Rail strike delays may not be compensated

Commuters stuck in queues at train stations because of Britain’s longest ever rail strike may not be eligible for compensation, it has emerged. Rail, Maritime and Transport union drivers at South Western Railway began a 27-day walkout today in a row over guards on trains. Services will either be cancelled or replaced by buses. As a result, SWR has warned that trains may be busier than usual and has stressed that it may implement queuing systems.

COMMUTERS stuck in queues at train stations because of Britain’s longest ever rail strike may not be eligible for compensation, it has emerged.

Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) drivers at South Western Railway (SWR) begin a 27-day walkout today in a row over guards on trains.

Services will either be cancelled or replaced by buses. As a result, SWR have warned that trains may be busier than usual and have stressed that they may implement queuing systems at stations across the network. But customers have been told that queues will have to be deemed significant by station staff to affect compensation claims.

It comes as Jeremy Corbyn promiseds to spend an additional £1.5billion a year in order to cut rail fares for season ticket holders by a third if Labour wins power. Labour will today announce plans to cut regulated fares by 33 per cent in January, which it claims will save the average commuter more than £1,000 annually.

The discount will apply to roughly 45 per cent of fares, including season tickets and those bought at peak time.

Children aged 16 and under would also receive free rail travel, while parttime workers will be guaranteed “fair” fares that cost no more per journey than weekly or season tickets.

Commuters faced waits of up to an hour at stations across the SWR network including Surbiton just to get on to trains during strikes in June.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, commuters who travel on an industrial action day can claim compensation if they experience a delay of 15 minutes or more that includes queuing.

But SWR said that whether queues are deemed significant will be determined by station staff. Their classification will be passed to SWR bosses who will use this information to determine if claims are legitimate. Jeremy Varns, coordinator for SWR Watch, a campaign group, said that the train company should not be treating customers as an “afterthought”.

He said: “The current arrangements for compensation for the delay repay scheme are wholly insufficient and do not reflect the inconvenience and loss of services that passengers will encounter during this month-long strike.”

“We are repeating our call on the Government to take a moment from the election to tell passengers what measures will be in place to compensate them for the significant disruption that is expected.”

A spokesman for SWR said: “Delay Repay compensation applies to journeys completed on the amended timetable. We advise passengers, during the strikes period, to plan ahead and avoid travelling during peak times as it will be busy. We’re committed to running the best service possible in order to keep passengers moving.”