The UK Department for Transport
has announced that passengers who have bought advance tickets and subsequently
cannot travel because of Covid restrictions will not have to pay the
administration cost of rearranging travel.
It said that passengers would also
be able to claim discretionary rail travel vouchers or credit notes for unused
advance tickets that are valid for up to a year.
Independent rail retailers will also be able to temporarily
waive the usual change of journey admin fee for advance tickets. The admin fee
is usually £10.
Transport
secretary Grant Shapps said: “Covid has seen massive disruption to our way of
life, and passengers buying advance tickets should not be penalised for
cancelling their travel plans to follow advice that can save lives.”
“By temporarily scrapping these
admin fees on advance tickets, and extending the time people have to re-book
their journeys, we are ensuring that large numbers of rail passengers will not
be left out of pocket.”