GWR Delay Repay: how much you get and how to claim

By Journey Radar Team · Last checked against official sources on 25 October 2026

GWR pays Delay Repay if you reach your destination 15 minutes or more late because a GWR train was delayed or cancelled. You get 25% of a single fare for a 15-29 minute delay, 50% for 30-59 minutes and the full single fare from 60 minutes; on a return it’s half those percentages, and the whole return at 120 minutes. Claim within 28 days on GWR’s Delay Repay claim site, where you’ll need an account and a copy of your ticket.

GWR Delay Repay at a glance

	GWR
Scheme	DR15: pays from 15 minutes late
Time limit	28 days
Claim online	GWR Delay Repay portal
Rules page	GWR’s Delay Repay page
Automatic claims	Opt-in, for Advance tickets bought on GWR.com and some smartcards

GWR is due to move into public ownership on 13 December 2026, according to the government’s public ownership programme. Delay Repay rules don’t change with the transfer unless GWR announces it. If the claim site address ever changes, follow the link from GWR’s own Delay Repay page.

Am I eligible for GWR Delay Repay?

You’re eligible if all of these apply:

• you arrived at your destination at least 15 minutes after the scheduled time;
• the delay or cancellation was on a GWR train (if another operator caused it, see below);
• you had a valid ticket for the whole journey;
• you claim within 28 days.

Delay is measured at the station where your journey ends, against the timetable that applied on the day. Season tickets, carnets and rovers are covered as well as singles and returns, including Advance tickets.

GWR says it doesn’t usually pay during planned engineering works, when the timetable has been changed in advance. It also won’t pay where the ticket wasn’t valid, where another operator caused the delay, or more than the ticket cost.

How much will I get on a single, return or season ticket?

Delay at destination	Single	Return	Season ticket
15-29 min	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%	200% of one journey

Return percentages are of the full return fare, so 12.5% of a return equals 25% of the delayed leg.

Season tickets. GWR turns the price of a season ticket into the value of one journey, then applies the percentages above:

Season ticket	One journey = price divided by
Weekly	10
Flexi Season	16
Monthly	40
Annual	464

Carnets and rovers are divided by the number of days they’re valid. Payments are capped at a full day’s travel, worked out pro rata, and never exceed what you paid.

The 120+ minute band is where GWR stands out: it pays 200% of one journey, where Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry pay 100%.

Worked example. Say you commute from Reading to London Paddington on a £100 weekly season (a made-up price to show the maths). One journey is worth £10. A morning train 22 minutes late pays 25%, so £2.50. If your evening train is cancelled and the next one gets you home 65 minutes late, that’s 100% of a journey, so £10. Claim for each journey, and make sure both claims go in within 28 days.

How to claim GWR Delay Repay, step by step

1. Register on GWR’s Delay Repay claim site. Claims are made through the website and your account there.
2. Enter the journey: where you started and finished, the date and the scheduled departure time of the train you caught or meant to catch.
3. Upload your ticket. For split tickets, upload every ticket for the full journey. One claim can cover a group if you upload everyone’s tickets.
4. Choose how to be paid. Online claims can be paid by bank transfer, to your card, as rail vouchers, or as a donation to Samaritans or Railway Children. You can’t change the method after you submit.
5. Submit within 28 days.

Automated Delay Repay. GWR runs an opt-in automated service. If you bought an Advance ticket on GWR.com and your train is late, GWR emails you a ready-made claim within 48 hours, which you can accept, edit or reject. If you hold a GWR smartcard season ticket or use Bristol pay-as-you-go on a smartcard, your journeys are matched from your tap data. GWR’s FAQs also mention Cornwall pay-as-you-go.

Paper claims are possible but pay only by cheque or rail voucher. GWR’s Delay Repay page also lists a charity donation for paper claims, while its FAQ lists only cheque or voucher. If you want the donation option, claim online.

Contactless between Paddington and Reading. These journeys are handled through GWR’s general customer complaints route rather than the Delay Repay site, and GWR says they may not be held to the usual 28-day window. Still, claim as soon as you can.

Split tickets, open returns and journeys with other operators

Split tickets. Upload all your tickets for the whole journey in one claim. National Rail’s conditions (condition 14.2) accept a combination of tickets as long as the train stops at the station where you switch from one ticket to the next.

Open returns. GWR doesn’t treat them separately, so claim on the return bands. If one leg is two hours or more late, you get the whole return back.

Missed connections. GWR covers a missed connection if the connection was scheduled and shown in journey planners and you ended up 15 minutes or more late at your final destination.

Another operator caused the delay. If you send GWR a claim that belongs to another company (for example a connecting service run by someone else), GWR passes it on and tells you. Automated claims are the exception: GWR tells you another operator was at fault, and you claim from that operator yourself.

Cancelled trains, strikes and engineering works

Cancelled train, you still travelled: you can claim Delay Repay based on how late you arrived on the next train you could take. Under National Rail condition 28.3 you can normally use one of the two trains before or after the cancelled one with the same operator.

Cancelled train, you didn’t travel: that’s a refund, not Delay Repay. 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. Ask the retailer that sold you the ticket within 28 days of your planned travel date. You can’t claim both.

Strikes: GWR’s page has no strike-specific rule. National Rail says a strike delay that meets the operator’s threshold, 15 minutes for GWR, can be claimed as Delay Repay. If the strike cancels your train, you can have a fee-free refund instead.

Engineering works: GWR doesn’t usually pay when planned engineering changes the timetable in advance. Delay is measured against the amended timetable.

Quirks specific to GWR

• Season tickets pay 200% at 120+ minutes, more than many other operators.
• Charity option: online claims can go to Samaritans or Railway Children.
• Group claims are allowed, so one person can claim for everyone if all tickets are uploaded.
• Contactless Paddington-Reading journeys go through the complaints route, not the Delay Repay portal.
• Public ownership from 13 December 2026: GWR is due to change hands then. The rules stay as GWR publishes them, so check its page after the date.

If your GWR claim is refused

Check the reason first. Common ones are a delay that turned out under 15 minutes, a ticket that didn’t cover the whole journey, or a delay caused by another operator (in which case GWR should have forwarded the claim). Reply through your Delay Repay account with any missing evidence, such as a clearer ticket image or the missing leg of a split ticket. If GWR’s final answer still doesn’t resolve it, you can take the complaint to the Rail Ombudsman. 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.

For how GWR compares with other operators, see our Delay Repay guide.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• GWR - Delay Repay
• GWR - Delay Repay claim portal
• GWR - Compensation and refunds FAQs
• GWR - Automated Delay Repay
• National Rail Conditions of Travel (July 2026)
• National Rail - Industrial action
• GOV.UK - Great British Railways and the public ownership programme
• Office of Rail and Road - The Rail Ombudsman

Checked 25 October 2026.