英国Avanti West Coast夏季赔付2000万英镑延误赔偿金

英国长途铁路运营商 Avanti West Coast 在今年夏季三个月内支付了超过 2000 万英镑的“延误赔偿”（delay repay）退款，这一金额接近该公司过去两年的年度利润总和 1。具体数据显示，截至 7 月 25 日的四周内，该运营商已支付 930 万英镑，随后的八周又追加支付了 1220 万英镑 1。在刚刚过去的财年（2024-25），整个英国铁路网络的乘客延误赔偿总额升至 1.5 亿英镑，同比上涨 8%，其中 Avanti West Coast 承担了约 27% 的份额，金额达 4050 万英镑 1。此外，其他主要运营商也面临高额赔付，GWR 和 LNER 在 2025 年分别退款 2970 万英镑和 2800 万英镑 1。

Avanti West Coast 预计本财年（2025-26）的赔付金额将突破 7000 万英镑 1。高温天气、票价上涨以及自动化索赔流程的推广是导致赔偿费用飙升的主要原因 1。尽管 Avanti 声称在 5 月至 8 月期间，其直接负责的延误仅占 23%，其余责任归咎于 Network Rail、其他运营商或外部因素（如牛群闯入轨道），但其服务可靠性仍受到质疑 1。统计显示，7 月份 Avanti 列车的准点率低于一半，平均延误时间达到 19 分钟 1。与此同时，全英铁路延误赔偿申请数量在 2026 年达到 910 万份，同比增长近 10%，且 80% 的申请获得批准，反映出公众对铁路服务不满情绪的上升及公共财政面临的成本压力 1。

Avanti West Coast paid out more than £20 million in “delay repay” passenger refunds over a three-month summer period, an amount nearly equivalent to the operator’s annual profits from the past two years 1. Specifically, the rail company paid £9.3 million in the four weeks ending July 25, followed by an additional £12.2 million during the subsequent eight weeks 1. This surge in payouts coincided with poor service reliability; in July, less than half of Avanti’s trains arrived on time, with average delays reaching 19 minutes 1.

The rising compensation costs reflect broader challenges across the UK railway network, where total passenger delay payments for the 2024-25 fiscal year rose by 8% to £150 million 1. Avanti accounts for approximately 27% of this national total, or roughly £40.5 million, and projects that its own liabilities will exceed £70 million for the current 2025-26 financial year 1. Other major operators also faced significant refund obligations, with Great Western Railway (GWR) and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) paying out £29.7 million and £28 million respectively in 2025 1. Nationally, the number of compensation applications reached 9.1 million in 2026, marking a nearly 10% increase from previous years, with 80% of these claims approved 1.

Despite the high volume of refunds, Avanti stated that it was directly responsible for only 23% of the delays between May and August 1. The operator attributed the remaining incidents to Network Rail, other companies, or external factors such as livestock trespassing 1.