Delay Repay: what you’re owed and how to claim

Checked against the sources below on 20 October 2026

How much you can claim when your train is late in Great Britain, which scheme each train company runs, how to claim, and how you get paid.

The short answer#

If you arrive at your destination 15 or 30 minutes or more late, depending on the train company, you can usually claim part of your fare back, whatever caused the delay. Claim from the train company within 28 days, with your ticket and the time of the train you planned to catch.

It is worth doing. In the Department for Transport’s 2025 survey, only 45% of passengers with an eligible delay claimed. Of all those passengers, 24% did not know they could claim and another 23% thought they were not eligible.

How much you can claim#

Delay is measured at your destination station, against the timetable in force on the day you travel (Condition 32.1 of the National Rail Conditions of Travel). Most train companies run one of two Delay Repay schemes, defined by the Office of Rail and Road:

  • 15 to 29 minutes late: 25% of a single ticket (Delay Repay 15 only).
  • 30 to 59 minutes: 50% of a single ticket.
  • 60 minutes or more: 100% of a single ticket.
  • 120 minutes or more on a return ticket: the cost of the return.

On a return ticket where one leg was delayed, train companies pay a share of the return fare: Great Western Railway and Greater Anglia, for example, pay 12.5%, 25% and 50% of the return for the three shorter bands. Compensation is a share of what you paid for the ticket, and you cannot claim more than you paid.

Whatever the scheme, a delay of 60 minutes or more is always compensated, at least 50% of the price paid for a single, and you do not have to prove it was the train company’s fault (Condition 33.3).

Which scheme each company runs#

As listed by the Office of Rail and Road in its factsheet of 15 October 2026. Train companies can change their scheme, so check the company’s own Delay Repay page when you claim.

  • Delay Repay 15 (from 15 minutes): Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, East Midlands Railway, Greater Thameslink Railway, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, Northern Trains, South Western Railway, Southeastern, TfW Rail, TransPennine Express, West Midlands Trains.
  • Delay Repay 30 (from 30 minutes): Caledonian Sleeper, CrossCountry, Heathrow Express, Hull Trains, London North Eastern Railway, Lumo (East and West Coast), ScotRail.
  • Other (“traditional”) schemes: Elizabeth line, Grand Central, London Overground, Merseyrail.

Traditional schemes set their own thresholds and amounts, and can exclude delays caused by events outside the rail industry’s control, such as exceptional weather, for delays under 60 minutes (Condition 33.4). For the Elizabeth line and London Overground, the factsheet notes compensation from 30 minutes where the delay was within Transport for London’s control.

Season tickets#

A season ticket is turned into a price per journey. Train companies including Great Western Railway, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Thameslink, Avanti West Coast and Greater Anglia divide a weekly ticket by 10, a monthly by 40 and an annual by 464, and a Flexi Season by 16 where they sell one. Compensation is then the usual share of that journey price, up to a full day’s travel for a long delay.

How to claim#

  • Where. Claim on the train company’s website or app, or by post. You can claim from any train company you travelled with, and it will pass the claim on to the company responsible if needed (Condition 32.1).
  • When. Within 28 days of completing the journey (Condition 33.1).
  • What you need. Your ticket or proof of purchase, and the scheduled departure time of the train you intended to catch (Condition 33.1). Give the train you planned to take, not the later one you ended up on; Great Western Railway lists that as a common reason claims are rejected.
  • Refund or compensation, not both. If you decided not to travel and took a full refund, you cannot also claim compensation for the delay (Condition 33.5).

Train companies will not normally accept a claim if you were told about the delay before you bought your ticket.

How you are paid#

Compensation is paid within 14 days of your claim being agreed (Condition 33.2). Condition 34.1 says every train company must offer at least one “money option” (a cheque, a bank transfer or a refund to your debit or credit card) alongside any rail travel vouchers, and that where the delay was the train company’s fault, you are entitled to be paid the same way you paid for your ticket unless you agree otherwise. Some companies offer fewer payment options for claims made by post.

Automatic and one-click claims#

Some train companies contact you when you are owed compensation, so you only have to confirm the claim. This usually needs a ticket bought from the company’s own website or app, or one of its smartcards, and your details registered with it. The only scheme the Department for Transport describes as fully automatic, with nothing to do, is c2c’s for its smartcard holders.

Some ticket retailers, such as Trainline, can tell you when you may be owed compensation, but the claim is still decided by the train company.

Contactless and pay as you go#

You can claim for journeys paid by contactless. In the London and South East contactless area, claim from the train company you travelled with and include your journey statement from Transport for London as evidence. South Western Railway, for example, works out compensation from the pay-as-you-go fare for the delayed journey.

Passengers claim far less often for these journeys: 23% of eligible pay-as-you-go passengers claimed in 2025, down from 35% in 2023.

Claiming for other losses#

Delay Repay pays back up to the price of your ticket (Condition 32.2). Separately, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says a service must be performed with reasonable care and skill; where it was not, you may have further rights, including to a price reduction (sections 49 and 56). You cannot recover the same money twice (Condition 32.1). In exceptional circumstances a train company may also consider claims for other losses at its discretion (Condition 32.2).

What is changing#

On 17 March 2026 the government announced that the train companies’ separate claim systems will be merged into one service under Great British Railways, and that passengers will be able to claim from wherever they bought their ticket, including retailers such as Trainline. No launch date has been published.

How RailPilot helps#

RailPilot follows your journey to its end, so it knows when you actually arrived. If you arrive late enough to claim, it tells you, names the train company to claim from when it can tell which train caused the delay, and says what share of the fare the delay is worth under that company’s scheme. It keeps your booked and actual times, and you can copy the journey details a claim form asks for. It cannot see what you paid, so it cannot work out the amount in pounds.

Try RailPilot: it is free, with no account, and finds the train you are on from your location. How it works.

Sources#

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