How to claim Delay Repay — a complete guide

Your train was 28 minutes late. Again. You stood on a crowded platform, listened to the apology announcement blame 'signalling problems near Milton Keynes,' and arrived at your meeting apologetic and damp. Here's the part most people miss: that delay is probably worth money. Delay Repay is a statutory compensation scheme that covers almost all National Rail journeys in Great Britain, and 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. You have 28 days. Most claims take five minutes. This guide walks you through it.

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.

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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

Always check your specific operator's scheme before claiming. Railly's Delay Repay page links to all 27 operator portals. For a full breakdown of which operators use DR15 vs DR30, see our thresholds guide.

Is it worth claiming small delays?

Yes. A 15-minute delay on a £60 return ticket is worth £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? Automate it

If you make the same journey frequently, save it 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 (coming soon), the commute feature makes manual checks fast — typically under 30 seconds to review a full week of journeys. If you're unsure whether a specific delay qualifies, check our what you can and can't claim guide.

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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.

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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.

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— Last verified against operator Delay Repay portals, June 2026. Policies do change, and individual operators sometimes have quirks that aren't in the standard conditions. If your claim gets rejected unfairly, the Rail Ombudsman is free and independent.