Refunds pledge for scrapped Christmas travel plans

Everyone who has had to cancel a rail or coach journey in England between 23 and 27 December will be able to get a refund, the government has announced.

It comes after the planned easing of Covid rules for Christmas was scrapped for large parts of south-east England.

For the rest of the UK, the relaxation of the rules now applies only to Christmas Day.

"Passengers will not be left out of pocket for complying with the new Christmas rules," the government said.

The policy was announced by the Department for Transport following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement on Saturday of new Covid rules for Christmas.

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Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "It is imperative that we all follow the new measures and play our part in tackling this virus, protecting others and safeguarding our NHS.

"If you booked a coach or rail journey between 23 and 27 December, you are entitled to a cash refund. This ensures no one is left out of pocket for doing the right thing - staying home in tier four, and elsewhere staying local and only meeting your Christmas bubble on Christmas day."

The government will provide cash refunds for domestic rail and coach tickets. This will apply to journeys in England booked on or after 24 November, when the now-scrapped Christmas travel window was announced.

Operators will be able to issue refunds immediately and passengers are advised to check the website of their operator for how to claim.

The government urged people to "be patient", as rail and coach operators will be processing high numbers of refunds over the coming weeks.

"This is the right call for rail and coach passengers - they will be relieved that they will not be penalised financially for following the rules," said Anthony Smith, chief executive of independent watchdog Transport Focus.

"Operators now need to make sure that their websites are crystal clear on how passengers can claim refunds, travel vouchers or make fee-free changes, depending on when they were due to travel."