for such meetings, a copy of which can be found on the National Rail nationalrail.co.uk/tickets and Train Company websites.
If the loss of your duplicate Season Ticket is a result of a theft, robbery, fire, or other exceptional circumstances which have been reported to the police, the fire service or another appropriate organisation, you should be able to provide confirmation of the circumstances from the relevant authority on request, e.g. a crime number from the police.
Train companies reserve the right to refuse to issue a duplicate Season Ticket if they have reasonable grounds to believe that such requests are being made fraudulently.
Different arrangements apply for Season Tickets issued on Smartcards where the Smartcard is registered, and it is possible to cancel the Electronic Ticket stored on it. The seller of the Smartcard or Electronic Ticket will make these clear to you when you buy your ticket.
36. Season Ticket refunds
Applications for a refund on a duplicate ticket that has been issued to replace a lost or stolen Season Ticket will be made:
(i) where the original Season Ticket is returned to the Train Company which issued the duplicate ticket within one month of it being notified of the relevant loss; or
(ii) where the original and replacement tickets were Electronic Tickets and it was possible to cancel the original ticket; or
(iii) in circumstances such as the redundancy, resignation, retirement, change of employment or address, pregnancy or prolonged illness of the holder, provided supporting evidence is supplied which is satisfactory to the Train Company asked to make the refund.
Refunds on a duplicate ticket can be made in other circumstances, although you may be asked to attend a meeting with the Train Company concerned to confirm the circumstances of your application. Train Companies have agreed a Code of Practice for such meetings, a copy of which can be found on the National Rail nationalrail.co.uk/tickets and Train Company websites.
There is also a slight change to the amount of liability a train company has if it's responsible for the loss or damage of personal items. Previously the upper limit claimable was based on the
EU» Rail Passengers^ Rights & Obligations Regulation (EC No. 1371/2007). That limit was based on a basket of currencies and was subject to fluctuation. It will, from 19th July 2015 be set at ^1500.
50. A Train Company^s liabilities
A Train Company will only be liable for any loss or damage to luggage, articles, animals or cycles in its trains or on its premises if the loss or damage was caused by the fault of a Train Company or a Rail Service Company staff or agents. A Train Company^s liability in respect of any item will not exceed, ^1500 or the item^s value, whichever is lower.
Finally the list of Train Companies has been updated to reflect recent changes in franchisees.
Those are, as far as I can work out, the only forthcoming changes to the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. Condition 19 (split tickets) in particular remains unchanged. The doom merchants were wrong.
