Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is said to be weighing up proposals to cut the compensation rail passengers receive after a delayed service.
Ministers are framing the initiative as a simplification measure, creating uniform refund terms for passengers nationwide.
Yet insiders acknowledge the standardisation would likely result in diminished compensation on certain routes.
Government figures are said to be contemplating a "levelling down" approach, potentially aligning all services with LNER's existing policy.
Under such arrangements, travellers would only receive refunds when their journey is delayed by half an hour or longer, eliminating payouts for shorter disruptions.
The present system sees considerable variation between operators in their refund policies, The Times reports.
Most train companies provide a quarter of the fare back for delays between 15 and 29 minutes, rising to half for disruptions under an hour, with full reimbursement for anything beyond.
However, several firms operate less generous schemes, with LNER and CrossCountry among those offering nothing for delays below the 30-minute threshold.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is said to be weighing up proposals to cut the compensation rail passengers receive
| PAThe financial stakes are substantial, with passengers claiming £138million during the 2023/24 financial year.
As nationalisation proceeds at roughly one operator every three months, these costs will transfer from private companies to the public purse, prompting ministerial scrutiny of the fiscal implications.
The Government could pair these reduced payouts with Labour's manifesto commitment to introduce automatic compensation across the network.
Currently, passengers must navigate cumbersome application processes, completing detailed forms and supplying tickets as evidence, leading many to forgo claims entirely.
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LNER offers nothing for delays below the 30-minute threshold
| GETTYThose familiar with the deliberations suggest combining both measures would render the changes "revenue neutral" for Treasury coffers.
The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association has voiced strong opposition to the proposals.
General secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: "We argued for public ownership of rail to raise standards, giving passengers reliability and fair compensation and giving transport workers decent terms.
"That means better, not worse, and it certainly doesn't mean a race to the bottom."
Labour's transport manifesto, published three months prior to the 2024 general election, pledged "ticketing innovations like automatic compensation are rolled out across the whole network".
By June, Great British Railways is expected to operate services accounting for nearly half of all rail journeys, with the nationalisation programme scheduled for completion by October 2027.
Claiming has grown markedly more popular, with applications for delays of 15 to 29 minutes nearly doubling from 18 per cent in 2018 to 35 per cent in 2023.
The Department for Transport declined to address the reports directly, stating: "We do not comment on speculation."
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