The UK government has announced that rail passengers whose trains are cancelled will get an automatic right to travel free on other operators' services to complete their journey, ending a long-standing source of confusion and frustration. The change, described by ministers as a "commonsense" move that puts "passengers first, not shareholders," addresses the current system in which pre-booked tickets are often invalid on rival firms' trains, sometimes forcing travellers to buy costly new tickets and later claim a refund.

The new rule takes effect from Sunday 20 September, allowing customers with a valid ticket to board another operator's train up to two hours before or after their original cancelled service, on a reasonable alternative route. It extends existing cross-operator ticket acceptance, already used by publicly owned operators, to major intercity firms including CrossCountry, GWR, Avanti West Coast and Chiltern Railways. East Midlands Railway is excluded for now owing to its ongoing disruption from faulty Hitachi trains, while watchdog Transport Focus welcomed the change but stressed the need for clear passenger information during disruption.