§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will ask the rail regulator to lower the threshold at which compensation is paid to annual and periodic season ticket holders, so that, for any passenger service that arrives at its destination more than 30 minutes after the published timetable time, season ticket holders will be reimbursed in full for that specific journey. [HL209]
§ Lord WhittyPassenger's Charter arrangements are safeguarded in franchise agreements, and this is therefore a matter for the Franchising Director. At the time of franchising, operators were required to offer, as a minimum, the same compensation arrangements as British Rail. Those provided for compensation for season ticket holders in the form of a discount on renewal if average performance over a year fell below a stated level. The Franchising Director has the opportunity to renegotiate franchise commitments from time to time and will be looking for improvements in Passenger's Charter terms as he does so. One operator, Chiltern Railway, already offers compensation on terms similar to those proposed by the noble Lord.