c2c has won an innovation award for launching the UK’s first automatic compensation scheme for all passengers.

The scheme, Automatic Delay Repay, compensates commuters automatically when their train is delayed for as little as two minutes.

The initiative won the railway service Innovation of the Year award at the National Rail Awards.

The offer is made to all passengers who travel using a c2c Smartcard. The railway company tracks passengers’ journey as they tap through the gates at the start and end of their journey. It will work out if the train they took was delayed.

Julian Drury, c2c managing director, said: “Our philosophy is that we will always do our utmost to get our customers to their destination on time, but if their train is even just a couple of minutes late we will start paying them compensation for the inconvenience.

“We were really proud to be the first UK train operator to offer an automatic compensation scheme that every passenger can benefit from, and are honoured that our work has won the most prestigious innovation award in the rail industry.”

The judging panel for the National Rail Awards said: “We saw this as easily the most innovative entry. Passengers’ frustration with delays is almost matched by that induced by the procedures for seeking compensation.

“c2c was the first train operator to automatically make compensation payments. Furthermore they offer compensation for all delays of two minutes or more rather than the standard 30 minutes.”

Peter Slattery, chairman of the Southend Rail Travellers Association, said the scheme is positive step forwards for the company. He said: “This initiative will push for more trains to be on time. This will create more reliability because trains are now classed as late if it’s two minutes behind schedule.

“The margin for what is considered a train delay is quite narrow so it will push the train company to make sure their services are at its best.

“Going back a few years the service had some problems with train delays but now they are one of the best in the country. I congratulate them for winning the award, it was very well-deserved.

“However, the company needs to be able to keep up the condition of the trains so they’re in good shape to deliver the service they’ve pledged.”