I put forward a 10 Minute Rule Bill in the House of Commons that would establish a network-wide Rail Ombudsman and redesign the system of compensation.
My Bill seeks to solve the issues of compensation and redress in two ways:
Firstly, it would overhaul the compensation scheme and create a new scheme every time a train is late beyond an agreed threshold then a penalty fine will be paid into a central pot independent of Train Operating Companies (TOCs). The primary purpose of the pot will be to compensate passengers who will be able to make claim in a much simpler way than present. The pot would also be used to fund a new Rail Ombudsman, which would manage compensation claims rather than the TOCs, and any remaining funds would be used to offset fare rises thereby giving further payback to inconvenienced passengers.
Secondly, the Bill would also establish a new Rail Ombudsman and give it real teeth and proper statutory powers. It would be based on the Energy Ombudsman model which is already in operation and could be adapted in the rail sector.
The Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) franchise which includes Southern Rail is not working and has not been doing so for some time. My Bill would recalibrate the balance of power back to aggrieved passengers.
My Bill alone is not an immediate solution but does represent a practical way forward to change the dynamics within the rail industry. Most of my constituents are primarily concerned with being able to use a reliable rail service that gets them where they want to be roughly when they anticipated rather than compensation for an unreliable service. However the two are not mutually exclusive and I believe my Bill will help to achieve both.
You can read the full Hansard of my speech here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-12-20/debates/E835E520-A495-4794-AF8C-1157AF512F82/RailOmbudsman#contribution-6147FB55-D5C6-4EC6-A48F-E74C4A5BDE73