Following the presentation of my Private Members' Bill before Christmas, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) wrote to me explaining what they are doing in the area of compensation:
- They are currently running a nationwide rail industry publicity campaign to boost awareness of how passengers can claim money back for delayed train journeys, involving adverts on social media, electronic screens, posters and leaflets at stations. This was recommended by the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, earlier this year.
- On the National Rail Enquiries website the RDG have created a ‘one-stop-shop’ for compensation information, through a direct link from the website homepage.
- They are also going forward with a roll-out of smart ticketing technology across the network, with the aim of every passenger being able to use a smart ticket (via universal barcodes and smart cards) before the end of 2018. Smart ticketing enables operators to refund passengers automatically when journeys are delayed.
- They recognise more needs to be done, but do say that some progress has been made. The amount paid to passengers under Passenger’s Charter/Delay Repay has more than doubled in recent years – from £12.6m in 2012/13 to £25.6m in 2014/15.