Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason railcard holders who were instructed to shield are unable to claim refunds or extensions to their railcard.
The Department recognises that Railcard holders have been unable to use their cards while travel restrictions were in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We took immediate action at the outbreak of the pandemic to support passengers and the rail industry by keeping the services people depend on running, protecting jobs, delivering refunds and removing charges for cancellations. However, many passengers are able to recover the cost of their railcard in a single trip. Having carefully considered the situation, we can confirm that railcards will remain non-refundable and will not be extended.