Arundel & South Downs MP Nick Herbert has welcomed the announcement of a compensation scheme for Thameslink passengers who have suffered weeks of disrupted services as a result of the new timetable introduced in May.

GTR’s announcement last week (Wednesday 4 July) comes after Mr Herbert led a call to the Transport Secretary by MPs for a “significant rebate” for Thameslink and other rail passengers who have suffered "appalling disruption" following the "chaotic" introduction of the timetable.

Mr Herbert’s letter (Monday 2 July) to Chris Grayling was co-signed by 14 other Conservative MPs whose constituencies are served by Thameslink, including Sir Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex), Jeremy Quin (Horsham), Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham) and Henry Smith (Crawley).

The special compensation scheme, agreed by the Department for Transport, will be for Thameslink and Great Northern passengers most severely affected by disruption following May’s timetable change.

The scheme will be funded by the rail industry, including GTR, in recognition of the disruption caused by the failure of the new May timetable. GTR is working with the Department for Transport to make available full details of the scheme within a week. This will include a full list of qualifying stations, eligibility details and claims advice.

In a letter to Mr Herbert last week (Wednesday 4 July), Chris Grayling said that “the situation for passengers has not improved quickly enough on Thameslink and Great Northern lines” and that he “would like to apologise for the continuing disruption.”

Commenting on the announcement, Mr Herbert said: “Thameslink’s new timetable has been a shambles for weeks. The priority remains to sort out the chaos, but in the meantime I welcome this announcement of compensation, which we called for. It’s the least that passengers deserve.”

Mr Herbert will again be meeting GTR and Network Rail executives in the House of Commons this week (Wednesday 11 July) to press for services to be restored.

ENDS

Notes

1. To read GTR’s news release announcing additional compensation for Thameslink and Great Northern passengers see here.

2. To read the Transport Secretary’s letter of 4 July about the new compensation scheme for Thameslink passengers, see here.

3. To read the letter from Nick Herbert and 14 Conservative MPs to the Transport Secretary calling for passenger compensation see here.

4. To read Nick’s previous press release of 3 July, ‘MP calls for rebate for rail commuters’, see here.

5. To read Nick’s article for Conservative Home of 3 July, ‘It’s the seventh week of this railway shambles. Passengers must be compensated – and companies and managers fired’, see here.

MP welcomes compensation for rail chaos