Who pays what — Delay Repay thresholds and compensation by UK train operator

Different train companies run different compensation schemes, and the difference can cost you money. Most operators use DR15: 25% back for 15-29 minutes late, 50% for 30-59 minutes, 100% for an hour or more. But CrossCountry, LNER, and ScotRail use DR30, which means a 25-minute delay on those services gets you nothing. That matters a lot on shorter journeys — a Birmingham to Wolverhampton delay on CrossCountry is much harder to claim than the same delay on Avanti West Coast.

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When your train is delayed, how much you get back depends on two things: how late you arrived, and which operator ran the train. For a step-by-step guide to submitting a claim, see how to claim Delay Repay. The UK has two Delay Repay schemes — DR15 (the standard) and DR30 (fewer operators, higher threshold).

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The two schemes at a glance

DR15 — the standard (16 operators)

Delay at destination	Compensation
15–29 minutes	25% of the single fare
30–59 minutes	50% of the single fare
60+ minutes	100% of the single fare

Most UK operators use DR15. If you arrive 15 minutes late, you can claim — even if that's the difference between missing a connection by seconds.

DR30 — the higher threshold (3 operators)

Delay at destination	Compensation
30–59 minutes	50% of the single fare
60+ minutes	100% of the single fare

CrossCountry, LNER, and ScotRail use DR30. There is no compensation for delays under 30 minutes on these services. This matters for shorter journeys, where a 20-minute delay on CrossCountry (Birmingham to Wolverhampton, for example) earns nothing, while the same delay on Avanti West Coast would get you 25% back.

What about cancelled trains?

Cancellation does not automatically mean 100% compensation. If your train is cancelled and you take the next available service, your compensation is based on your arrival delay — using the same bands in the tables above. If the next train arrives 20 minutes late, you get 25% (DR15), not 100%. You only get 100% if you arrive 60+ minutes late.

However, if you choose not to travel at all, you can claim a full refund of the unused ticket — a separate process from Delay Repay.

Full operator breakdown

DR15 operators — claim from 15 minutes

Operator	Code	Scheme	Claim portal
Avanti West Coast	VT	DR15	delayrepay.avantiwestcoast.co.uk
c2c	CC	DR15	c2c.delayrepaycompensation.com
Chiltern Railways	CH	DR15	chilternrailways.co.uk/delay-repay
East Midlands Railway	EM	DR15	delayrepay.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk
Gatwick Express	GX	DR15	delayrepay.gatwickexpress.com
Great Northern	GN	DR15	delayrepay.greatnorthernrail.com
Greater Anglia	LE	DR15	greateranglia.delayrepaycompensation.com
Great Western Railway	GW	DR15	delayrepay.gwr.com
London Northwestern Railway	LM	DR15	londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk/delay-repay
Northern	NT	DR15	delayrepay.northernrailway.co.uk
Southeastern	SE	DR15	delayrepay.southeasternrailway.co.uk
Southern	SN	DR15	delayrepay.southernrailway.com
South Western Railway	SW	DR15	delayrepay.southwesternrailway.com
Thameslink	TL	DR15	delayrepay.thameslinkrailway.com
TransPennine Express	TP	DR15	delayrepay.tpexpress.co.uk
Transport for Wales	AW	DR15	delayrepay.trc.cymru
West Midlands Railway	WM	DR15	westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/delay-repay

DR30 operators — claim from 30 minutes

Operator	Code	Scheme	Claim portal
CrossCountry	XC	DR30	delayrepay.crosscountrytrains.co.uk
London North Eastern Railway (LNER)	GR	DR30	delayrepay.lner.co.uk
ScotRail	SR	DR30	delayrepay.scotrail.co.uk

TfL services — a different system

Transport for London services — the Elizabeth Line and London Overground — follow a different compensation process. Delays on these services are handled through TfL's service delay refunds page rather than the standard Delay Repay portal used by National Rail operators.

Season ticket claims

If you hold a season ticket, the compensation is calculated differently. The refund is based on the daily cost of your ticket:

• Annual season: divide the ticket price by 464 (the number of equivalent day returns)
• Weekly/monthly: proportional to the number of affected journeys

So a 60-minute delay on a £5,800 annual season ticket from Brighton to London would refund roughly £12.50 (1/464th of the total).

How Railly helps you find eligible claims

Instead of manually checking each day's journeys, use the Delay Repay tool on Railly. For more on what qualifies and what doesn't, see what you can and can't claim. Set up a commute profile with your origin, destination, and departure time, choose a date range, and the tool scans for delayed and cancelled trains with their exact delay minutes and eligibility status. Follow the link to the operator's claim portal to submit your claim.

The tool also works for return journeys — add both legs and it scans both directions in a single search.

Things to know

• Always claim directly with the operator — Railly shows you which journeys are eligible, but the claim itself must go to the TOC's portal. Use the link provided.
• You have 28 days from the date of travel to submit a claim. If the deadline is approaching (under 7 days), the Delay Repay tool highlights it.
• The delay is measured at your destination, not at your origin or any intermediate stop. If your train left 25 minutes late but caught up and arrived 10 minutes late, there's no claimable delay.
• This is a summary, not a guarantee. Individual operators may have additional terms, exclusions for exceptional weather, or specific evidence requirements. Always check the operator's Delay Repay page for the most current policy.

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— Portal URLs verified against operator websites, June 2026. If a link is broken or redirects, search the operator's site directly for "Delay Repay".