Compensation soars
Passengers claimed £73 million in compensation last year, according to DfT - £28.6m higher than in the previous 12 months.
PASSENGERS claimed compensation under the Passenger’s Charter worth £73.57 million in 2016-17, according to figures released by the Department for Transport on January 5. This total is £28.6m higher than the previous 12-month period.
The statistics place Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) at the top of the compensation table, with the company paying out £14.96m during 2016-17, in addition to £11.97m to Southern season ticket holders for what the Department for Transport calls “extraordinary disruption suffered in 2016”.
Second was Virgin Trains East Coast, which paid out £13.73m (£2.88m more than in the previous year). The top three was completed by Virgin West Coast, with payouts of £13.15m compared with £13.82m in 2015-16.
The company which paid out least was c2c, although its figure of £273,000 was significantly higher than the previous year’s total of £236,000. Northern paid out £326,000 in compensation to its passengers, while Chiltern was the third-lowest, paying £353,000.
Although many operators now use Delay Repay to compensate some ticket holders automatically, Arriva Trains Wales, Chiltern, Great Western Railway and South West Trains (whose compensation payments increased from £1m to £8.66m) all retained the traditional methods of passenger compensation during the period covered.
Transport Focus Chief Executive Anthony Smith was quick to respond to the statistical release, saying: “Passengers want a journey they can rely on rather than having to claim compensation. Patchy punctuality is reflected in these claim figures. However, it is also a good sign that more people are beginning to claim the compensation due to them when things go wrong.
“Our research had shown that almost two-thirds of eligible passengers were unaware they could claim, so it is good to see more people getting some money back to take the sting out of the situation.
“We think the process could be made even easier - with greater automation - to help yet more people claim. And of course, the best case would be for performance to improve so there is no need to claim.”