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Press release 14th October 2016

A better deal for rail passengers

Rail campaigners have welcomed news that passengers will be able to claim compensation for trains which are more than 15 minutes late. "It's great news for passengers who suffer from delays and overcrowding but still have to pay the full whack" said Bruce Williamson from the campaign group Railfuture.

"We've been pushing for improvements in the compensation scheme, so this is great news. The train operating companies themselves can claim compensation from Network Rail if their train is delayed by just five minutes, so it's good that we're getting closer to a similar deal for passengers."

"It's important that passengers across the rail network in Britain have consistency, so we're urging the Welsh and Scottish governments to follow suit, and we want to see the scheme rolled out across all franchises as soon as is reasonably possible."

Notes to editors:

This will initially apply only to Govia Thameslink Railway (Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern) and will be introduced as soon as it can be set-up. It will apply to all DfT franchises yet to be awarded - the next ones due are South Western, South Eastern and West Midlands.

Railfuture is the UK's leading independent organisation campaigning for better rail services for both passengers and freight.

The government announcement can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-improved-compensation-scheme-for-rail-passengers

Railfuture's website can be found at: www.railfuture.org.uk

Follow Railfuture on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Railfuture

For further information and comment please contact:

Bruce Williamson, media spokesman
Tel: 0117 927 2954 Mobile: 07759 557389
media at railfuture.org.uk