Rail season ticket holders to receive compensation for timetabling chaos
Northern rail passengers are to receive compensation for the chaos that delays due to timetabling issues cause them last month, after Transport for the North agreed to issue a “comprehensive” package.
However, Councillor Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority representative on the TfN Board, said that while the decision ensured some compensation would “begin to flow to rail passengers as soon as possible,” it was clear that what was on offer could only be a starting point.
She added: “The rail industry must come forward with a more comprehensive package which properly compensates passengers across the North of England. We must also ensure the rail companies foot their rightful share of this bill.
“Rail passengers have had to endure weeks of chaos and they deserve proper compensation for the disruption to their lives and businesses.”
The “comprehensive” compensation package agreed at a Transport for the North board, following a recommendation from the Department for Transport, will see season ticket holders become eligible to receive a cash payment equivalent to one week’s travel, in addition to the standard existing compensation passengers are entitled to.
While season ticket holders on the worst affected Northern services in Lancashire, Cumbria and Greater Manchester, who experienced disruption before and after the May timetable change, will be eligible to receive a cash payment equivalent to up to one month’s travel.
Marketing campaigns for the tourist areas affected by the disruption will be funded as part of the package.
Further measures are expected to be agreed shortly. The costs of the package will be met in full by the industry and passengers will start receiving payments from early July.
Rail Minister Jo Johnson said: “Rail passengers have experienced unacceptable disruption and, while we have started to see some improvements, many people are still not getting the service they expect. We are doing everything we can alongside Transport for the North and Northern to improve the service, but it is absolutely right that passengers should be compensated for the disruption they have suffered.
“This comprehensive package, together with the steps we are taking to get services running and the independent inquiry we announced earlier in the month, should go some way towards putting right the problems we’ve seen.”
A temporary timetable is in operation on parts of Northern’s network until 29 July, with the full timetable introduced following that.
Earlier this month, the government announced an independent inquiry into the timetable issues. If Northern is found to have been negligent, the government said it would not hesitate to take tough action.
