AN extended compensation scheme for regular rail travellers who have been affected by disruption on Northern lines has been announced by Transport for the North.

Transport for the North has been working with Northern to create a scheme for the worst affected travellers who suffered from the disruption misery associated with timetable changes this summer.

The scheme extends the compensation offer beyond the existing season-ticket holder scheme, allowing regular travellers who don't have season tickets to claim compensation for the disruption and inconvenience they have suffered.

The scheme is the first of its kind in the UK to be introduced, and Northern has created a webpage explaining how the scheme will work and how to make a claim if your are entitled for compensation.

Travellers will be able to make claims from Tuesday, October 9, and the compensation period will last for eight weeks until Tuesday, December 4. The claim window for season ticket holders will be extended to the same end date.

There are two categories for claims routes, Level 1 and Level 2. Level 1 routes are the routes which were worst affected by the timetable changes, while Level 2 are other affected routes where they was disruption.

For Level 1 routes, customers will need evidence of at least 12 days of travel in a 28 day window.

For Level 2, they need at least three days travel in in a seven day window, but this is flexible - for example two days in one week and four in the next - to provide an average of three journeys a week.

Eligible journeys will need to have been made on the same route, and people can only claim for one level, not both.

For full details on eligibility and how to claim, visit northernrailway.co.uk/compensation. The website for Transpennine Express customers who were affected will be created at a later date when a date is finalised with the rail company.