The Yorkshire Post says: Rail compensation system is a mess

Rail commuters have faced frequent delays and cancellations in the past year.

RAIL passengers in our region have endured much that was unforgivable over the past year. Train delays and cancellations have caused heartache, inconvenience, and extracted an unnecessary economic cost that businesses could well have done without.

Against that backdrop, it is disgraceful that claiming compensation for journeys gone haywire is such a postcode lottery that many passengers simply do not bother.

Transport campaigners are entirely correct to describe the system as “complex and fragmented”.

This needs to change. Passengers who are left stranded or facing inexcusable delays deserve compensation, and should be able to make claims in a clear and straightforward manner.

Reform is needed to the system, but it remains to be seen if Government action produces results.

In the meantime, long-suffering passengers would be justified in seeing the compensation lottery as further evidence that the trains are run for the convenience of operators, and not the travelling public.