Operators in public ownership to keep customers moving during disruption

Rail passengers in the north of England will benefit from a new customer initiative launching on 15 December 2024.

From 15 December 2024, LNER, Northern and TransPennine Express will allow customers to travel on each other’s services at no extra cost during any short-notice and on-the-day cancellations – giving people confidence that if services for one operator are impacted, they can travel on any service under public ownership.

This means if a passenger’s booked service on a rail service under public ownership is cancelled, they will be entitled to travel on any other service under public ownership at no extra cost.

Customers holding a ticket valid for that service will be able to travel with any other eligible DfT Operator (DFTO) service that reaches their destination within 2 hours before or after the cancelled service.

This new initiative is an early benefit of better integration of our railways under the government’s reform plans. DFTO has been asked by the Secretary of State to roll out passenger benefits across services already in public ownership at pace.

This initiative means passengers will benefit from additional flexibility during disruption, as well as a longer time window to travel in. Customers may also still be able to travel with non-DFTO operators in the event their train is cancelled – options will be clearly communicated to passengers in every case.

Historically, all train operators would have to agree ticket acceptance on a case-by-case and train operator by train operator basis, leaving passengers uncertain about whether their ticket would be valid with another train operator, even in instances when their originally booked train had been cancelled.

Rail Minister, Lord Peter Hendy, said:

No one wants their train to be cancelled. But during times of unavoidable disruption, it’s initiatives like these that can make a huge difference to a passenger’s journey – knowing you can hop on to another publicly owned service and still get to your destination.

This is just one of many ways a publicly owned railway will put passengers at the heart of journeys, affording them flexibility, certainty and confidence.

Although not yet applicable to Southeastern because of the different geographical areas it covers, as more train operators join DFTO, the greater benefit to passengers there will be, as tickets are accepted more widely.

Until legislation for Great British Railways (GBR) is in place, DFTO is working together with Network Rail and the Department for Transport (DfT) as Shadow Great British Railways to ensure the sector works together better in preparation for a publicly owned railway.