Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many rail season ticket holders on the (a) Southeastern and (b) GTR Southern network have been unable to claim a refund for unused travel on their season tickets since his Department introduced the Emergency Measures Arrangements to support the rail sector.

The majority of rail season ticket holders (i.e. those with more than seven weeks remaining on their annual ticket) are able to claim a refund. Southeastern and GTR Southern introduced new processes to make claiming easier during COVID-19 travel restrictions, for example the ability for passengers to claim refunds remotely rather than returning their ticket to a ticket office. We have also allowed season ticket holders to backdate their claim to 17th March, when ‘do not travel’ advice was first introduced, and they now have up to 56 days to submit their claim.

The Department does not hold data on the number of season ticket holders who have been unable to claim a refund from Southeastern or GTR Southern since the introduction of the Emergency Measures Arrangements. This is because not all season ticket holders require a refund, as some still need to use their tickets to travel to work.