Emine Salih says Southern Rail refused to reimburse her for a £90 taxi after her 9.01am Southern service from Newhaven Town to Gatwick was cancelled minutes before departure on May 11, leaving her and her partner to change plans on the way to a flight to Menorca. The Argus reports that Trainline refunded the tickets, but Southern rejected the taxi claim.
Salih, 57, lives in Denton near Newhaven and had booked an eleven-day holiday with her partner. She said she has anxiety and mobility problems affecting her back and leg, and that the later train would not have worked for her travel plans.
Newhaven Town to Gatwick
Salih said the cancellation came through a Trainline app notification shortly before departure. She and her partner then went directly to Gatwick North Terminal by cab and paid £90.
She said, "We didn't know if later trains would be cancelled as well," and added, "We didn't want to risk missing our flight, so we got a taxi instead."
Southern Rail and Trainline
Trainline refunded the train tickets from Newhaven to the airport. Southern did not reimburse the taxi fare, saying the next available train would have arrived at Gatwick at 10.28am.
Salih said, "We had to get that taxi because of the train being cancelled" and "so Southern should reimburse us." She described Southern Rail refusing repayment as "disgusted".
Gatwick North Terminal
The dispute turns on whether the cancelled 9.01am service made the taxi a necessary replacement or an avoidable extra cost. Southern's position is that the 10.28am option still left time before the flight, while Salih says the later service was not viable given her health and the connection she would have needed to make at Gatwick Airport.
For passengers in the same position, the practical issue is the record of the cancellation, the refund already issued for the rail ticket, and the train operator's separate decision on extra travel costs. Salih's case shows how those two parts can split, even when the journey is one trip from Newhaven to Gatwick for an EasyJet flight to Menorca.
