UK: An update to the Office of Rail & Road’s Accessible Travel Policy guidance has made it mandatory for all train and station operators to make a case-by-case assessment of claims for redress from disabled passengers when their booked assistance fails.
Redress is not necessarily a form of financial compensation, and could be an apology or a gesture of goodwill with assurance that failures are being acted upon.
The one-word change to say the value of redress ‘must’ rather than ‘may’ be determined on a case-by-case basis follows concerns that some operators’ policies could appear to restrict compensation to the ticket price.
‘The impact on passengers when an operator fails to deliver assistance can vary greatly, so it’s right that claims for redress are considered on a case-by-case basis’, said Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s director of Strategy, Policy & Reform, on October 29. ‘This ensures operators properly assess each passenger’s experience and provide redress that appropriately reflects the impact of what went wrong.’
ORR said a number of wider issues were raised during its consultation om the change, including whether there is a need for further guidance to support decision-making on redress, as well as questions around the scope of redress policy and the way claims are owned and managed. ORR said it is committed to carrying out further work on this, and will publish an update in spring 2026.
