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You Can Now Claim Hundreds Of Pounds Back For Unused Train Tickets And Season Tickets

You Can Now Claim Hundreds Of Pounds Back For Unused Train Tickets And Season Tickets

Those unused season tickets can finally stop gathering dust and be refunded.

Lauren Bell

Lauren Bell

The coronavirus outbreak means many of us now working from home and are no longer able to attend events, so it's likely there are a lot of unused rail tickets lying around.

Whether it's a one-off advance journey you booked in preparation to visit a pal, or a full yearly season ticket to get you to and from work, it's now wasted money - which is why the government has announced you can claim full refunds.

The news of refunds comes as the government announces it is stepping in to help train companies.

Due to a 70 per cent drop in passenger numbers on trains since isolation measures were put in place, with ticket sales down by two-thirds compared to 2019, train companies' turnover is set to decline, so the government is providing help to provide "certainty" and "stability".

It is offering all train operators the opportunity to give control to the government temporarily, with all revenue and cost risk transferred to it for a period initially of six months, whilst quarantining measures are in place.

The government will however pay the companies a management fees to keep services running instead.

It means the companies won't go bankrupt and the essential services needed to get key workers to where they need to be will not be compromised.

But for us non key workers sitting at home with a £5k season ticket on the kitchen countertop, it means we can now thankfully reclaim the money - which is not just handy for some, but also essential for those that may have lost their jobs as a result of the strict measures in place and who now need the money desperately.

Advance tickets can be refunded free of charge and season ticket holders can claim refunds for the time they haven't used on their tickets, free of administrative charges.

For information on how to claim your refund, click here to head to National Rail.

For the Train Line purchased ticket refunds, click here.

The trains will be reduced from today as the government urges only key workers should now be using them (
Pixabay)

The government hopes this action will "minimise disruption to the rail sector, vital to the wider UK economy, through these difficult times."

It added on its website: "Allowing operators to enter insolvency would cause significantly more disruption to passengers and higher costs to the taxpayer.

"The management fee will allow operators to act in the national interest in tackling COVID-19."

Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps said: "We are taking this action to protect the key workers who depend on our railways to carry on their vital roles, the hardworking commuters who have radically altered their lives to combat the spread of coronavirus, and the frontline rail staff who are keeping the country moving.

"People deserve certainty that the services they need will run or that their job is not at risk in these unprecedented times.

"We are also helping passengers get refunds on advance tickets to ensure no-one is unfairly out of pocket for doing the right thing."

The train lines are still open, but the government is urging we should only be travelling if we are key workers, which is why from today, services have also been significantly reduced.

So grab your refund, stop going into the office and stay safe.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: government, Life, Coronavirus