TRAIN passengers who experience delays on GWR trains will soon benefit from improved compensation.

The Delay Repay 15 scheme launches on April 1 and will allow people with single, return or weekly tickets to claim money back when services are cancelled or their journey is delayed by 15 minutes or more.

Compensation is currently only paid out if trains are delayed by at least 30 minutes, but now passengers will be able to claim 25 per cent of their single fare for delays of 15 to 29 minutes. Monthly and longer season ticket holders will remain on their existing compensation scheme for the time being as this provides compensation through season ticket discounts.

GWR's managing director Mark Hopwood said: “We do all we can to get people to their destinations on time, but when things do go wrong customers need to trust in a fair system that easily compensates them for the delay. The introduction of Delay Repay is just that and has been a key aspiration of GWR for some time. Alongside the introduction of new trains, and modernised infrastructure, I am delighted that we are able to continue to make the improvements we know our passengers want to see.”