Rail passengers can now switch operators for free when trains are cancelled

Rail passengers whose trains are cancelled will soon be able to use different operators free of charge under new measures by the Department for Transport (DfT).

From 20 September, disrupted passengers will automatically be able to use other operators’ services without paying again.

Customers with valid tickets will be able to travel on another train departing two hours before or after their cancelled service via a “direct or reasonable alternative route”, said the DfT.

Previously, travellers on most disrupted services often had to wait for official confirmation in order to travel with a different operator or buy new tickets without before applying for a refund.

Now, alongside publicly-owned rail firms, CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, Avanti West Coast and Chiltern Railways will allow automatic swaps.

Other operators in the scheme include Gatwick Express, Great Northern, LNER, Southeastern, Thameslink and South Western Railway.

Passengers will need to show their original ticket to support staff as proof of purchase.

The rail minister Lord Hendy said: “This is a simple, common sense change that puts passengers first. No one should be left stranded because of a fragmented railway when their journey is disrupted.

“From this weekend, if your train is cancelled, you can get on another operator’s service and carry on your journey without paying again. We’re fixing the railway from the ground up, making it simpler, fairer and easier to use, as we move towards Great British Railways and put public service back at the heart of our railways.”

The government is investing £156m in new ticketing schemes so that by 2027, pay-as-you-go will be available at 100 more stations across Greater Manchester, the Midlands and the south-east.

Alex Robertson, chief executive of the independent watchdog, Transport Focus, said that the move is a “welcome change” that “should make it easier for people when services are cancelled”.

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