Train passengers can get money back after just 15 minutes’ delay—but there’s a deadline
People travelling by train are able to claim money back on their ticket if the train is delayed by 15 minutes.
Passengers can claim refunds on their travel costs if their train is delayed by at least 15 minutes, with this delay meaning that they can claim up to 25 percent of the ticket price back.
This works on a sliding scale, with the bigger the delay the more you can claim, so if your train is delayed by an hour or more then you can claim back the full ticket price.
If you have a delayed train then the claim for the refund has to reach the train operator within 28 days.
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The refunds quickly add up as well, with Avanti West Coast paying out over £20 million over the course of just three months in the summer of 2026.
In a statement shared with The Guardian, a spokesperson for Avanti West Coast said: “We apologise to customers affected by train delays. A range of factors can impact service performance, and we are working closely with our industry partners to improve punctuality and reliability across the network.
“To make it as easy as possible for customers to claim compensation when things don’t go to plan, we are committed to ensuring that customers are able to promptly receive any compensation for delays and offer automatic delay repay for journeys delayed by 15 minutes or more.”
The compensation sent out to customers is rising as well, with figures from the Department of Transport saying that between 2024 and 2025 the total compensation sent out to passengers reached a whopping £150 million, which represented an increase of eight percent from the year before.
Avanti West Coast alone made up 27 percent of these payouts, with the inter-city operator paying out £40.5 million.
That figure has only increased in the year for 2025-2026, with Avanti paying out over £50 million that year and being expected to pay out in excess of £70 million in the current financial year.
Several factors are at play with the increase in the increased payouts being sent to passengers.
These of course include the delays themselves, but also passengers being more aware of their consumer rights when it comes to refunds, with the refunds also being sent proactively by some operators, though not all.
Fare increases are also a factor in the raw numbers, as a higher fare means that more money will be sent out in refunds whether it's 25 percent or the full ticket price.
The news comes as Avanti is now set to be taken out of private hands and into public ownership, where it will form part of Great British Railways.
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport said: “Under Great British Railways, we will make it quicker and easier to claim compensation through an easy-to-use service, which will also be available wherever passengers purchase their tickets.”
The department added that it is 'acting to tackle the root causes of disruption'.
Under current arrangements the Department of Transport pays out the income to train operators, and any profit or loss on rail networks is taken by the taxpayer.
Kit Roberts