Rail passenger compensation paid by train operating companies
Updated 16 November 2023
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Compensation paid by train operators since 2016 in accordance with their Passenger’s Charter and including:
- delay repay compensation
- compensation paid under the traditional charter scheme
- discretionary compensation
Compensation paid by train operating companies (TOCs): 2019 to 2023 (£thousands)
| Train operating company | Scheme type | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Govia Thameslink Railway | Delay Repay | 5,343 | 1,920 | 294 | 6,041 |
| CrossCountry | Delay Repay | 5,986 | 2,281 | 516 | 5,533 |
| East Midlands Trains | Delay Repay | No entry | No entry | No entry | 1,597 |
| East Midlands Railway | Delay Repay | 3,173 | 1,818 | 194 | 2,324 |
| West Midlands Trains | Delay Repay | 2,003 | 1,018 | 389 | 4,345 |
| LNER | Delay Repay | 25,979 | 11,193 | 1,909 | 21,807 |
| Southeastern | Delay Repay | 4,843 | 1,133 | 366 | 3,485 |
| Greater Anglia | Delay Repay | 1,787 | 844 | 178 | 4,759 |
| Virgin Trains West Coast | Delay Repay | No entry | No entry | No entry | 10,401 |
| Avanti West Coast | Delay Repay | 25,206 | 8,366 | 1,068 | 5,070 |
| c2c | Delay Repay | 137 | 26 | 7 | 167 |
| Transport for Wales | Delay Repay | 1,552 | 735 | 136 | 1,346 |
| Chiltern Railways | Delay Repay and Traditional | 346 | 106 | 52 | 515 |
| Great Western Railway | Delay Repay and Traditional | 15,823 | 6,315 | 779 | 11,325 |
| Northern Railway | Delay Repay | No entry | No entry | No entry | 1,595 |
| Northern Trains | Delay Repay | 1,439 | 527 | 93 | 108 |
| South Western Railway | Delay Repay | 3,437 | 2,131 | 272 | 4,839 |
| TransPennine Express | Delay Repay | 4,242 | 1,294 | 130 | 4,148 |
| Total | 101,297 | 39,707 | 6,384 | 89,407 |
Notable changes
The increase in compensation paid by TOCs in 2022 to 2023 compared with the previous year was due to:
- an increase in the number of passenger journeys
- increased awareness of rights to claim
- a fall in rail performance
In 2021 to 2022, the increase in compensation paid by TOCs compared with the previous year was mainly due to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
In 2020 to 2021, the decrease in compensation paid by TOCs compared with the previous year was mainly due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Scheme changes
Great Western Railway: season tickets moved to Delay Repay on 1 April 2021 but season ticket renewal discounts continued in 2021 to 2022.
Chiltern Railways: Delay Repay with DR15 was introduced on 1 May 2022. Compensation total includes £12,000 Traditional Charter compensation paid 1 to 30 April 2022 and £45,000 Traditional Charter season ticket discounts paid 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Company changes
During this period, these companies changed:
- East Midlands Trains became East Midlands Railway on 18 August 2019
- Virgin West Coast became Avanti West Coast on 8 December 2019
- Northern Railway became Northern Trains on 1 March 2020
Delay Repay
Delay Repay compensation has been introduced on all rail passenger contracts let by DfT. It is paid whatever the cause of the delay and on all types of ticket. All the TOCs provide Delay Repay compensation for delays of 30 minutes or more and 13 of the TOCs also provide compensation for delays of 15 minutes or more.
The full Delay Repay thresholds are as follows:
- 25% of the single fare for delays of 15 to 29 minutes
- 50% of the single fare for delays of 30 to 59 minutes
- 100% of the single fare for delays of 60 minutes or more
- 100% of the return fare for delays of 2 hours or more
The figures for Delay Repay train operating companies (TOCs) cover compensation for all passengers arising from:
- claims paid due to delays to journeys
- other discretionary compensation payments made following complaints of poor service (for example, the train was dirty, the information screens were not working)
They also include compensation paid out on Delay Repay from 15 minutes (DR15) for the 13 TOCs that have introduced this scheme.
Compensation for delays of 15 to 29 minutes: 2022 to 2023
Govia Thameslink Railway: £772,000
East Midlands Railway: £475,000
West Midlands Trains: £186,000
Southeastern: £519,000
Greater Anglia: £125,000
Avanti West Coast: £2,599,000
c2c: £8,000
TfW: £115,000
Chiltern: £28,000
Great Western Railway: £2,021,000
Northern Trains £116,000
South Western Railway £374,000
TransPennine Express £274,000
Traditional
Traditional Charter compensation is offered by TOCs that are not on the Delay Repay scheme. They offer at least the minimum standard set out in the National Rail Conditions of Travel (NRCoT) – that is, passengers are entitled to compensation if the delay was 60 minutes or longer, whatever the cause of the delay. However, most TOCs offering this scheme go beyond this NRCoT minimum standard.
The figures for TOCs operating the ‘traditional’ system cover compensation arising from:
- claims for delays to journeys for single, return and weekly season tickets
- discounts for season tickets valid between 1 month and 1 year (where annual performance is below the trigger level) and discretionary refunds of the value of a day’s or half a day’s travel (‘Void Days/Period’).
- discretionary compensation payments