TRANSPORT union RMT has accused bosses of “laughing all the way to the bank” after it was revealed that rail companies collected £1.3 billion from the government to compensate commuters but passed little of the money on.

The union said today that most money awarded to rail franchises from publicly owned Network Rail stayed in the companies’ coffers.

Over the past six years, train franchises in Britain have gained approximately £1.3bn for allotted compensation money. However, of this sum, only £260 million has been given out to passengers.