Seven million train journeys delayed by at least half an hour
LONG-suffering rail passengers endured more than seven million severe delays in just 12 months, latest figures reveal.
As the biggest fare hikes in five years come into force next month – coupled with engineering chaos over the festive period – a report has exposed the level of disruption on the rail network.
Passengers lost at least 3.6 million hours in a year plagued by the usual issues such as signalling problems as well a wave of strikes and engineering works.
Consumer group Which? analysed data from rail regulator the Office of Rail and Road between April 1 2016 and March 31 this year. It found that Virgin Trains East Coast was the train company with the highest percentage of significant delays, with 3.65 per cent of all passenger journeys delayed between 30 minutes and two hours.
It was followed by Virgin Trains West Coast, at 1.95 per cent. Both services are operated jointly by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Stagecoach. The best performing service was c2c, which operates trains in London, Southend and Essex, with just 0.16 per cent of its trains delayed by more than half an hour.
It comes as the Department for Transport said compensation payouts rose by nearly twothirds to just under £74million in 2016-17. Under the Delay Repay scheme, which most services have signed up to, compensation should be paid for delays of 30 minutes or more. Operators are also signing up to a tougher scheme which means passengers are eligible for payouts if services are delayed longer than 15 minutes.
Which? made a ‘super complaint’ to the regulator two years ago over the scheme, with the watchdog agreeing that it needed significant improvement
However, Which? says there is still more that must be done. It found that 40 per cent of commuters said they were not told they were eligible for a payout the last time they were delayed for half an hour or more. This rose to more than half – 54 per cent – of leisure passengers.
Alex Hayman, managing director of public markets at Which?, said: ‘Passengers have told us about the serious impact train delays can have on their lives ... This is made even more infuriating when they struggle to claim the compensation they may be owed.’
The findings will fuel concerns among passengers forced to pay high fares despite receiving poor service. Ticket prices will increase again by 3.4 per cent on average next month, the biggest rise in five years, comfortably outstripping pay rises.
Regulated fares such as season tickets will go up by 3.6 per cent, adding more than £100 to the annual bills of some commuters.
Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators and Network Rail said: ‘Rail companies are working together to ensure more people arrive on time but when things go wrong it should be easy to claim any compensation due.’ He added that many operators had introduced automatic refunds.
A Virgin Trains spokesman said the firm’s route spanned 400 miles and around 80 per cent of delays were out of its control.
Rail minister Paul Maynard said: ‘ It is right that when things go wrong passengers are compensated fairly, which is why we are improving the compensation offer and are working with the rail industry to ensure everybody knows what they are entitled to.’
rail passengers bracing themselves for the biggest fare hikes in five years, a damning report shows at least seven million train journeys were delayed by half an hour or more in a single year. Yet according to consumer group Which? many commuters are still not getting the compensation they deserve. At a time when so many tickets are bought online, shouldn’t train companies be forced to pay out automatically for such appalling customer service?