The amount of compensation paid to passengers delayed by Greater Anglia trains soared by 200pc in the last year.

The train operator refunded customers a total of £2.9m in the 12 month leading up to April under the Delay Repay scheme - an increase of more than £2m from the year before.

In comparison, London North Eastern Railway (LNER), which paid out the largest sum, refunded customers £11.1m in the last year, according to the Department for Transport.

The next highest sum was paid out by Avanti West Coast, at £8.7m.

Under the Delay Repay scheme, passengers can claim back 50pc of their ticket price if they are delayed between 30 minutes and an hour, or a full refund if they’re delayed for longer.

As of last year, a change to the terms of the scheme also meant passengers delayed by more than 15 minutes, but less than 30, could also claim back part of their ticket price.

Jonathan Denby, head of Greater Anglia’s corporate affairs, said this change was partly to blame for increased compensation payments in 2022/2023.

And while the figure was up on the previous 12 months, it was still significantly lower than the period leading up to the pandemic.

Between 2019 and 2020, the operator repaid £4.7m to customers for late trains, and £4.2m the year before.

Mr Denby said: "The reason payment levels don’t return to pre-pandemic levels is primarily because performance levels have increased, following the introduction of our new trains and work with Network Rail to improve punctuality and reliability.

"As a result, there are fewer delays and hence fewer delay replay claims."

In the three years leading up to April 2020, 88-89pc of Greater Anglia services arrived on time. 

In the following three years, that went up to an average of 94pc.