Train ticket compensation FAQ

Under the National Rail Conditions of Travel, if you have bought a ticket and your train is cancelled or delayed, and you choose not to travel, you may return the unused ticket to the original retailer where you purchased the ticket and you will be given a full refund, with no admin fee charge. This applies to all ticket types, including those which are usually non-refundable.

If you have a Season Ticket, the amount of money that you may claim back for a delay or cancellation varies between Train Companies. The amount will be set out in their Passenger’s Charter - you can read ours here.

If a timetable is changed after you have purchased a ticket and you decide not to travel, you can claim a full refund, no admin fee, as set out in the National Rail Conditions of Travel

You must claim your refund from where you bought your ticket. Your claim will be considered by the company and any compensation due will be paid within 14 days of your claim being agreed by the retailer. If you booked your ticket with us, please click here for more information.

You will receive your refund by the same method that you used to pay for the ticket, unless you agree to a different method of repayment. The retailer will pay the refund amount without deducting any administration fee.

If you purchase a ticket and then choose not to travel, you may apply for a refund from the original retailer or train company you bought from, unless the terms and conditions of your ticket indicate that it is non-refundable, e.g. Advance tickets. In the case of part-used tickets, a deduction from your refund will be calculated and made based on the cost of the journey(s) actually made.

You'll need to make your refund claim within 28 days of the expiry of the ticket and an administration charge of up to £5 per ticket may also be made (£10 for season tickets). If the administrative charge and/or other deductions exceed the refund amount, no refund will be made.

You will receive your refund by the same method that you used to pay for the ticket, unless you agree to a different method of repayment.

If you travel on a delayed service or on an alternative service because your train has been cancelled, you may be entitled to compensation. This should be claimed from the train company that you were scheduled to travel.

If your booked TransPennine Express service is cancelled, you can travel on any TransPennine Express, Northern, or LNER service within the two hours before or after your cancelled service.

You may have a right to a partial or full refund and all the information you need (including the process for claiming) are set out in the company's Passenger's Charter.

You have a right to money back depending on the train company you use; the delay thresholds and process for claiming are set out in the relevant Passenger's Charter.

Where possible, a train company will arrange a taxi or replacement bus for a missed last connection. If for whatever reason this isn't possible and you incur reasonable costs for your own onward travel, you may be able to claim back additional expenses to your final destination.

Please keep hold of any receipts and write directly to the train company you were travelling with in order to claim back costs for onward travel. The company will consider these on a case-by-case basis and determine the level of refund that will be issued.

First check the company's Passenger's Charter. If you can't find any information that's relevant to your complaint, please write to the train company stating the details of your case and they'll review it.

If you have paid for an additional service that you did not receive, then you will normally be entitled to a full refund of the additional charge and you should contact the company's customer relations department. Where you did not pay anything for the service, you will not normally be offered a refund.

If you travelled with us and arrived at your destination 15 or more minutes late, you may be entitled to Delay Repay compensation, as outlined in our Passenger's Charter. If the delay was caused by another train operator, please visit their website to view their Delay Repay policy.

 Compensation is not normally offered where no seats are available, but claims may be considered where a reservation has been made.

If you have paid for a First Class ticket and no seats are available (or where a First Class carriage was advertised but not available), then you will be able to claim through the train company for the difference in fare between your tickets and a walk-up standard class fare for the same service. Please note, occasionally a promotional or Advance First Class fare can be cheaper than the walk-up Standard Class fare and in these cases you may not be entitled to any money back.

Where a train company has provided a service without reasonable care and skill, and it was their fault, the Consumer Rights Act (CRA) provides you with another way to claim for compensation (which will usually be money). The compensation you get under the CRA could be more than the price of the ticket, but you have to prove it was the company's fault.

The CRA does not apply if delays or problems are caused by external events that are not within the train company's control, or were caused by a third party.

Find out more about making a claim under the CRA.

Under the National Rail Conditions of Travel, and the Passenger’s Charter, only in exceptional circumstances will a train company consider claims beyond the price of your ticket. A company is not obliged under its contract to compensate you, but you may have a claim against them under the CRA.

Please write to the train company with details of the claim you would like to make. Be aware that you can't recover compensation for the same loss twice. If you recover money under the no-fault industry refund processes, you cannot claim the same amount under the CRA. But you can still make a claim under the CRA for any loss not recovered through the industry fund process. Please note that this does not affect your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act (CRA).

What if I'm not happy with the outcome?

If you are not happy with the response to your claim, you should contact the train company’s customer services department, giving them the chance to review your claim.

If you are still unhappy, you should contact the Rail Ombudsman.

You can appeal to the Rail Ombudsman if:

• You’re unhappy with our final response to your complaint which will be contained in a letter or email (sometimes called a ‘deadlock letter’); or
• We haven’t resolved your complaint within 40 working days of receiving it; and
• No more than 12 months have passed since we sent you our final response.