Rail operators set to receive millions of pounds for cancellation of trains

THE CANCELLATION of trains amid heavy snowfall could add to the millions of pounds rail companies receive each year in compensation.

Operators in England and Wales received £181m from Network Rail for unplanned disruption in the 2016/17 financial year, but paid out just £74m in compensation to delayed passengers.

Greater Anglia, which cancelled more than 200 trains in anticipation of the Siberian blast, received £4.4m during the period.

Public transport campaigners have called for automatic compensation to be introduced across the rail industry, to ensure more passengers receive their entitlement.

Just over a third (35 per cent) of passengers claim compensation, according to a study by Transport Focus published in 2016.

This was compared with 12 per cent in 2013.

The figures come as Network Rail apologised to passengers after it closed rail lines in areas where predicted heavy snow failed to materialise.

It announced on Monday no trains would operate on Greater Anglia’s rural routes yesterday to enable operators to run “the safest and most effective service with the predicted conditions”.

Although there was snow in parts of Norfolk, the anticipated heavy flurries fell further south in Kent.