Rail travellers could be in line for refunds after the severe weather caused chaos to services.
ScotRail has revealed that it expects to pay out at least £500,000 in ticket refunds due to severe disruption or cancellations caused by the big freeze between late November and mid-December.
Commuters with season tickets travelling between Dundee and Edinburgh and Glasgow, or on the Fife circle, are among those who may be eligible for a nine-day extension to their passes.
Delays caused by matters outwith the train operator’s control — such as extreme weather affecting all transport — are excluded from punctuality and reliability statistics when calculating refunds. However, ScotRail managing director Steve Montgomery said the network “fully appreciated” the inconvenience caused by Scotland’s worst weather for decades.
“Difficult decisions had to be taken following the impact on infrastructure and weather-related damage to our trains,” he said. “Given the circumstances, we have introduced refund arrangements as a gesture of goodwill on a route-by-route basis depending on the level of service we were able to provide.”
Refunds will be given for unused portions of single, return and weekly season tickets — while monthly or annual season ticket customers will have the option of a refund or extension to their tickets when renewing.