London Northwestern Railway Delay Repay: How to claim compensation for late trains

With London Northwestern Railway Delay Repay, passengers who have experienced a delay to their journey can expect to receive a full or partial refund.

London Northwestern says that it “dislikess train delays as much as you do” and will compensate any traveller who arrives 15 or more minutes late at their destination. Whatever the reason for the delay, if you hold a valid ticket for your journey, you can get some or all of your money back.

Delay Repay is a national scheme aimed at compensating travellers for services that are delayed or cancelled, as part of the National Rail Conditions of Travel. The exact amount of compensation you can get will be calculated according to the recorded delay on your service and will vary based on factors like your ticket type and the price of your ticket.

You must make your claim within 28 days of the date of travel, and the total compensation you can receive per day is 100% of the daily cost of your ticket. Types of reimbursement available include a charity donation, National Rail vouchers, credit or debit card, PayPal or BACS.

As part of the London Northwestern Railway Delay Repay process, you may be asked to deface your ticket and provide proof of this (e.g. by drawing a single line across the ticket, or by cutting the ticket in half).

The most common way to make a London Northwestern Railway Delay Repay claim is by filling in the online form here.

You will be asked to provide your ticket details and how you would like to receive any compensation owed. If it is your first time applying for Delay Repay with London Northwestern, the operator recommends creating an account that you can use to keep track of previous claims and save pre-filled options for any future claims. For Season Ticket holders, in particular, an account allows you to make your claims faster by saving your ticket and preferred compensation method.

If, for whatever reason, you would prefer to make your claim via a paper form, you can pick one up from any London Northwestern Railway staffed station, or print your own form here. Postal claimants will need to send your ticket (cut in half), or print and include a screenshot or copy of any mobile tickets. Remember to send your form as soon as possible, as London Northwestern will only process your claim if it is received within 28 days of your journey.

For any further queries about London Northwestern Delay Repay, contact London Northwestern by phoning 0333 311 0006, on social media or through this page. Should you wish to speak to a member of staff in person, you can do so at any London Northwestern help desk at a staffed station.

Note: Delay Repay claims must go to the operator responsible for the delay, not the retailer where you bought your ticket.

For delays of 15 minutes or more, London Northwestern Railway passengers are entitled to a refund on a portion or all of their ticket price. The exact amount you’ll get back varies according to the length of your delay and your type of ticket, as follows:

For Season Ticket holders, the amount owed is worked out as a proportionate cost of one day’s travel. In other words, for a delay of 45 minutes, you’ll get 25% of your daily travel cost back, and your daily travel cost is calculated by dividing the cost of your Season Ticket by:

• 7-Day Season Ticket: 5
• 4-Week Season Ticket: 20
• Monthly Season Ticket: 20
• Annual Season Ticket: 232

So, if you have a 4-Week Season Ticket that costs £500 and want to claim for a delay of 75 minutes, the calculation is:

£500 divided by 20 = £25 (what each day’s travel is worth)

Then: 50% of £25, which would make your Delay Repay refund £12.50 for that journey.

Photo by Kat's Transport Photography

Submitting a London Northwestern Railway Delay Repay claim does not guarantee that you will be compensated. Although the operator investigates every claim it receives, there are a few reasons why some passengers may be denied a refund:

• Your journey was delayed by another operator, not London Northwestern
• You entered incorrect journey details or claimed for a ticket that was not valid for your journey.
• You didn’t provide sufficient proof of purchase.
• Your claim was received by London Northwestern more than 28 days after the date of travel.
• You claimed a journey that was not delayed by 15 minutes or more.

Can I appeal against my Delay Repay decision?

Although London Northwestern Railways investigates every claim it receives, it is possible to appeal against a decision that you believe to be erroneous.

To do so, you will need your claim reference and either the email address or postcode you used when your claim was submitted. If you are struggling to find your claim reference or have any other questions about the appeals process, get in touch with London Northwestern here.

You may be able to add any proof that you missed off the original claim and explain why you think you are eligible for compensation. When your appeal is submitted, London Northwestern Railway will revisit your claim and revert with a further decision.

It is important to understand the difference between Delay Repay and other forms of rail refund. London Northwestern offers a Delay Repay service based on national guidelines, which means it compensates passengers who travelled on delayed trains. Crucially, to qualify for London Northwestern Railway Delay Repay, you need to have finished your journey and arrived 15 minutes or more late.

If, on the other hand, you decided not to travel or could not complete your journey because of a cancellation or other disruption, it might be possible to apply for a refund from the retailer who sold you the ticket. Check the terms and conditions of your ticket purchase and follow the relevant instructions.

Before submitting a claim for London Northwestern Delay Repay, check:

• All the relevant rules and conditions governing the scheme as explained on this page.
• If there were any planned engineering works on your day of travel.
• That you have input all the details of your journey and delay accurately.
• If you have uploaded a high-resolution scan or photograph of your ticket (for online claims).
• That you have provided the details of your planned journey (not the journey you ended up taking after the delay).