Beleaguered commuters on Southern trains could receive a rebate of up to 20% on season tickets as compensation for months of disruption.

Rail minister Paul Maynard this week denied plans to increase compensation to passengers using the troubled franchise had been placed on the “backburner”.

On Monday the Tory frontbencher used his first Commons debate since taking over the rail brief to urge the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union to end its dispute with Southern, run by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR).

Passengers have suffered months of delays and cancellations due to an ongoing row over plans to shift responsibility for closing train doors from conductors to drivers.

Mr Maynard told MPs: “[Transport Secretary Chris Grayling] and I are continuing to consider more generous compensation for passengers on this route and we hope to make a timely announcement, but I want to ensure we focus on restoring normality to the timetable and that has to be the most important task at hand.

“It has not been put on the backburner and I hope you’ll be getting some helpful news relatively soon.”

Chris Philp, MP for Croydon South, asked Mr Maynard: “Given that our constituents have paid very large sums of money for season tickets this year and have manifestly not received the service they paid for, would you and [Mr Grayling] consider paying to each and every season ticket holder a rebate – for example, 10% or 20% – of their season ticket payment to recognise the fact they have not received the service they paid for?”

Mr Maynard replied: “There are numerous ways in which we’re considering the potential for compensation and we will take that suggestion on board and hope to make further announcements in due course.”

Industrial action and high levels of staff sickness have hit services, with the introduction of a temporary emergency timetable initially cutting up to 341 trains a day.

Southern is to restore more train services next week and has issued a fresh apology to passengers for disruption.

The operator announced it will reinstate the full timetable from Tonbridge and Reigate to Redhill and London Victoria/London Bridge on Monday and restore the full service between Redhill and London.

Alex Foulds, Southern's passenger services director, said: "The temporary revised weekday timetable has been delivering a more consistent, reliable service.

"Now, as promised, we are steadily reintroducing trains and will continue to do so until the entire timetable is back in place."

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT, said: "These are pitiful changes to the Southern timetable and the fact that passengers are still paying through the nose for a vastly reduced service is solely due to the gross managerial incompetence and profiteering of this basket-case rail operator."