How to claim Delay Repay — a complete guide
Published
Piotr · Founder, Railly
Piotr built Railly after one too many commutes spent guessing platforms and chasing Delay Repay claims. He verifies every guide against live timetable data, operator portals, and National Rail station records.
In short: Delay Repay pays 25–100% of your fare when your train arrives 15+ minutes late at destination (DR15), or 30+ minutes for CrossCountry, LNER, and ScotRail (DR30). You have 28 days from travel to claim. Most claims take five minutes through the operator's portal.
How to claim Delay Repay — a complete guide
Delay Repay is a statutory compensation scheme that covers almost all National Rail journeys in Great Britain. If your train arrived 15 minutes or more late at your destination — 30 minutes for some operators — you can claim back 25% to 100% of your fare.
If your train was delayed or cancelled, you may be entitled to compensation under the National Rail Conditions of Travel. This guide explains how Delay Repay works, who is eligible, and how to use Railly to find and submit your claims.
What is Delay Repay?
Delay Repay is a national scheme that entitles passengers to compensation when their journey is delayed by 15 minutes or more. It applies to all National Rail train operating companies (TOCs) in England, Wales, and Scotland.
Unlike older schemes — which compensated only when the train operator was "at fault" — Delay Repay covers almost all delays, including those caused by infrastructure failures, weather, and trespass incidents.
Key facts:
- Applies to all ticket types — advance, off-peak, anytime, season tickets, and flexi seasons
- Works for single and return journeys
- Covers multi-leg journeys — claim from the operator whose delay caused you to miss a connection
- Works regardless of where you bought your ticket — Trainline, TOC-direct, or any retailer
TfL services: Contactless and Oyster journeys on TfL services (Elizabeth line, London Overground) have their own refund process. See the TfL refunds page.
How much can you claim?
Compensation thresholds vary by operator, but the most common scheme is Delay Repay 15:
| Your delay at destination | Compensation |
|---|---|
| 15–29 minutes | 25% of single fare (12.5% of return) |
| 30–59 minutes | 50% of single fare (25% of return) |
| 60–119 minutes | 100% of single fare (50% of return) |
| 120+ minutes | 100% of return fare |
Operator-specific variations
Some operators offer more generous schemes:
- c2c, Greater Anglia, West Midlands Railway — full Delay Repay 15 (as above)
- Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express — 15-minute threshold with slightly different percentages
- Northern, Merseyrail — some local schemes may differ from the national standard
Railly's Delay Repay page links to all 27 operator portals. For a full breakdown of which operators use DR15 vs DR30, see our delay repay what you can and can't claim guide.
Worth claiming small delays?
A 15-minute delay on a £60 return ticket returns £7.50 in compensation. A weekly commuter experiencing one delay per week could claim back over £300 per year.
How to find your claims with Railly
Railly's Delay Repay tool identifies delayed journeys automatically — you don't need to remember which trains were late. Save your regular routes on the Delay Repay page with your usual departure time, select a date range (last 7, 14, or 28 days), and the tool fetches all matching journeys. Each one shows scheduled vs actual times side-by-side. If a journey is delayed 15+ minutes at your destination, a "Claim" button appears with the compensation tier. Tap through to the operator's portal to submit.
Railly does not submit claims on your behalf — it finds them. You complete the claim on the operator's website. This keeps your personal information and ticket details between you and the operator.
Step-by-step: submitting a claim
Once you have found a delayed journey in Railly, follow these steps to submit your claim:
1. Click "Claim"
This opens your TOC's Delay Repay portal in a new tab. Railly directs you to the correct portal for the specific train you searched.
2. Enter the journey details
You'll need:
- Date of travel
- Departure station and destination
- Scheduled departure time (visible in Railly)
3. Upload your ticket
You'll need proof of purchase. Acceptable forms include:
- A photo or scan of a paper ticket
- A PDF of an e-ticket or booking confirmation
- A smartcard statement or journey history screenshot
- A contactless/Oyster statement (for TfL services)
4. Describe the delay
Note how late your train arrived at your destination. Railly shows the arrival delay for each journey — use this number on the claim form.
5. Submit
Most operators process claims within 5–10 working days. Payment is usually made by bank transfer or cheque. Some operators offer rail vouchers as an alternative.
Claim deadlines
You must submit your claim within 28 days of the delayed journey.
Railly shows the remaining window for each journey so you can prioritise older claims about to expire. If the deadline is within 7 days, a warning badge appears next to the journey.
Missed a deadline? Some operators accept late claims at their discretion — especially if you were ill, on holiday, or experienced exceptional circumstances. It's always worth trying, but compensation is not guaranteed for late submissions.
Which TOC portal should you use?
If your journey involves multiple train operators, claim from the operator whose train was delayed:
| Scenario | Claim from |
|---|---|
| Single delayed train | That train's operator |
| Missed connection due to delay | The operator that caused the missed connection |
| Through ticket, no clear cause | The operator of the first delayed train on your journey |
Railly's "Claim" button always links to the correct operator for the specific service you searched.
Commuting regularly?
Save your regular journey as a commute profile in Railly:
- Check all your recent journeys in one click
- Set day-of-week filters to match your work schedule
- Switch between outbound and return journeys instantly
While Railly does not yet offer automated weekly scanning, the commute feature makes manual checks fast. If you're unsure whether a specific delay qualifies, check our what you can and can't claim guide.
Important reminders
- Always travel with a valid ticket — you cannot claim Delay Repay if you did not pay for your journey. Revenue protection checks are separate from Delay Repay eligibility.
- Keep your tickets — you'll need to upload proof of purchase when claiming. Take a photo of paper tickets before they fade or get lost.
- Be honest — submitting fraudulent claims is a criminal offence under the Fraud Act 2006. Operators cross-reference claims against ticket sales data.
- Compensation is separate from your ticket — even if you receive compensation, your original ticket remains valid for travel.
Escalating a rejected claim
If you believe an operator has incorrectly rejected your claim, you can escalate:
- Rail Ombudsman — free, independent dispute resolution for participating operators
- Transport Focus — independent watchdog for unresolved complaints
- London TravelWatch — for journeys within London
Keep all correspondence with the operator — you'll need it if you escalate.
TOC-specific guides
The same mechanics apply to every UK train operator, but each has its own scheme, claim portal, and routes. Operator-specific guides:
- Avanti West Coast Delay Repay — DR15, West Coast Main Line services, claim at
delayrepay.avantiwestcoast.co.uk - CrossCountry Delay Repay — DR30 (stricter 30-min threshold), cross-country network via Birmingham, claim at
delayrepay.crosscountrytrains.co.uk
— Last verified against operator Delay Repay portals, June 2026. If your claim gets rejected unfairly, the Rail Ombudsman is free and independent.