Train delayed? How Delay Repay compensation works

A late train in Britain is not only a ruined morning. It is also money you can get back. The scheme is called Delay Repay, most operators run it, and you do not have to prove any loss: the delay itself is enough.

How much you get

Operators use the same shape of scale, built around delay bands. At Avanti West Coast, for example, a delay of 15 to 29 minutes pays 25% of a single fare, 30 to 59 minutes pays 50%, 60 to 119 minutes pays 100%, and 120 minutes or more pays 100%. On a return ticket the percentages are worked out on half the price: 12.5%, 25%, 50% and 100%.

The entry point differs between companies. Some start paying at 15 minutes, others at 30. Check your operator's own Delay Repay page before you claim.

The delay is measured on arrival, not departure

This is where most people lose money. The delay is the difference between your actual arrival at your destination and the scheduled arrival, not how late the train left. A train that leaves twenty minutes late and makes the time up pays nothing. A train that leaves on time and arrives forty minutes late does pay.

You have 28 days to claim

Claims must be submitted within 28 days of the journey. You need the ticket — paper, digital or a screenshot — and the journey details. You cannot be paid more than the ticket cost.

Some operators run automated Delay Repay: if the ticket was bought in their app and linked to the journey, the claim is raised for you, usually within a day, and payment follows once you confirm the details, typically within five working days. Manual claims take longer: up to 20 working days is the published benchmark.

Season tickets

Season ticket holders are paid a share of the ticket price. The price is divided by an assumed number of journeys: 464 for an annual ticket, 240 for six months, 120 for a quarterly, 40 for a monthly and 10 for a weekly. The delay band percentage is then applied to that figure.

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When there is no payout

An operator handles delays it caused. If another company caused the delay, the claim is passed to them and they decide. Planned engineering work, announced in advance and built into the timetable, usually falls outside the scheme.

If the claim is refused

A refusal is not the end. Complain to the operator first. If there is no answer within 40 working days, or you receive a final response — a deadlock letter — the case can go to the Rail Ombudsman, an independent not-for-profit body that handles unresolved complaints about rail companies. It is free for passengers.

What to do

Keep the ticket instead of binning it at the barrier. Note the actual arrival time. Check your operator's scale and claim promptly: 28 days pass faster than it sounds. Small amounts are still worth claiming — over a year of commuting they add up.