Commuters grappling with the travel chaos at London Bridge should receive an automatic 50 per cent refund if their train is late, a London council has said.

Southwark Council is writing to the Department of Transport to ask for a compensation scheme to be set up after widespread problems at the station, which is undergoing a huge refurbishment over the next three years.

Passengers are facing near daily delays as a result of the work. It has already become a campaigning issue for local parliamentary candidates ahead of the General Election.

At its most severe, overcrowding even led to commuters having to climb over barriers to avoid being crushed, with police being called in to manage the situation.

Train unions have complained that staff have been spat at and had hot coffee poured on them by angry commuters.

Mark Williams, the council’s cabinet member for regeneration, planning and transport, told the Standard : “Passengers across south London deserve fair compensation. Rather than having to apply they should automatically receive payment onto their travelcard, and should get 50 per cent back if their trains are more than 15 minutes late.

“Season tickets holders should also receive a refund as they bought their tickets before services were cancelled.”

He added: “The problems at London Bridge are symptomatic of poorly coordinated rail services.

“We need government to allow TfL to extend the London Overground across the south London network.”

Currently Southeastern and Southern passengers are only entitled to compensation if they apply to the company within 28 days.