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What Is Delay Repay? A Complete Guide to UK Train Compensation

Published 15 September 2026 • Delayo. Guides

If your train turns up late, "Delay Repay" is the scheme that gets you money back — but it's not a government benefit, and it's not automatic. It's a compensation commitment built into every UK train operator's own Conditions of Travel, and you have to actively claim it.

How compensation is calculated

Your delay is measured against the timetable you were sold — either the normal advertised timetable, or an amended one that was published in advance (for example, planned engineering works at a weekend). That last part matters: if an operator publishes a revised timetable ahead of time and your journey runs to that revised schedule, it generally isn't treated as a "delay" for compensation purposes, even though it's slower than the trains you're used to.

Most operators use a standard set of compensation tiers:

• 25% of your ticket price for a delay of 15–29 minutes (where the operator runs "Delay Repay 15" — not every operator does; some start at 30 minutes).
• 50% of your ticket price for a delay of 30–59 minutes.
• 100% of your ticket price for a delay of 60 minutes or more.

The exact minimum delay and claim window vary by operator — see our full list of UK train operators for each one's specific policy.

Season tickets work differently

If you travel on a weekly, monthly or annual season ticket, compensation isn't a flat percentage of what you paid — operators calculate it against the ticket's daily value, spread across its validity period, since a season ticket covers many individual journeys. Check your operator's own Delay Repay page for its specific season-ticket formula.

How long do you have to claim?

Most operators require claims within 28 days of the date of travel, though this varies — some allow longer. Claim as soon as you can after your journey, while your ticket and the delay details are still easy to evidence.

Where the Consumer Rights Act 2015 actually fits in

You'll see the Consumer Rights Act 2015 mentioned a lot in this space — including by us. It's worth being precise about what it does and doesn't cover: the Act sets a general legal requirement that services be carried out with reasonable care and skill, which forms part of the legal backdrop to your contract with a train operator. Delay Repay itself, though — the specific percentages, thresholds and claim windows — is set out in each operator's own Conditions of Travel and passenger charter commitments, not dictated line-by-line by the 2015 Act, and it's overseen by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) rather than enforced directly under consumer contract law. In practice, this doesn't change anything about how you claim — it's simply useful to know which rulebook you're actually relying on.

How to claim

You'll typically need your ticket (or a photo of it), your journey details, and the scheduled versus actual arrival time. Delayo. checks your eligibility, generates your Letter of Authority and submits your claim to the right operator automatically — start your claim here in under 2 minutes, or jump straight to your operator's specific page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Delay Repay the same as a refund for an unused ticket?

No. A refund is for a ticket you didn’t use at all. Delay Repay is compensation for a journey you did take, but which arrived late.

Do all UK train operators offer the same compensation tiers?

Most follow the same 25% / 50% / 100% structure, but the minimum qualifying delay (15 or 30 minutes) and the claim window vary by operator — check the specific operator’s page for exact figures.

Does a delay caused by planned engineering works count?

Usually not, if the revised timetable was published in advance and your journey ran to that published schedule — compensation is measured against the timetable you were actually sold, not the pre-engineering-works timetable.