COMMUTERS in the town are set to benefit after Virgin Trains became the UK's first operator to introduce a system which automatically pays compensation to those hit by delays.

Passengers travelling on the West Coast Mainline will be boosted by Automatic Delay Repay (ADR) – a scheme that calculates what is owed to a customer in the event of a delay, before paying money directly onto their card used for ticket purchase.

If a customer is delayed by 30 to 59 minutes they will be paid 50 per cent of the cost of their single ticket or 50 per cent of the relevant portion of their return ticket.

Sixty to 119 minute delays will result in compensation of 100 per cent of a single ticket cost or the full amount of the relevant portion of their return ticket.

And delays of 120 minutes or longer will result in 100 per cent of single ticket costs or the full cost of a return ticket.

ADR is available to Virgin Trains users, who purchased their advance tickets through the company's website or mobile app.

The operator believes 3.5 million customer journeys could benefit from the scheme.

It also expects ADR to result in an additional £2.8 million compensation being paid within the next year, on top of the £1 million already anticipated.

Secretary of state for transport, Patrick McLoughlin, said: "Making it easier to get compensation when trains are delayed is a vital part of our plan for passengers.

"Today's announcement is fantastic news for people travelling along the West Coast Mainline.

"Virgin Trains are making the most of modern technology to improve the service customers get.

"Our plan is to make sure passengers across the country benefit from schemes like this and we are encouraging other operators to roll out similar schemes nationwide."

Phil Whittingham, managing director of Virgin Trains on the West Coast, added: "We're proud of our record of customer service at Virgin Trains and are always looking for new ways to innovate for the benefit of customers.

"So we're delighted to be the first train company to automatically refund cash directly back onto customers' payment cards should they be delayed by more than 30 minutes.

"This will be available to customers who book through our website or app, so the more people who book with us, the more we can help in this way.

"This is just one of a range of innovations we have planned for the coming year, all of which are aimed squarely at the most important person – the customer."

Campaign for Better Transport also welcomed Virgin Trains' announcement.

Head of campaigns James MacColl said: "We welcome this announcement and look forward to it being extended to other Virgin passengers and to the rest of the railway network.

"Simplifying compensation for late or cancelled trains and making sure that people get it when it's due, is really valuable in retaining and building passengers' trust and keeping people using trains."

The compensation is calculated under the existing Delay Repay scheme.

Relevant portion refers to either the outward or return portion of a return ticket, depending upon whether passengers were delayed on their outward or return journey.