Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department requires operators of rail franchises to have a standard claims policy for delayed trains.

The minimum standards for delay compensation are set out in the National Rail Conditions of Travel (NRCoT). Franchised Train Operating Companies (TOCs) are required to have in place a Passenger’s Charter which includes their specific arrangements for compensation for passengers, with most franchised TOCs offering more than the NRCoT minimum.

The Department for Transport has improved the compensation offer by introducing the Delay Repay scheme on all franchises that have been awarded since 2007. Delay Repay is now in place on the majority of franchised TOCs and provides compensation of at least 50% of the ticket price for delays to journeys of 30 minutes or more, whatever the cause of the delay or cancellation and whatever the type of ticket. The Department has further improved the compensation offer by introducing Delay Repay for delays of 15 minutes or more. This now operates on GTR, South Western, West Midlands and c2c and is being introduced on other franchises as these come up for renewal.