Thameslink and Great Northern passengers invited to claim compensation

Commuters complained of delays, overcrowding and cancellations on Thameslink and Great Northern services since an ill-prepared timetable change in May.

Following this, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which runs both franchises, announced a compensation scheme for commuters who were affected by the disruption.

GTR has already contacted 63,000 passengers who used season tickets during the disruption and for whom it has a postal and email address and is now inviting other season ticket holders, who have not been contacted, to visit railcompensation.thameslinkrailway.com to see if they qualify to make a claim.

Qualifying passengers will need to have held a season ticket for travel from the most affected stations between May 20 and July 28 and will receive refunds based on the equivalent cost of one to four weeks’ rail travel. They can make an online claim for compensation between today and November 30.

Passengers who travelled to or from the following stations on a Thameslink service are applicable for compensation: Harpenden, St Albans City and Radlett.

Passengers who travelled to or from the following stations on a Great Northern service are applicable for compensation: Arlesey, Ashwell & Morden, Baldock, Biggleswade, Brookmans Park, Cuffley, Foxton, Hatfield, Hitchin, Knebworth, Letchworth, Meldreth, Potters Bar, Royston, Sandy, Shepreth, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City.

GTR chief executive Officer Patrick Verwer said: “We are sorry for the disruption caused by the May timetable change and would urge affected season ticket holders who haven’t already heard from us to claim through our compensation website.

He claimed the company had “turned a corner in terms of performance” and that “services are now more punctual”.

This is the second phase of the GTR compensation scheme. The next phase will be open to non-season ticket holders and will open by November 30. For more information, visit the compensation website.