Trainline calls for better delay repay after passengers lose out on £80m
London listed ticketing app Trainline has launched a new campaign urging the government to improve delay repay compensation after consumers lost out on millions.
Rail passengers are missing out on an estimated £80m in compensation for journeys each year, with the “bureaucratic and inconsistent claims” process being too frustrating for passengers to navigate while preventing independent ticket retailers from offering ‘one-click’ delay repayments.
During 2025, nearly a third of rail passengers reported failing to claim compensation, with regular train passengers being particularly impacted with over half missing compensation, with Trainline arguing the system undermines public trust.
Trainline chief executive, Jody Ford, said: “The railway wins public trust when it treats passengers fairly. Six minutes of form-filling after a delayed train is unacceptable.”
Independent retailers
The lack of a simple process to get back entitled cash on delayed journeys has prompted Trainline to launch a new campaign, dubbed ‘Fair Play on Delay Repay’, which is calling on the government to reform the rules and create fair access for passengers.
Nearly 90 per cent of respondents were in support of a change in the system, with Trainline calling on other retailers and passenger groups to join the campaign.
According to the Department of Transport, in the UK, roughly 26 per cent of rail passengers opt to buy tickets through independent rail ticket apps and websites, and while the technology to create a ‘one-click’ system exists, customers are denied this method by retailers.
This results in passengers being forced to battle with a more complicated and manual claims process, which can often require a dedicated delay repay account with a provider, strict time limits and hard to verify information.
Ford said: “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.”
Ford also noted that changes to the repay system was a “practical change” that the “industry and government can do together”.