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It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. Mainly because I wanted to try and get away from the usual whingeing, complaining, moaning tone that I seem to have adopted in my posts.

Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to write anything positive, so I’ll carry on whingeing.

Some time last year, I became aware that the performance-based compensation system the UK train network was changing from a system whereby all season ticket renewals were automatically applied a discount if the line fell below the target level of punctuality to a scheme known as ‘Delay Repay’.

Delay Repay works on the premise that you can only claim compensation against a rail company if your train is delayed by 30 minutes or more. This is proudly advertised as a fairer system, and on the surface, yes it is a fairer system. Whereas previously, I could get a discount on my ticket even if my trains ran on time and the mid-day trains were consistently late, now I am only entitled to compensation if I have been affected by the late running.

Late. What constitutes ‘Late’? In the rail performance figures, a train is considered ‘on time’ even if it is up to 10 minutes off the schedule. With Delay Repay, the train is only considered ‘Late’ if it is 30 minutes off schedule. Here we have the crux of the problem. Under the old scheme, if my train was 15 minutes late, I would get compensated for it. Now, if my train is 28 minutes late, I don’t.

I am pleased to note that Passenger Focus has highlighted this issue, but I’ve yet to see if this will do any good, as the train companies that have signed up to this scheme have no incentive to make the regular trains run to schedule.

On a related note, My usually reliable Chiltern Railways train was cancelled this morning, so as I sat enjoying a coffee while waiting for the next service, I visited their website to look at downloading their compensation claim form.

Nothing.

Searching for anything related to ‘compensation’, ‘delays’ or ‘delay repay’ simply returns no relevant results. I eventually had to visit the ticket office of a Chiltern-owned station to pick up a form titled ‘Passenger Comments’ which doubles as their compensation claim form. While Chiltern have obviously embraced an environmentally sound and cost-effective system, it is not obvious to the customer that a leaflet entitled  ‘Passenger Comments’ would be used to claim compensation.

Delay Repay is a fairer system, but if it is to be accepted by passengers, operators should be more accessible than before when helping passengers claim their compensation. It is too easy to simply forget that your train was delayed when you are sitting on the next service, and even easier to be too lazy to apply for compensation.