Thousands of Southern Rail season ticket holders have been paid a total of over £10m in compensation since December for delays to services.

The Government says disruption has been down to track and signal failures, engineering work, poor performance by the operator and industrial action by the RMT union.

The Rail Minister, Paul Maynard MP, has announced that nearly 40,000 passengers have applied for refunds as part of the one-off compensation scheme. Mr Maynard said: “This scheme gives everyone the chance to claim compensation.

“There are still small things that can be done, such as asking people to keep their train tickets after leaving a station to make claims go as smooth as possible.

“I want passengers to be able to know their rights and know what they are able to claim for.”

The Department for Transport (DfT) said compensation would be paid in the form of a one-off payment to season ticket holders.

A Southern spokesman said: "The one-off season ticket compensation scheme, announced last December by the Government, recognises the severe disruption on the Southern network during 2016.

"As of March 20, over 40,000 claims have been approved totalling over £10m in compensation.

“The scheme closes on April 30 and we urge customers who believe they are due compensation to claim online.”

The full address for claiming compensation is southernrailway.com/your-journey/customer-services/compensation-announcement/