Missed event due to train terminated well short of emergency

miklcct

Earlier this month on a Sunday, I booked an event at Rugeley and intended to travel by train from London to get there. I left 45 minutes of buffer before the start line closed to get there on time. 

The train departed on time, but afterwards there was an emergency happened between Stafford and Crewe. My destination was one stop before Rugeley, so it shouldn't be affected by the emergency. 

Then, my train was terminated at Rugby and refused to continue to Stafford! I was given an ill advice to change at Birmingham by the station staff at Rugby (which would add more than an hour to my journey even if I could made a 1-minute connection at Birmingham to another hourly train), and eventually I missed the event. The next train on the direct line would be an hour later which would be too late to make it to the start line, and unfortunately Rugeley wasn't served by any routes which run more frequently on a Sunday.

Is the train company liable for the consequential loss here because of the operational decision to terminate the train at Rugby, or can it get out of any responsibility because of the emergency happened further down the line? 

Also, in the future, is there any insurance product which I can buy to protect me from such situations? I am not taking any nights away from home so I can't use a travel insurance for that.

eskbanker

miklcct said:

Is the train company liable for the consequential loss here because of the operational decision to terminate the train at Rugby, or can it get out of any responsibility because of the emergency happened further down the line?

It might be worth asking over on Railforums (pretty sure I've seen posts there by someone with your username?) for expertise relating to TOC obligations, not just under Delay Repay but broader rights too?

I suspect there'd be multiple factors at play here:

• to what extent was the emergency something within the railway's control?
• was termination at Rugby a reasonable response (it's often sensible to do so if it isn't practical to continue closer to the booked destination, e.g. if Stafford was already occupied with other affected trains and/or if signalling along the Trent Valley doesn't readily support turning back elsewhere)?
• is a consequential loss claim viable if you didn't actually suffer any financial loss (beyond the sunk cost of your event entry)?

and at least some of these will be better answered on that forum, although there's plenty of more generic consumer rights advice here....

MattMattMattUK

You can only claim if the issue was a direct result of the train company's actions, not caused by an incident outside of their control or the knock-on effects of an incident. 

As Banker says you also do not appear to have suffered any consequential losses.

miklcct

MattMattMattUK said:

You can only claim if the issue was a direct result of the train company's actions, not caused by an incident outside of their control or the knock-on effects of an incident. 

As Banker says you also do not appear to have suffered any consequential losses.

For the last sentence, do you mean that whatever kinds of events I miss due to public transport failure, the terms of consequential loss wouldn't apply? Under what situations it would apply?

Earlier this year there was a failure on the railway, which was totally within the railway's control, which caused a delay which I ended up using a taxi for part of the journey to make to the start line just in time, however the Delay Repay I received for the part of the journey I completed covered the taxi cost (it was an expensive train ride from London to Isle of Wight and the taxi ride was on the island only after a fault occurred on the mainland) so I didn't end up worse off. In this case, there was no delay arriving Rugby so even if I stopped short there, I would not get any Delay Repay, and the distance between Rugby and Rugeley would mean an expensive taxi ride, multiple times of the entry fee of my event and the train ticket.

In this case, is there any annual insurance which can cover such situations, as I travel to hundreds of events every year, mostly by train?

Ectophile

It may be that there was no practical way to turn the train round at Rugeley.  Dual track lines are signalled on the assumption that you have an up line and a down line.  If there are no points to switch the train to the other track, then the only way to get the train out again is to send it the wrong way down (or up) the line. Which is dangerous if there is another train coming the other way.

eskbanker

miklcct said:

MattMattMattUK said:

You can only claim if the issue was a direct result of the train company's actions, not caused by an incident outside of their control or the knock-on effects of an incident. 

As Banker says you also do not appear to have suffered any consequential losses.

For the last sentence, do you mean that whatever kinds of events I miss due to public transport failure, the terms of consequential loss wouldn't apply? Under what situations it would apply?

Consequential losses generally tend to refer to incremental expenditure incurred as a result of the contractual breach, e.g.

Examples of what could qualify as 'consequential loss':

• a taxi you had to use because the train was cancelled or did not stop at your station
• overtime you’ve had to pay your childcare provider
• a missed flight
• a hotel room you had to book because the last train of the day was cancelled
• costs attributable to a failure to provide disabled access when booked in advance.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/can-i-claim-compensation-for-train-delays-and-cancellations-a0DcH4D97A2N

which also goes on to clarify:

Making a successful claim isn't always straightforward, and you’ll need to prove:

• that the service failure was the fault of the train company and not a Network Rail issue (eg signal failure or track problems)
• how your losses are linked to a breach of contract by the train company
• that you took all reasonable steps to lessen your losses (eg you tried to take another train or a taxi)
• that the losses were either reasonably foreseeable by the train company (eg a hotel room when you’re stranded after the last train of the day is cancelled) or you alerted the train company to your circumstances in advance (eg by booking disabled access)
• that the costs were reasonably incurred (eg you went for a modest rather than 5-star hotel).

Do you know the nature of the 'emergency' that resulted in line closure?

user1977

miklcct said:

MattMattMattUK said:

You can only claim if the issue was a direct result of the train company's actions, not caused by an incident outside of their control or the knock-on effects of an incident. 

As Banker says you also do not appear to have suffered any consequential losses.

In this case, is there any annual insurance which can cover such situations, as I travel to hundreds of events every year, mostly by train?

Yes, you can get insurance for this sort of loss. Otherwise the railway's responsibility is limited to getting you to your destination (or refunding you).

miklcct

Ectophile said:

It may be that there was no practical way to turn the train round at Rugeley.  Dual track lines are signalled on the assumption that you have an up line and a down line.  If there are no points to switch the train to the other track, then the only way to get the train out again is to send it the wrong way down (or up) the line. Which is dangerous if there is another train coming the other way.

Stafford is a place where trains can regularly terminate and turn around.

eskbanker

miklcct said:

Stafford is a place where trains can regularly terminate and turn around.

Was there available platform capacity at the time?

sheramber

miklcct said:

Ectophile said:

It may be that there was no practical way to turn the train round at Rugeley.  Dual track lines are signalled on the assumption that you have an up line and a down line.  If there are no points to switch the train to the other track, then the only way to get the train out again is to send it the wrong way down (or up) the line. Which is dangerous if there is another train coming the other way.

Stafford is a place where trains can regularly terminate and turn around.

How many trains were already stuck there due to the emergency further on?