Rail firms welcome calls to provide more information on passenger compensation

Officials at both Arriva Trains Wales and London Midland said they supported the plan of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to raise awareness of what payouts are available.

The regulator wants train companies to launch a national campaign to provide details about compensation for passengers affected by disrupted trains.

It also urged operators to ensure compensation forms are written in "plain English" and staff are given better training to provide information to passengers.

The recommendations were made after consumer group Which? used its powers under the Enterprise Act 2002 to launch a super complaint over the issue in December.

Most train companies offer compensation if services are delayed by at least half an hour, but a survey of almost 7,000 passengers found only a third – 34 per cent – of those entitled to a payout made a claim.

Train operating companies serving people in Shropshire said different initiatives were being explored to make county commuters more aware of their entitlements.

Arriva Trains Wales spokeswoman Claire Lillie said: "We are actively striving to provide clear information to our customers to publicise compensation entitlement when our services are delayed and we are continually expanding the range of information channels that promote our claim process.

"This includes improved information about compensation at all our stations.

"Our Journey Check service automatically highlights delayed services where compensation may be due and our conductors already hand out compensation information cards on delayed services.

"Following feedback we are also looking at some other initiatives that will be implemented this year including customer-friendly on-line submission forms."

Francis Thomas, spokesman for London Midland, said the company welcomed the ORR's response to the Which? report.

He said: "We fully support the idea that delayed passengers should get the compensation they are entitled to.

"We will be playing our full part with the Rail Delivery Group in looking at new and better ways to raise awareness of Delay Repay.

"For example our own London Midland app now allows passengers to claim their compensation using their mobile phone even before they have got off the train."

Recent analysis of ORR figures showed that an average of 57 trains were significantly late every day in Britain.

Some 5,250 trains were between 30 and 119 minutes late from July to September last year.

Train companies received £106 million in 2014/15 for unplanned delays attributed to Network Rail, such as those caused by infrastructure faults, vandalism and bad weather.

But according to the Department for Transport, figures from 12 operators – including Virgin Trains, CrossCountry and Southern – show a total payout to passengers of just £26 million over the same period.

Network Rail says the payments it makes to train companies compensates them for the "long-term impact of disruption" as it is thought delayed passengers will be less likely to travel by train in the future, which affects revenue from fares.