Delay Repay: how much you get and how to claim from every UK train company

By Journey Radar Team · Last checked against official sources on

Delay Repay is the compensation scheme UK train companies run when your train gets you to your destination late. Most operators pay from 15 minutes late (25% of a single fare), but CrossCountry, LNER and a few others only pay from 30 minutes. At 60 minutes late you get the full single fare, and at 120 minutes the full return. You claim online from the train company that caused the delay, within 28 days, using its claim page in the table below or via National Rail’s compensation page.

Delay Repay isn’t one national product. Each train company runs its own version under its Passenger’s Charter, and National Rail sends you to the operator’s own site to claim. Underneath every scheme sits a legal minimum in the National Rail Conditions of Travel (NRCoT): at least 50% of the fare for a delay of 60 minutes or more, whatever caused it. Most operators pay well above that floor.

How much Delay Repay will I get?

The payout depends on how late you arrive at your destination, measured against the timetable in force on the day you travel. These are the standard bands used by the operators we cover.

Delay at destination Single Return Season ticket
15-29 min (DR15 only) 25% 12.5% 25% of one journey
30-59 min 50% 25% 50% of one journey
60-119 min 100% 50% 100% of one journey
120+ min 100% 100% Varies by operator

On a return, the percentage is of the full return fare, so 12.5% of a return is the same as 25% of the delayed leg. If either leg of a return is 120 minutes or more late, you get the whole return fare back.

DR15 and DR30. A DR15 operator pays from 15 minutes. A DR30 operator has no 15-29 minute band and starts paying at 30 minutes; from 30 minutes up, the percentages are the same. That’s why someone on Avanti can be paid for a 20-minute delay while an LNER passenger 25 minutes late gets nothing.

Which train companies pay from 15 minutes and which from 30?

This is every operator in our research, with its scheme, whether it offers any automatic or one-click claims, and its official claim page. Where we have a dedicated guide, the operator name links to it.

Operator Scheme Automatic claims Claim online
Avanti West Coast DR15 Yes: Advance tickets bought from Avanti, opt-in Avanti claim portal
c2c DR15 Yes: c2c Smartcard, delays over 2 minutes c2c claim portal
Chiltern Railways DR15 Not confirmed Chiltern claim portal
CrossCountry DR30 None described CrossCountry claim portal
East Midlands Railway DR15 None described EMR claim portal
Elizabeth line and London Overground TfL refund scheme, not Delay Repay Not confirmed TfL service delay refund
Gatwick Express DR15 Key Smartcard (you confirm) Gatwick Express claim portal
Grand Central Own scheme Not confirmed Grand Central claim form
Great Northern DR15 Key Smartcard (you confirm) Great Northern claim portal
Greater Anglia DR15 No Greater Anglia claim portal
GWR DR15 Yes: Advance tickets bought from GWR and some smartcards, opt-in GWR claim portal
Hull Trains DR30 Not confirmed Hull Trains claim portal
LNER DR30 Yes: One-click for tickets bought from LNER, opt-in LNER claim portal
Lumo DR30 Not confirmed Lumo claim portal
Merseyrail Own scheme, not Delay Repay Not confirmed Merseyrail compensation help
Northern DR15 Not confirmed Northern claim portal
ScotRail DR30 Not confirmed ScotRail claim portal
Southeastern DR15 Yes: One Click for Key, eTickets and Advance bought direct Southeastern claim portal
Southern DR15 Key Smartcard (you confirm) Southern claim portal
South Western Railway DR15 Yes: Touch smartcard seasons and Advance bought from SWR SWR claim portal
Thameslink DR15 Key Smartcard (you confirm) Thameslink claim portal
TransPennine Express DR15 Yes: Advance tickets bought from TPE, opt-in TPE claim portal
Transport for Wales DR15 Not confirmed TfW claim portal
West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern DR15 Not confirmed WMR Delay Repay page

How to read the table:

  • Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express are all run by GTR and share one back office, but each has its own claim site. GTR’s Auto Delay Repay for Key Smartcard users creates a claim for you within 48 hours; you still have to open it and confirm before you’re paid.
  • “Not confirmed” means we couldn’t confirm an automatic claim option on the operator’s own pages when we last checked. Use the normal claim form.
  • ScotRail, Transport for Wales, Hull Trains, Lumo, Grand Central, Merseyrail and TfL: we’ve only seen summaries of these operators’ own pages, not the full rules, so check the threshold and amounts on their claim page before you rely on them. Grand Central, Merseyrail and TfL run their own compensation schemes rather than national Delay Repay.
  • West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern: we couldn’t confirm the direct claim address, so the link goes to the operator’s information page, which links to its claim form. The London Northwestern page is here.
  • Trainline is a ticket retailer, not a train company, so it isn’t in the table. See our Trainline Delay Repay guide.

How long do I have to claim?

You have 28 days. The NRCoT, condition 33.1, says the claim must reach the train company within 28 days of completing the journey, unless the operator agrees to extend that. You also need to give the scheduled departure time and show a ticket valid for the whole journey.

Operators word the start of the 28 days differently: GWR and CrossCountry count from the delay, LNER from the date of travel, Avanti from the affected journey and SWR from after the journey. For a journey that starts and ends on the same day these all land on the same date. To be safe, count the 28 days from the day you travelled. LNER also suggests claiming within 48 hours.

Can I claim on split tickets, open returns or a missed connection?

Split tickets. Under NRCoT condition 14.2, two or more tickets that together cover your journey are valid as long as the train calls at the station where one ticket ends and the next begins. You can claim Delay Repay on them, but operators handle the paperwork and the payout differently:

  • SWR asks you to declare every ticket and works out compensation on each ticket’s own price.
  • EMR wants the whole journey from start to final destination and bases compensation on the total cost.
  • GWR asks you to upload all the tickets for the full journey.
  • CrossCountry’s Passenger Charter says it compensates the whole journey when you hold a combination of tickets.
  • Southeastern wants one claim with all tickets in a single image, entered as ticket number 00000 with “split ticket” as the reason.

Missed connections. Delay is measured at your final destination (NRCoT condition 32.1), so a short delay that makes you miss a connection can become a long one. The claim goes to the operator whose train caused the first delay. EMR says it pays even if the train you missed belonged to another company, and GWR covers missed connections that were scheduled and shown in journey planners. GTR only pays where you allowed enough time to change (including across London) and held a through ticket.

If you’re unsure who to claim from, condition 32.1 lets you send the claim to any operator whose trains you used; it will pass it to the right one. GWR, CrossCountry, SWR, EMR, Greater Anglia and Southeastern all say they forward claims that belong elsewhere.

Example: you hold split tickets from Manchester to London, Northern then Avanti, and a late Northern train makes you miss your Avanti connection, arriving 70 minutes late. Northern caused the first delay, so you claim from Northern, listing the full journey (Northern asks for the whole journey, not just the delayed leg). Whether you’re paid on one ticket or both depends on how Northern values split tickets, so upload every ticket.

Open returns. No official source we checked treats open returns differently from other returns, so they’re paid on the return bands. Trainline’s in-app Delay Repay alerts don’t cover open returns, though, so you’ll need to claim directly with the operator.

What if my train was cancelled or I decided not to travel?

Delay Repay is compensation when you travel and arrive late; a refund is for a journey you didn’t make because the train was cancelled or badly delayed.

  • You travelled on a later train: claim Delay Repay. Compensation is based on when you actually reached your destination compared with the timetable.
  • You didn’t travel: NRCoT condition 30.1 gives you a full refund with no admin fee from the retailer that sold you the ticket, if the train was cancelled, delayed or rescheduled. The same applies if you set off but gave up and went back to where you started. Tell the retailer within 28 days of the date you meant to travel (condition 30.2).
  • You can’t have both. Condition 33.5 rules out Delay Repay on a journey you were refunded for under condition 30.

When a train is cancelled, condition 28.3 normally lets you take one of the two trains before or after it with the same operator. Some operators go further: Avanti says your ticket is valid up to two hours either side of the cancelled train. LNER warns that if you take an earlier, undisrupted train instead, there’s no compensation.

A separate change from 1 April 2026 means a ticket you simply decide not to use can normally only be refunded before it becomes valid (by 23:59 the day before). National Rail says this doesn’t affect Delay Repay.

Can I claim during strikes, storms or engineering works?

Strikes. National Rail says that if industrial action makes you late by your operator’s threshold, you’re entitled to Delay Repay from the train company you travelled with. If a strike cancels, delays or reschedules your train, you can instead have a fee-free refund or change from the retailer. Watch for revised timetables: some operators, including Greater Anglia, measure delays against the timetable they published in advance. A train removed from a strike-day timetable published ahead of time won’t usually trigger Delay Repay, but a refund still applies.

Storms and bad weather. Delay is measured against the timetable in place on the day, including any replacement timetable published for forecast bad weather. For delays under 60 minutes, NRCoT condition 33.4 lets an operator refuse if the cause was entirely outside the rail industry’s control. At 60 minutes or more, the cause doesn’t matter. Several operators pay anyway: Greater Anglia and CrossCountry say they pay regardless of the reason.

Engineering works. Planned works come with an amended timetable, and delay is measured against that. GWR, Avanti and Greater Anglia say compensation isn’t usually paid during planned engineering, and EMR and CrossCountry normally won’t pay if you knew about the delay before you bought your ticket.

Season tickets and Flexi Seasons: how the daily rate is worked out

Season ticket compensation is left to each operator’s Passenger’s Charter (NRCoT condition 33.3), so operators genuinely differ. The usual method is to divide the season price into a value per journey and then apply the normal percentages.

Season ticket Divide by
Weekly 10
Monthly 40
Quarterly 120
Six-monthly 240
Annual 464
Flexi Season 16 (GTR, Southeastern, GWR, CrossCountry) or 8 (Northern)

The biggest difference is the 120+ minute band:

  • GWR and EMR effectively pay 200% of one journey.
  • Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry pay 100% of one journey.
  • SWR pays 100% of a return, and never more than two singles a day.
  • GTR and Southeastern pay the value of a return journey, a full day’s travel.

Northern gives its own worked example: a £100 weekly ticket is worth £10 a journey, so a 20-minute delay pays £2.50. Season ticket claims are generally capped at one day’s travel per day.

What evidence do I need, and how am I paid?

Evidence. Have the scheduled departure time and proof of a valid ticket:

  • a photo of a paper ticket (EMR wants it cut or defaced unless you’re still using it);
  • the ticket reference (UTN) for an e-ticket;
  • the smartcard number, plus a photo of the card for CrossCountry;
  • a TfL journey statement for Oyster or contactless.

Rules on receipts vary. GTR accepts booking receipts and screenshots; Southeastern and EMR don’t.

Payment. Under NRCoT condition 34.1, every operator must offer at least one cash option (bank transfer, card refund or cheque) rather than only rail travel vouchers, and if the operator was at fault you’re entitled to be paid the way you paid for the ticket unless you agree otherwise. Vouchers can be spent at any operator’s staffed ticket office. Some operators add their own options: EMR, Greater Anglia, GTR and Southeastern offer PayPal, TransPennine Express offers Payit, Northern can give you free Northern tickets from 30 minutes, and several let you donate the money to charity. Southeastern doesn’t pay to cards.

Timing. Payment is due within 14 days of the claim being agreed, and the industry target is to deal with every claim within a month (NRCoT condition 33.2). Some operators are quicker.

My claim was rejected: what next?

Start with the operator. Several claim portals let you track a claim and challenge a decision from your account: EMR and Greater Anglia have appeal options in their portals, and Northern takes appeals through your Delay Repay account or by email. Check the rejection reason first, as the common ones are a claim sent to the wrong operator, a ticket that doesn’t cover the whole journey, a delay below the operator’s threshold, or a claim made after 28 days.

If you’ve been through the operator’s complaints process and are still unhappy, you can take the complaint to the Rail Ombudsman, the independent body for unresolved complaints about train companies. The Ombudsman is free and independent. You can go to it once the operator has sent a final response (sometimes called a deadlock letter), or once 40 working days have passed since your complaint, and you must do so within 12 months of the final response. Its decisions bind the train company but not you, according to the Office of Rail and Road.

Do claim apps take a cut?

Trainline’s Delay Repay feature tracks your train and, after the journey, sends a push notification or email if you might be owed money. You then click through to the train company’s site and make the claim yourself; Trainline doesn’t claim for you. It covers Flexible and Advance tickets on single-leg trips, not open returns or season tickets, and its page mentions no fee. The operator decides whether you’re paid and how much.

Claiming directly from the operator is free, and the operator’s own one-click or automatic claims (see the table) are the closest thing to hands-off Delay Repay. Read our Trainline Delay Repay guide for the details.

What is changing?

On 17 March 2026 the Department for Transport announced that Delay Repay claims will move to a single service under Great British Railways (GBR). For the first time, you’ll be able to claim from wherever you bought the ticket, including third-party retailers such as Trainline. No start date has been given, and until it launches you still claim from each operator.

Automation is spreading. A government written answer in August 2026 said ten of the 14 train companies the Department for Transport runs now offer automated, one-click Delay Repay.

Several operators are also moving into public ownership. GWR is due to transfer on 13 December 2026 and Avanti West Coast on 7 March 2027; SWR, c2c, Greater Anglia, West Midlands Trains, GTR and Chiltern have already moved. Delay Repay rules don’t change with a transfer unless the operator announces it. SWR, for example, kept its scheme and claim site.

Frequently asked questions

How much Delay Repay do I get for a 30-minute delay?

At every operator in the national Delay Repay scheme, a delay of 30 to 59 minutes pays 50% of a single fare, or 25% of a return fare (half the value of the delayed leg). This band is the same whether the operator pays from 15 or 30 minutes.

How much compensation do I get if my train is 15 minutes late?

On a DR15 operator such as GWR, Avanti West Coast, Northern or Southern, a delay of 15 to 29 minutes pays 25% of a single fare or 12.5% of a return. CrossCountry, LNER and other DR30 operators pay nothing until you are 30 minutes late.

How many times can I claim Delay Repay?

None of the operator pages we checked sets a limit on how many separate journeys you can claim for. There are caps per journey and per day: you never get more than the ticket price, and season ticket claims are capped at one day's travel. Claiming for a journey you didn't make is fraud.

What evidence do I need for Delay Repay?

A photo or scan of a ticket valid for the whole journey, or the ticket reference for an e-ticket, plus the scheduled departure time. Smartcard users give the card number, and contactless or Oyster users usually need a TfL journey statement. Some operators, such as Southeastern and EMR, don't accept booking receipts or screenshots.

How long does Delay Repay take to pay out?

The National Rail Conditions of Travel say payment is due within 14 days of a claim being agreed, with a target of handling every claim within a month. Operators set their own timings: GTR says it replies within 20 working days and usually within 5, while CrossCountry allows 20 days plus up to 10 for the money to arrive.

Can I claim Delay Repay if I bought my ticket on Trainline?

Yes. You claim from the train company that caused the delay, wherever you bought the ticket. Trainline's app can alert you that you may be owed money and link you to the operator's claim page, but it does not submit the claim for you.

Do I get Delay Repay if my train was cancelled and I didn't travel?

No. If you chose not to travel because your train was cancelled or delayed, you are due a full refund from the retailer that sold the ticket, with no fee. You can't take that refund and also claim Delay Repay for the same journey.

Sources

Checked 25 October 2026.