East Midlands Railway pays Delay Repay from 15 minutes: if an EMR train is cancelled or gets you to your final destination 15 or more minutes late, you get 25% of a single fare, 50% at 30 minutes and 100% at 60 minutes, and the whole return if either leg is two hours or more late. Season ticket holders do better than on many lines, getting twice a journey’s value for a delay of 120 minutes or more. Claim within 28 days on EMR’s Delay Repay claim site, and you can choose to be paid by bank transfer, card or PayPal.
EMR Delay Repay at a glance
| What | EMR’s rule |
|---|---|
| Scheme | Delay Repay 15 (pays from 15 minutes) |
| Time limit | 28 days (count from the day you travelled) |
| Payment | Bank transfer, card or PayPal |
| Claim site | delayrepay.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk |
| Rules page | EMR Delay Repay |
One scheme covers every EMR service. Its Delay Repay page sets no separate rules for Intercity trains and local routes. EMR is privately run by Transport UK. Our Delay Repay guide compares EMR with every other operator.
Am I eligible for EMR Delay Repay?
You can claim if an EMR train was cancelled or delayed and you reached your final destination 15 minutes or more late. Delay is measured at the end of the whole journey, not at the point where EMR’s part ended.
You don’t have to have bought the ticket from EMR. If EMR caused the delay, you can claim directly with EMR wherever you booked, including through a retailer such as Trainline.
15 minutes or more than 15?
EMR’s page is not consistent here. Its general rule says 15 minutes or more, but the missed-connection section says more than 15 minutes. For an ordinary delay, 15 minutes exactly should qualify. If you missed a connection and arrived exactly 15 minutes late, you can still claim, but EMR could apply the stricter wording.
How much will I get on a single, return or season ticket?
For day tickets, EMR uses the standard Delay Repay 15 bands:
| Delay at destination | Single | Return |
|---|---|---|
| 15-29 minutes | 25% | 12.5% |
| 30-59 minutes | 50% | 25% |
| 60-119 minutes | 100% | 50% |
| 120 minutes or more | 100% | 100% |
The return percentages are of the full return price.
For season tickets, EMR publishes fixed divisors. Divide what you paid for the season ticket by the number for your delay:
| Season ticket | 15-29 min | 30-59 min | 60-119 min | 120+ min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 40 | 20 | 10 | 5 |
| Monthly | 160 | 80 | 40 | 20 |
| Annual | 1,856 | 928 | 464 | 232 |
Those numbers equal 25%, 50%, 100% and 200% of one journey, where a journey is a tenth of a weekly, a fortieth of a monthly or a 464th of an annual ticket. The 200% top band is the generous part: on GWR the season top band is also 200%, while Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry pay 100% of a journey.
How to claim EMR Delay Repay, step by step
- Note the scheduled departure time of your train and when you arrived at your final destination.
- Photograph your ticket. EMR wants the ticket itself, cut or marked unless you are still using it. Screenshots are not accepted. For e-tickets, give the ticket reference (UTN) and a photo of the booking confirmation. Images must be JPEG, TIF, PNG or GIF and under 2MB.
- Go to EMR’s Delay Repay claim site and enter the full journey, from where you started to where you finished, even if some legs were not on EMR or ran on time.
- Pick a payment method: bank transfer, debit or credit card, or PayPal. For PayPal, the email on your claim must match your PayPal account.
- Submit within 28 days.
EMR also has a paper form on its Delay Repay page that covers up to five journeys. Track a claim, or appeal one, on EMR’s claim tracking page.
When the 28 days start
EMR’s page describes its deadline three ways: 28 days of travel, of the delay, and of your delayed journey. The National Rail Conditions of Travel (condition 33.1) count from completing the journey. For a same-day trip these all land on the same date, but sources differ, so we advise counting the 28 days from the day you travelled.
Split tickets, missed connections and other operators
Split tickets: enter every ticket and the whole journey from origin to final destination. EMR says it uses the total cost of the journey to work out compensation. Under the Conditions of Travel, condition 14.2, a combination of tickets is valid if the train calls at the station where you change tickets.
Missed connections: if an EMR delay makes you miss a connection with any train company, you can claim from EMR for your late arrival at the final destination (subject to the wording point above).
Other operators: make one claim per journey, to the company that caused the delay. If you send EMR a claim that belongs to someone else, EMR passes it on.
Open returns are not treated separately on EMR’s page; claim them as a return.
Cancelled trains, strikes and engineering works
If EMR cancels your train and you still travel, your claim is based on how late you reached your destination.
If you chose not to travel, ask for a refund instead, from whoever sold you the ticket. For Advance tickets bought online, EMR’s page gives 03457 125 678. The Conditions of Travel (condition 30.1) make that refund fee-free when the train is cancelled or delayed, and you cannot also claim Delay Repay.
EMR will not normally pay if you knew about the delay before you bought your ticket, for example because an engineering timetable had already been published. The Conditions of Travel measure delay against the timetable in force on the day. EMR’s page has no separate strike rule; National Rail’s guidance is that a strike-related delay that meets the operator’s threshold can be claimed as Delay Repay.
Quirks specific to EMR
- Season tickets pay 200% at two hours. EMR publishes the exact divisors, so you can check the sum yourself.
- PayPal payouts. Not every operator offers PayPal; EMR does, as long as the email addresses match.
- No screenshots. A photo of the actual ticket is required, and files must be under 2MB.
- Third-party claims are only accepted in mitigating circumstances.
If your EMR claim is refused
Use EMR’s tracking page to see the reason and appeal. If the ticket image was rejected, send a clearer photo of the actual ticket rather than a screenshot. If EMR says another operator caused the delay, the claim belongs with that company.
Know your floor: under the Conditions of Travel (condition 33.3), any operator must pay at least 50% of a single, or of the affected part of a return, for a delay of 60 minutes or more, whatever the cause. Our Delay Repay guide explains how to take a refused claim further.
Frequently asked questions
How much does EMR pay a season ticket holder for a two-hour delay?
Twice the value of one journey. EMR divides a weekly season by 5, a monthly by 20 and an annual by 232 for delays of 120 minutes or more, which works out at 200% of a single journey's value.
Can EMR pay Delay Repay into PayPal?
Yes. EMR offers PayPal alongside bank transfer and debit or credit card. The email address on your claim must be the one linked to your PayPal account.
Can I use a screenshot of my ticket as proof for EMR?
No. EMR asks for a photo of the ticket itself, cut or marked unless you are still using it. For e-tickets, give the ticket reference number (UTN) and a photo of the booking confirmation.
I missed a connection with another train company because EMR was late. Can I claim?
Yes. EMR says you can claim if an EMR delay makes you miss a connection with any operator and you reach your final destination late. Its page phrases this as more than 15 minutes late, so the safest assumption is that you need to be at least 16 minutes late for this case.
How long do I have to claim EMR Delay Repay?
28 days. EMR's page counts this from the day of travel, the delay and the delayed journey in different places. For a same-day journey these are the same, but we advise counting from the day you travelled.
Will EMR pay Delay Repay during engineering works?
Not normally if you knew about the disruption before you bought the ticket, for example because an engineering timetable was already published. Delays are measured against the timetable in place on the day.
Can someone else claim EMR Delay Repay for me?
Only in mitigating circumstances, according to EMR. Otherwise the passenger who travelled should make the claim.
Sources
- East Midlands Railway - Delay Repay
- East Midlands Railway - Delay Repay claim site
- East Midlands Railway - Track or appeal a claim
- National Rail Conditions of Travel (July 2026)
- National Rail - Compensation and refunds
- National Rail - Industrial action
Checked 25 October 2026.