Transport Insights

Ministers have made headlines with the announcement that rail passengers will be able to claim Delay Repay compensation directly from third party retailers, but without saying anything about when it will happen.

The BBC has reported:

Train Delay Repay rule changes to make claims easier

But the story begins:

Train travellers who buy discounted tickets using railcards will face additional checks, as part of a trial to crack down on ticketing fraud starting in April.

If the trial is successful, the plan will save £20m a year in lost revenue, while preventing confused passengers from being prosecuted for fare evasion, the Department for Transport says.

Followed by:

A separate scheme will also make it easier for passengers who buy their tickets from third-party retailers such as Trainline to claim compensation for late or cancelled services under the Delay Repay scheme.

The confusion is entirely the result of the Department for Transport bundling two slightly related announcements together.

It announced its response to the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) review into revenue protection practices with the headline:

Delay Repay changes will make rail travel easier under Great British Railways

So when are these changes to delay repay going to happen? Not a word about that in the story or the BBC reporting, but the biggest clue that we should not hold our breath comes in the word future in the quote from Jody Ford, CEO of Trainline:

Making compensation easier when you need it is a win for passengers. Wherever you buy your ticket, the focus must be on getting more people to choose rail. These future changes to Delay Repay have real potential to support that ambition and will be welcomed by millions.