Transport Focus presses for stable timetables and generous compensation

11 June 2018

“Give passengers decent compensation when they’ve been messed about,” says the independent watchdog.

Transport Focus has been pressing the rail industry to get the timetable back into working order, and to offer decent, generous compensation.

Chief executive Anthony Smith said: “Passengers want to know when things will be back on track. In the meantime, they also need to know they will be given a decent compensation offer that reflects the impact this chaos has had on so many lives. This includes the many passengers who don’t buy season tickets – irregular travellers or flexible workers who have still paid for a service they simply did not receive.”

Transport Focus has been pressing Northern to announce its compensation package – read our letter to its managing director.

We continue to push Govia Thameslink Railway to introduce a proper interim timetable – one it can run in full and passengers can rely on – rather than carry on with lots of short-notice cancellations. You can read our letter to its chief executive here.

We’re also pressing Govia Thameslink to go over and above the standard ‘enhanced compensation’ for passengers delayed 12 times in a four-week period.

As well as pushing hard in these areas we’re continuing to monitor how the service is delivered on the ground, both on the Thameslink Great Northern network and in the North of England.

Again, we’ve been in the Lake District today observing how the rail replacement bus service is running. We’re monitoring how good the information is as well. Is it clear to passengers today what service will be running tomorrow? If not, we’ll be pushing train companies to make immediate improvements.

And we’re also looking at the longer term. The full 20 May timetables must be introduced as soon as possible – but properly this time. Then there are timetable changes in December more changes on GTR, on South Western Railway and January on Great Western Railway. The industry must avoid making the same mistakes again in six months’ time.