Southern season ticket holders will be compensated the equivalent of a month's travel for the abysmal train service this year.

However, troubled Govia Thameslink (GTR), which runs Southern, will not pay a penny towards the £15 million compensation pot.

Instead you - the taxpayer - will foot the bill through the Department for Transport (DfT).

Writing in the Observer's sister title The Argus, transport secretary Chris Grayling said the compensation was being paid to make up for the extraordinary and sustained disruption which has brought chaos and misery to millions.

He said: "While nothing can truly make up for what passengers have had to endure, I hope this goes some way to showing that the Government is on their side."

READ MORE: Southern Railway strikes rescheduled to help avoid delays this Christmas

He anticipates that more than 84,000 passengers will be able to access the compensation with the average Brighton to London annual ticket holder set to receive £371.

The compensation will be welcomed by some but seen as a hollow gesture by others - especially as the failing train operator is not contributing.

A DfT spokesman said the payment was a Government gesture, although he said GTR would help with the administration.

He added that the rail company has been punished financially in other ways.

The transport sectary also announces in The Argus today the launch of the Delay Repay 15 scheme, which will allow passengers to claim 25 per cent of the cost of the single fare for delays between 15 and 29 minutes late.

Previously delayed passengers could only claim if their service was more than 30 minutes late.

It comes as the RMT yesterday changed its strike dates in the run up to Christmas.

Instead of walking out for three days from December 22, they will now take action for 48-hours from December 19th.

Other strikes the union has called, from December 6 to 8 and from New Year's Eve to January 2, remain in force.

Meanwhile GTR has announced it will go to the High Court in an attempt to stop drivers' union Aslef walking out from December 13 to 14, on December 16 and from January 9 to 14.

The train operator has lodged the court application citing its belief the industrial action breaches customers' rights under EU law.

Writing in The Argus, Mr Grayling MP admits that at times Southern's service has not been good enough, but laid the blame mostly at the door of the union.

He said the RMT had been "goading no more than 300 conductors" into months of strike action, which has resulted in "chaos" for millions of commuters.

He added: "I know from my own years of experience that to be a rail commuter in this country often requires patience – especially when upgrades are taking place.

"What rail passengers should not have to tolerate is unions treating them as bargaining chips in a pointless and irrelevant disagreement over changing staff roles.

"While I am clear that the dispute is between Southern and the unions, I speak with rail passengers when I say to union leaders: sort it out. Put the travelling public first, stop the squabbling, and support your members to get back to work."