Passengers to get cash refunds for rail delays

HIGHLAND rail passengers will now receive cash refunds for delays as new compensation arrangements come into play.

Previously, customers were only offered travel vouchers, but can now claim their money back for delays of 30 minutes or more.

Rhoda Grant, MSP for the Highlands and Islands, called this a ‘step in the right direction’.

She said: ‘ The move to pay compensation for delays in cash instead of vouchers will be welcome news for rail passengers across Scotland and the UK.

‘Delays and cancellations are a sadly too regular an occurrence in the Highlands and this is an important step in the right direction from the industry towards treating customers who face delays more fairly.’

Ms Grant said this will benefit tourists as well as locals as visitors to the country have previously been offered vouchers when they were only here for a short time.

She added: ‘I have heard of one case when tourists were delayed and offered vouchers as compensation, which, of course, was of no use to them as they were travelling out of the country the following day. Cash refunds will encourage more people to claim and is a much more practical and fair alternative to vouchers.’