Train passengers missing out on £80m a year in delays compensation – analysis

Train passengers are missing out on more than £80 million per year in compensation for delayed journeys because of “unacceptable” claims processes, according to new analysis.

Online ticket retailer Trainline, which produced the estimate, called for rail reform that “focuses on what matters” to passengers.

Customers who buy tickets via a train operator’s website or app can often make so-called “one click” compensation claims through the delay repay when a service is delayed or cancelled.

But access to this is denied to the roughly one in four passengers who use independent ticket retailers such as Trainline.

They are forced to navigate more complicated and manual processes to obtain payouts.

Trainline has launched a petition calling on the Government to enable “one click” claims to be made by all online ticket buyers.

The company’s chief executive Jody Ford said: “Six minutes of form-filling after a delayed train is unacceptable.

“With years of innovation and industry cooperation, we’ve made huge progress in simplifying ticket buying, but compensation must be just as easy when journeys are disrupted.

“Passengers want rail reform that focuses on what matters to them, and ‘one-click’ delay repay is a practical change the industry and Government can do together.”

A survey of 2,000 UK adults commissioned by Trainline indicated 29% of train passengers failed to claim disruption compensation they were entitled to last year.

Some 58% of claimants said their most recent application took at least six minutes to complete, while 43% described the process as frustrating and time-consuming.

Ben Plowden, chief executive of pressure group Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Making compensation easy and consistent would help rebuild confidence in the railway and show passengers that their time and money are valued.”

The UK Government is introducing widespread reforms of the rail industry, including simplifying ticketing.

Ticketing

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We are overhauling our railways and building back public trust so that passengers can rely on trains that run on time.

“But where there are delays, millions of passengers do successfully receive delay repay, with most publicly owned operators offering a one-click service.

“Our reforms are also making ticketing simpler throughout your journey – from rolling out more contactless tech at stations and trialling pay-as-you-go fares, to making it simpler to claim delay repay, including through our upcoming GBR app.”

– Trainline commissioned research company YouGov to conduct the survey in December 2025.