THE region's rail service provider has introduced a new scheme to repay travellers who experience delays.

South Western Railway (SWR) has introduced a new Automated Delay Repay (ADR) scheme which it says will drastically cut the time it takes customers to claim and receive payment if their train is late.

Alan Penlington, customer experience director at SWR, said: “Nobody likes delays, but when things do go wrong we are determined that our customers are suitably compensated.

"That’s why we’ve introduced Automated Delay Repay for customers who have bought Advance Purchase tickets or a Touch Smartcard season ticket from the SWR website.

“If an SWR service has been delayed by 15 minutes or more, a claim will automatically generate on customer Delay Repay accounts.

“Customers will then receive an alert email to inform them that a payment is awaiting confirmation. By clicking ‘claim’ (after reviewing the journey summary provided), customer accounts will be credited immediately.

“The roll-out of ADR is all part of a wider programme to improve the customer experience for anyone travelling with SWR. We look forward to introducing more exciting innovations over the course of our franchise, including: faster Wi-Fi, new onboard infotainment systems, and more comfortable journeys.”

To find out more about the scheme, go to southwesternrailway.com/contact-and-help/refunds-and-compensation/delay-repay/automated-delay-repay.