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Delay Repay · GWR

Great Western Railway Delay Repay: rates, claim form and time limit

Great Western Railway pays Delay Repay from 15 minutes late: 25% of a single fare at 15 to 29 minutes, rising to 100% at an hour. Over 120 minutes late, you get the whole return fare back. Claims are due within 28 days.

Checked against Great Western Railway's own page on 8 October 2026

Go to the GWR claim form

Pays from

15 min

Deadline

28 days

Automatic?

Detected, you confirm

What GWR pays

Every tier is a percentage of the single fare for the delayed direction. If you bought a return, the single fare is half what you paid, which is how every UK operator calculates it. The one exception is two hours or more: on a return ticket, GWR pays back the whole return fare, not half of it. On a single, the top rate is the whole single fare.

What Great Western Railway's own page says

Pay out rates

  • If you arrive at your destination 15 or more minutes late because your GWR train was delayed or cancelled, you can claim Delay Repay compensation.
  • Length of delay Compensation
  • Single tickets Return tickets Season tickets (% cost of a journey) *
  • 15 - 29 minutes 25% 12.5% 25%
  • 30 - 59 minutes 50% 25% 50%
  • 60 - 119 minutes 100% 50% 100%
  • Over 120 minutes 100% 100% 200%
  • We need to receive your claim within 28 days of your delay. Make sure you include a clear copy of your ticket or Smartcard:
Copied word for word from Great Western Railway's own Delay Repay page on 8 October 2026. Open the source

Will they claim for you?

Partly, and the wording matters. The scheme covers advance tickets bought on GWR.com, GWR smartcard seasons, and Touch pay-as-you-go around Bristol.

You are notified within about two days and then have to review and accept. It is not paid automatically.

Across the network only c2c pays with no action at all. Everywhere else, "automatic" means the operator fills the form in and waits for you to press the button.

How to claim from GWR

  1. Open the GWR claim form
  2. Have your booking reference from the confirmation email to hand
  3. Give the date, the departure and arrival stations, and the scheduled time
  4. Say how late you arrived, not how late you departed. The scheme scores arrival
  5. Attach a photo of the ticket or your e-ticket screenshot
  6. Submit within 28 days of travelling
  7. Expect a response within about 20 working days
  8. If it is refused and you think that is wrong, the Rail Ombudsman is free
Claim from GWR

Common questions

My GWR train was 20 minutes late. Can I claim?
Yes. GWR pays Delay Repay when you arrive 15 or more minutes late. At 15 to 29 minutes you get 25% of a single ticket, or 12.5% of a return ticket. GWR needs your claim within 28 days of the delay.
My GWR train home was over two hours late and I had a return ticket. What do I get back?
GWR's table pays 100% of a return ticket for a delay of over 120 minutes. A delay of 60 to 119 minutes on a return ticket pays 50%. The page words the top row as “Over 120 minutes” and does not say what happens at exactly 120.
Does GWR pay Delay Repay automatically?
Not without a step from you. If you bought an Advance ticket on GWR.com, or travel with a GWR smartcard on pay-as-you-go (Bristol area) or a season ticket, GWR can notify you that you are owed compensation. You then review the claim and accept, amend or reject it. Advance ticket notifications need an opt-in.
How much does GWR pay?
A percentage of your single fare: 25% from 15 minutes, 50% from 30 minutes, 100% from 60 minutes. On a return, the single fare is treated as half what you paid, except at 120 minutes or more, when a return ticket gets the whole return fare back.
How long do I have to claim from GWR?
28 days from the date you travelled. After that they are within their rights to refuse, though it is still worth asking if you have a good reason.

The hard part is remembering

Only 45% of passengers with an eligible delay ever claim, and the most common reason is not that people think it is complicated. It is that 28 days pass. Untap watches your journeys and tells you while there is still time. Free, and we never take a share of what you get back.

Price a GWR journeyOr see how the watching works

Other operators

See every operator and how Delay Repay works

Thresholds, tiers and deadlines are taken from Great Western Railway's own published Delay Repay terms, checked on 8 October 2026. Operators change these from time to time, so the claim form is always the final word. Untap helps people in the UK find money they are already owed. We do not file claims and we do not take a share of any refund.