Rail rescue package unveiled to keep lines open for key workers
THOUSANDS of rail commuters will get refunds on their season tickets after the Government agreed a multi-billion pound emergency rescue package with train companies.
Ministers yesterday announced a rescue package that will see taxpayers plug the holes in train operators’ finances and hand refunds to passengers with advance and season tickets.
The package is expected to run into the billions of pounds, with current estimates putting the cost to the Treasury at around £600million a month.
Train companies have run into financial trouble as passenger numbers have nosedived by 70 per cent in recent weeks due to coronavirus. The Government said the deal was necessary to keep lines running.
Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said: “We are taking this action to protect the key workers who depend on our railways to carry on their vital roles, the hardworking commuters who have radically altered their lives to combat the spread of coronavirus, and the front-line rail staff who are keeping the country moving.
“People deserve certainty that the services they need will run or that their job is not at risk in these unprecedented times.”
The Department for Transport has suspended operators’ franchise deals for six months and replaced them with Emergency Measures Agreements under which ticket and other revenues go to the Government, which will then pay the firms what they need to cover wages and keep services running.
Rail companies will continue to run the train lines on a day-to-day basis.
Passengers will be able to claim refunds for all advanced journey tickets purchased before yesterday. Season ticketholders can claim refunds for while they have worked from home.
The package was welcomed by Transport Focus, the passenger watchdog, which said it was a “victory for common sense”, while Paul Plummer, the chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, said it would “ensure that train companies can focus all their efforts on delivering a vital service at a time of national need”.