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grahame
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« on: February 17, 2026, 18:00:31 » |
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From Aubrey AllegrettiExc: Ministers are considering plans to scale back “delay repay” refunds for late running trains.
Insiders say the move will be presented as a way to standardise differing compensation schemes, as the government’s nationalisation drive ramps up.
But ideas under consideration include “levelling down” to LNER» levels - meaning no money back for delays of up to 29 minutes.
Taken together with plans for automating compensation means it is hoped the cost would be revenue neutral. |
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Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Transport User Group, West Wiltshire Rail User Group Committee and TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #1 on: February 17, 2026, 18:24:54 » |
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Surely the re-nationalisation of the railways is going to 'put an end to delays' and thus avoid the need for the government to pay any compensation?    |
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William Huskisson MP▸ was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830. Many more have died in the same way since then. Don't take a chance: Stop, Look, Listen.
"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner." Discuss.
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Kernow Otter
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« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2026, 18:43:22 » |
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More levelling down.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2026, 19:37:42 » |
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Surely the re-nationalisation of the railways is going to 'put an end to delays' and thus avoid the need for the government to pay any compensation? It'll mean we pay even more for even less. |
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2026, 20:21:30 » |
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If you haven't already cast your own vote on this poll topic, there is still plenty of opportunity for our members to do so.  And, if you are not a member but are reading this as a guest, there is still time for you to register here as a new member: it's easy to do, there is no charge and no commitment whatever (other than to follow the published guidelines when posting here, obviously). See http://worker.firstgreatwestern.info/better/about.html and, specifically, http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?action=register . CfN▸ .  |
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William Huskisson MP▸ was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830. Many more have died in the same way since then. Don't take a chance: Stop, Look, Listen.
"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner." Discuss.
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ChrisB
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« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2026, 20:44:22 » |
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From the Mirror, via MSNRail compensation 'set to be scrapped' for some passengers in major shake-up
Rail passengers will no longer qualify for train compensation unless their journey is 30 minutes delayed, under new proposals reportedly being considered by the government.
Most train companies currently refund 25% of your ticket price if your journey is between 15 and 29 minutes delayed.
If your train is between 30 and 59 minutes delayed, you normally qualify for 50% compensation - this rises to 100% of your ticket price back if you are over one hour delayed.
But under the new rules, rail passengers would only get compensation if their journey is more than 30 minutes delayed.
Any refund due would be awarded automatically - removing the need for passengers to have to fill out “delay repay” forms online, with proof of their ticket.
The Times reports that the proposals are being considered as part of plans to replace “delay repay” schemes with a single system.
UK▸ rail companies are being nationalised as private contracts expire, with a goal to bring all major operators into public ownership by October 2027.
The cost of compensation will be funded by taxpayer money once all the rail compensations are nationalised, as opposed to be paid by private operators.
Around £138million was paid out to rail passengers in the 2023-24 financial year. A Department for Transport spokesperson told The Mirror : “We do not comment on speculation.
“This Government is overhauling our railways and building back public trust so that passengers can rely on trains that run on time.
“Our reforms are making ticketing simpler throughout passengers’ journeys – from rolling out more contactless tech at stations and trialling pay-as-you-go fares, to making it easier to claim delay repay, including through our upcoming GBR▸ app.”
It comes after Trainline revealed rail passengers are missing out on more than £80million a year in compensation for delayed journeys.
Trainline has launched a petition calling on the Government to enable “one click” claims to be made by all online ticket buyers.
Trainline chief executive Jody Ford said: “Six minutes of form-filling after a delayed train is unacceptable.
“With years of innovation and industry cooperation, we’ve made huge progress in simplifying ticket buying, but compensation must be just as easy when journeys are disrupted.
“Passengers want rail reform that focuses on what matters to them, and ‘one-click’ delay repay is a practical change the industry and Government can do together.”
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Hafren
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« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2026, 01:14:22 » |
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I'm inclined to think 30 minute threshold could be acceptable if it genuinely helps to manage costs, subject to two things that need to be taken seriously:
• The number of times I've had a 15 minute delay but it's been logged as 14 minute so not payable, or 30 minute logged as 29 minute. Someimtes it genuinely just missed the threshold; other times I've had the claim rejected because it was so close. Train booked to arrive xx:10, let's say, and actually arrived a touch after xx:25, but arrival logged as xx:24 – looking at RTT» , it was xx:24:45... because the train approached the terminus more slowly than the 'time in section' calculation assumed. Or the delay was 30 minutes because missed connection was 30 minutes later, but it arrived 30 second early, so it was in the 15-29 bracket, but the actual effect of the delay on my life was to all intents and purposes 30 minutes – especially given it meant I had to leave 30 minutes later for my return journey! So if we're getting rid of hte 15 minute threshold, let's apply the 30 minute one more fairly, and make it at least 'in practice' a 29 minute threshold.
• Let's work on reducing niggly small delays... so trains are only delayed when there's a real problem! Then we might have less need for the 15-29 category!
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grahame
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« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2026, 08:37:37 » |
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• The number of times I've had a 15 minute delay but it's been logged as 14 minute so not payable, or 30 minute logged as 29 minute. Sometimes it genuinely just missed the threshold; other times I've had the claim rejected because it was so close.
A really difficult one - where there's a "hard line" between two categories in a continuum, and where you have such a hard line there will always be issues - and temptation by the arbiters to push the decision in the way that favours them. 1. Why set the cut off points at 30 and 60 minutes - they could almost have been designed to cause problems on "clock face" services where people drop back through a cancellation or a missed connection into the following train. Why not 25 or 35, 55 or 65 minutes? 2. With modern electronics and calculations, why not a sliding scale? Up to 25 minutes, no delay / repay, then a sliding scale up to 65 minutes after which full single journey refund is due. Perhaps with a minimum refund of 2 pounds to avoid the overhead of "pence" claims? And, yes, I am aware that will give rise to anomalies such as parent getting a payment back, and son/daughter not. |
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Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Transport User Group, West Wiltshire Rail User Group Committee and TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2026, 08:55:04 » |
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• The number of times I've had a 15 minute delay but it's been logged as 14 minute so not payable, or 30 minute logged as 29 minute. Sometimes it genuinely just missed the threshold; other times I've had the claim rejected because it was so close.
A really difficult one - where there's a "hard line" between two categories in a continuum, and where you have such a hard line there will always be issues - and temptation by the arbiters to push the decision in the way that favours them. 1. Why set the cut off points at 30 and 60 minutes - they could almost have been designed to cause problems on "clock face" services where people drop back through a cancellation or a missed connection into the following train. Why not 25 or 35, 55 or 65 minutes? 2. With modern electronics and calculations, why not a sliding scale? Up to 25 minutes, no delay / repay, then a sliding scale up to 65 minutes after which full single journey refund is due. Perhaps with a minimum refund of 2 pounds to avoid the overhead of "pence" claims? And, yes, I am aware that will give rise to anomalies such as parent getting a payment back, and son/daughter not. Rather than fiddling/penny pinching and making an already mediocre customer experience even worse, instead of working on ways of reducing compensation for poor performance, why doesn't the industry focus on reducing the root cause? (ie delays)? Reduce delays, improve customer satisfaction and the cost of delay/repay falls. |
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Clan Line
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« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2026, 15:34:28 » |
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1. Why set the cut off points at 30 and 60 minutes - they could almost have been designed to cause problems on "clock face" services where people drop back through a cancellation or a missed connection into the following train. Why not 25 or 35, 55 or 65 minutes?
I feel that there is a purpose in this. I have been "caught" twice when the train I was going to catch was cancelled, I had to wait an hour for the next clockface service (8pm on Romsey station in mid winter not recommended), on both occasions I then arrived at my destination one minute ahead of schedule. I felt that this was rather a penny pinching response - any reasonable person would say I was an hour late.............NOT GWR▸ - only 59 minutes late ! The second time this happened (once bitten !), I asked the guard if I could re-board the train I had just got off (from Chandlers Ford) and take the scenic roundabout route back to Salisbury. He was OK with that and I had a nice warm, clean seat. 10/10 to SWR» . |
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