Delay Repay on strike strike days

[ClivePage]

It wasn't clear to me whether Delay Repay would be allowed for services affected by the recent rail strikes. But last week I wanted to go from Luton to Blackfriars on a London Terminals ticket but found that on the ASLEF strike day although about half of Thameslink trains were running, more or less on time, they were all terminating at St.Pancras. I've no idea why, as I thought the section from St.Pancras to London Bridge was semi-automated, and they were running trains both north and south of the Thames.

So on the outward leg I use TfL to go from St.Pancras to Farringdon (surprisingly my ticket was accepted at both ends by the tube gatelines) and walked from there, which made me over 15 minutes late on the timetabled time. On the return leg I got a bus all the way back, which caused a similar delay. Thameslink published a timetable for all services for mid-May onwards which showed their trains calling at Blackfriars, and they published this after the ASLEF strikes were announced.

So I submitted my outward and return tickets to the Delay Repay system of Govia/Thameslink and, slightly to my surprise, got a refund on both of them for the 15-29 minute delay. On a couple of pounds back, but worth establishing the principle. Whether this would also work for trains which did not run at all, rather than being stopped short/started late as mine were, I have no idea.

 

[Haywain]

Thameslink trains were running, more or less on time, they were all terminating at St.Pancras. I've no idea why, as I thought the section from St.Pancras to London Bridge was semi-automated, and they were running trains both north and south of the Thames.

The automated operation is not used at weekends, but terminating at St Pancras allows a more reliable service to be operated with the driver resources available.

 

[Watershed]

It wasn't clear to me whether Delay Repay would be allowed for services affected by the recent rail strikes. But last week I wanted to go from Luton to Blackfriars on a London Terminals ticket but found that on the ASLEF strike day although about half of Thameslink trains were running, more or less on time, they were all terminating at St.Pancras. I've no idea why, as I thought the section from St.Pancras to London Bridge was semi-automated, and they were running trains both north and south of the Thames.

So on the outward leg I use TfL to go from St.Pancras to Farringdon (surprisingly my ticket was accepted at both ends by the tube gatelines) and walked from there, which made me over 15 minutes late on the timetabled time. On the return leg I got a bus all the way back, which caused a similar delay. Thameslink published a timetable for all services for mid-May onwards which showed their trains calling at Blackfriars, and they published this after the ASLEF strikes were announced.

So I submitted my outward and return tickets to the Delay Repay system of Govia/Thameslink and, slightly to my surprise, got a refund on both of them for the 15-29 minute delay. On a couple of pounds back, but worth establishing the principle. Whether this would also work for trains which did not run at all, rather than being stopped short/started late as mine were, I have no idea.

You would have received Delay Repay, which is compensation (technically speaking, liquidated damages) for a delay. This is very different to a refund, which is when you return a ticket that you haven't used; you could be accused of committing fraud if you apply for a refund on a ticket you have used.

But yes, it appears that in this instance Thameslink have correctly paid the Delay Repay that is due. There's a very mixed picture as to what each TOC is paying in terms of Delay Repay on strike days.