PASSENGERS on Northern trains will now be able to claim compensation when services are delayed by as little as 15 minutes.

Rail bosses said they would shorten the time a train needed to be delayed for before passengers could claim compensation in the new Delay Repay 15 scheme.

It means passengers can claim 25 per cent back on their fare if their journey is delayed between 15 and 29 minutes. Passengers can already claim for delays of 30 minutes or more.

The train company, which operates the Furness and Lakes lines, said it would give passengers who experienced day-to-day delays the compensation they "deserved".

But the move was criticised by a Barrow councillor, who thought Northern did not do enough to signpost the compensation process for delayed passengers.

The Government's Rail Minister, Andrew Jones, said: "Extending ‘Delay Repay’ to cover 15 minute delays is the right thing to do for northern passengers. Our absolute priority is delivering the reliable services passengers deserve, but when things go wrong people must be compensated fairly and quickly."

Brendan Sweeney, who represents Parkside on Barrow Borough Council, thought the scheme would be more useful to passengers if Northern staff were clearer on how to claim for compensation after delays

Cllr Sweeney said: "Northern trains coming into Barrow are often delayed. The train staff always make an announcement to apologise but they do not ever give passenger instructions on how to make a claim.

"I think it is scandalous that so many people are not told how to do this. It results in hundreds of pounds in rail fares on delayed trains going unclaimed. I am sick of Northern getting away without paying when trains are late."

Richard Allan, deputy managing director at Northern said: "We are truly sorry for the inconvenience caused by the disruption to rail services earlier this year. Now, with the launch of Delay Repay 15, those customers who experience day-to-day delays will be able to claim the compensation they want and deserve."

The Mail has contacted Northern for further comment about its compensation policy.

Rail Minister Andrew Jones said:

We are also investing £15 million on enhancements for passengers across the north, ensuring we deliver improvements that passengers want alongside more comfortable and punctual services.

Richard Allan, Deputy Managing Director at Northern, said:

We are truly sorry for the inconvenience caused by the disruption to rail services earlier this year and have paid special compensation to more than 11,000 season ticket and non-season holders since the summer.

Now, with the launch of Delay Relay 15, those customers who experience day-to-day delays will be able to claim the compensation they want and deserve. Our team works hard to deliver a consistent, punctual service but delays do happen and extending the scheme is the right thing to do for our customers.

Transport for the North is committed to ensuring that passenger interests are put first, and we will continue to press the operators to deliver a reliable and more resilient rail service that people can depend on.

The extension to DR15 comes on top of the special compensation package announced for Northern and TransPennine Express passengers who experienced unacceptable disruption following the timetable changes earlier in the year. More than 12,000 claims from northern ticket holders have already been submitted and more than £1 million paid out in compensation.

The Department for Transport and Transport for the North are working with the industry to deliver significant improvements in the performance of rail services in the north. This includes appointing industry expert Richard George to identify key underlining issues within the network and make recommendations that deliver improvements.

The department has also worked with industry to introduce a new rail ombudsman, which provides a free, easily accessible dispute resolution scheme in cases where passengers are not happy with a train operator’s response to their complaint.