Avanti West Coast paid out £20m in ‘delay repay’ passenger refunds this summer

Intercity train operator's compensation bill likely to top 70m this financial year amid rise in claims across network

Avanti West Coast paid out more than 20m to passengers in just three months this summer in refunds for disrupted journeys on Britain's main intercity rail network.

The intercity operator paid out almost as much in a four-week period to 25 July - 9.3m - as its annual profits for each of the past two years. It repaid a further 12.2m in the subsequent eight weeks.