Travellers told to claim for all delays after only 35% of those eligible made claims in 2017-18

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Rail passengers have been urged to claim compensation for every delay they suffer after missing out on an estimated £100m in payouts last year.

Transport Focus, the UK industry watchdog, said passengers should send a message to train operators that reliability must keep improving by claiming their full entitlement.

Research by the rail industry has suggested train operators have been reluctant to advertise passengers’ right to compensation, with 82% of delayed passengers entitled to a payout saying they did not hear any announcement on the train or at the station informing them they could make a claim.

Launching a campaign to encourage more passengers to claim, Anthony Smith, the chief executive of Transport Focus, said: “Too many rail passengers miss out on compensation for late-running trains. When things go wrong train operators must ensure every eligible passenger knows about Delay Repay and how to claim. They must also do more to make it easy to claim and automate this process wherever possible.”

Transport Focus research for the Department for Transport found only 35% of eligible passengers claimed compensation in 2017-18, with a total of £81m paid out.

Smith added: “To make their voice heard passengers must claim every time.”

Many passengers are failing to claim for short delays, where they would only receive a smaller payment. While 39% of passengers claimed for delays exceeding 30 minutes, only 18% claimed for delays of 15 minutes. In total, about £100m goes unclaimed each year, Transport Focus has calculated.

The watchdog said companies should put more automated compensation schemes in place, taking the responsibility to claim from passengers.

The industry body the Rail Delivery Group said: “We want passengers to get the compensation they’re entitled to. Train companies have helped to increase compensation payments by 80% over the last two years.”

Measures put in place, according to the RDG, include personal alerts through Facebook as well as more station announcements. More train operators are offering automatic compensation, including c2c, Virgin Trains, Govia Thameslink Railway, Northern, South Western and Transpennine Express.

Darren Shirley, the chief executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said: “When things go wrong too many [passengers] are missing out on compensation due to complex systems or a lack of information on how to claim. Ultimately, the reliability and punctuality of train services have to improve.”