A TRAIN operator has apologised and pledged to learn lessons after mishandling a customer complaint following a major delay on the East Coast Mainline.

Wulf Veldasson, from Darlington, was one of hundreds of passengers caught up in lengthy delays between Darlington and York on the afternoon of September 4.

Cable thefts were the reason for the delays, but Mr Veldasson was unhappy with "impersonal and contemptuous" the way train operator Virgin Trains East Coast handled his claim for a refund.

He said: "[There were] terrible delays due to cable theft, that were experienced by hundreds of passengers on the York to Darlington line.

"I made a formal complaint to Virgin Trains East Coast and it has taken them over three weeks to send me a reply and I now wish that they hadn't, as their impersonal and contemptuous response has made me more furious than the four hours I spent in York Railway Station waiting for a train back home to Darlington.

"My concerns about their ineptitude in failing to communicate with customers and not telling us when buses were laid on at the station, causing me and many others to be delayed for far longer than we needed to be, were totally ignored in their letter. It was clearly written by a robot."

Mr Veldasson initially had his claim for compensation refused, as Virgin initially told him records indicated he had been delayed by less than 30 minutes.

Having reviewed his complaint in more detail, Virgin has now pledged a full refund for Mr Veldasson, as well as two complimentary first-class tickets.

Speaking before the company's change of heart, which was prompted after The Northern Echo intervened on Mr Veldasson's behalf, he accused Virgin of "totally whitewashing the whole sorry event and making a complete mockery of the Delay Repay scheme".

A Virgin spokesman said: "We’re really sorry about the way we handled Mr Veldasson’s complaint.

"We’ve tried to make contact to offer a 100 per cent refund for the journey and two complimentary tickets for use on the Virgin Trains East Coast network by way of an apology.

"We’re reviewing the case to see what lessons can be learned from this.”