Rail passengers to gain free cross-operator travel after cancellations
From 20 September, passengers with valid tickets for cancelled services will be able to use participating operators without paying again, subject to time and route limits.
Passengers in Britain whose trains are cancelled will be able to continue their journeys on another participating operator without buying a replacement ticket from 20 September, the Department for Transport has announced.
The arrangement will apply to valid-ticket holders travelling on a reasonable alternative route within two hours before or after the cancelled service. The supplied material does not define how a reasonable alternative route will be assessed or how passengers will demonstrate that their original train was cancelled.
CrossCountry, GWR, Avanti West Coast and Chiltern Railways will be included initially. East Midlands Railway will be excluded at the start, amid mass cancellations and seat shortages linked to its introduction of Hitachi bi-mode trains.
Passengers have often been permitted to use other operators during major disruption, but ticket acceptance has not been consistently automatic. The change is intended to remove the need to wait for agreements between operators, or to pay again and seek a refund.
The Department for Transport has linked the policy to the government’s plans for Great British Railways. Remaining passenger operations are scheduled to enter public ownership next year, apart from some open-access services.
Transport Focus welcomed the change and said clear information would be needed so passengers understood their options during disruptions.
