Delay Repay rules
Delay Repay 15: compensation from 15 minutes late
Type a fare and the minutes late: the tool compares what a Delay Repay 15 operator and a company starting later would pay for the same delay.
What a 15 to 29 minute delay pays
With a Delay Repay 15 operator
£6
| With a Delay Repay 30 operator | £0 |
| Operators paying from 15 min | 17 |
| Operators paying from 30 min or later | 11 |
Delay Repay 15 is the version of the scheme that pays from 15 minutes late instead of 30. On a single ticket, a delay of 15 to 29 minutes at your destination gives back 25% of the price paid; on a return, 12.5% of the return fare for each late leg. Above that, it follows the same bands as other schemes: 50% of a single from 30 minutes and the full fare from 60. Of the 28 operators on this site, 17 pay from 15 minutes, and 11 start later, mostly at 30 minutes. The difference matters on busy commuter lines, where short delays are frequent and add up over a month. Nothing in the National Rail Conditions of Travel requires payment for delays under 60 minutes: the 15-minute band exists only because an operator's own charter offers it, so check the company that ran your train, not the one you usually use.
Every band for your fare
CrossCountry, from
30 min
| 30–59 min | £27.50 |
| 60–119 min | £55 |
| 120+ min | £55 |
Single tickets. Return: 25% / 50% / 100% of the return fare per late leg.
Schemes and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Which operators use Delay Repay 15
The list below sorts every operator on this site by the first delay that pays. It comes from each company's published terms, the same data used by the calculator.
| Operator | Pays from | Single, first band |
|---|---|---|
| Avanti West Coast | 15 min | 25% |
| c2c | 15 min | 25% |
| Chiltern Railways | 15 min | 25% |
| East Midlands Railway | 15 min | 25% |
| Gatwick Express | 15 min | 25% |
| Great Northern | 15 min | 25% |
| Great Western Railway | 15 min | 25% |
| Greater Anglia | 15 min | 25% |
| London Northwestern Railway | 15 min | 25% |
| Northern | 15 min | 25% |
| South Western Railway | 15 min | 25% |
| Southeastern | 15 min | 25% |
| Southern | 15 min | 25% |
| Thameslink | 15 min | 25% |
| TransPennine Express | 15 min | 25% |
| Transport for Wales | 15 min | 25% |
| West Midlands Railway | 15 min | 25% |
| Caledonian Sleeper | 30 min | 50% |
| CrossCountry | 30 min | 50% |
| Elizabeth line | 30 min | 100% |
| Heathrow Express | 30 min | 25% |
| Hull Trains | 30 min | 50% |
| LNER | 30 min | 50% |
| London Overground | 30 min | 100% |
| Lumo | 30 min | 50% |
| Merseyrail | 30 min | 100% |
| ScotRail | 30 min | 50% |
| Grand Central | 60 min | 50% |
What a short delay is worth
A 15-minute band pays a quarter of the fare. On a £12 single on a commuter line, that is £3; on a £58 long-distance single it is £14.50. On a return, divide again by two: a return of £24 with one leg 20 minutes late pays £3. Small amounts, but the claim takes a few minutes online, and the operator pays them like any other. The tool at the top of the page shows the gap between the two kinds of scheme for any fare and delay.
When the operator starts at 30 minutes
Companies that start later do not pay for the first half hour. CrossCountry, for example, runs a scheme that begins at 30 minutes. A passenger whose journey involved two operators should look at which train caused the delay: a late connection on a Delay Repay 15 company is claimed under its bands, even if the longer part of the trip was with another operator.
Missed connection: delay at the final station
Compensation
£70
| Late at the final station | about 72 min |
| First train alone | 12 min |
| Who to claim from | the operator that caused the delay; any operator forwards it |
Assumes the next connection runs on time; the claim uses the real arrival time.
Delays just under a band
Delays are counted in whole minutes at the station where your journey ends. Arriving 29 minutes late pays the 15-minute share; 30 minutes pays double. Note the arrival time shown on the screens or in a journey app as soon as you get off: if the operator's records show a different time, your note and a photo help. The operator checks your claim against its own train running records, so a claim that rounds up a minute is likely to be paid on the lower band.
Short delays and the national rules
The Conditions of Travel only guarantee compensation from 60 minutes. Under that, condition 33.4 lets a company refuse claims for delays caused entirely outside the rail industry's control, if its charter lists such exclusions. Most Delay Repay 15 schemes pay whatever the cause, which is why it is worth reading the operator page before giving up on a short delay caused by weather or an incident on the line. The amounts page compares every band, and the operator statistics show how often claims are approved.