Delay Repay 15 scheme ensures rail passengers can claim compensation quickly and easily.
Northern passengers are now eligible for extended compensation on journeys delayed by 15 minutes or more, Rail Minister Andrew Jones has announced today (17 December 2018).
The Delay Repay 15 scheme – known as DR15 – improves the compensation available to passengers, ensuring they can claim quickly and easily regardless of the cause of delays or cancellation.
DR15 is an extension of the current compensation package that already exists for journeys delayed by 30 minutes or more. It means passengers delayed by between 15 and 29 minutes can claim back compensation worth 25% of the single fare.
Rail Minister Andrew Jones said:
Extending ‘Delay Repay’ to cover 15 minute delays is the right thing to do for northern passengers. Our absolute priority is delivering the reliable services passengers deserve, but when things go wrong people must be compensated fairly and quickly.
We are also investing £15 million on enhancements for passengers across the north, ensuring we deliver improvements that passengers want alongside more comfortable and punctual services.
Richard Allan, Deputy Managing Director at Northern, said:
We are truly sorry for the inconvenience caused by the disruption to rail services earlier this year and have paid special compensation to more than 11,000 season ticket and non-season holders since the summer.
Now, with the launch of Delay Relay 15, those customers who experience day-to-day delays will be able to claim the compensation they want and deserve. Our team works hard to deliver a consistent, punctual service but delays do happen and extending the scheme is the right thing to do for our customers.
David Hoggarth, Strategic Rail Director at Transport for the North, said:
The major disruption passengers across the north have endured this year has been unacceptable, it’s only right that they’re compensated when things go wrong. This a welcome move that will mean more people can claim now and in the future. Focus must now be getting services back on track.
Transport for the North is committed to ensuring that passenger interests are put first, and we will continue to press the operators to deliver a reliable and more resilient rail service that people can depend on.
The extension to DR15 comes on top of the special compensation package announced for Northern and TransPennine Express passengers who experienced unacceptable disruption following the timetable changes earlier in the year. More than 12,000 claims from northern ticket holders have already been submitted and more than £1 million paid out in compensation.
The Department for Transport and Transport for the North are working with the industry to deliver significant improvements in the performance of rail services in the north. This includes appointing industry expert Richard George to identify key underlining issues within the network and make recommendations that deliver improvements.
The department has also worked with industry to introduce a new rail ombudsman, which provides a free, easily accessible dispute resolution scheme in cases where passengers are not happy with a train operator’s response to their complaint.
