Delay Repay: Planned Engineering and Strikes

Last reviewed by the Railed editorial team: 15 May 2026.

Key takeaways

• Delay Repay can still apply during planned engineering, strikes and emergency timetables, but the delay is compared against the published timetable for the day you travelled, not the one you originally booked.
• If you did not travel because the service was cancelled or made impractical, the right route is usually a refund from the ticket retailer, not Delay Repay.
• Most operators pay from 15 or 30 minutes late and require claims within 28 days. Keep the ticket, amended itinerary, and actual arrival time as evidence.

Planned engineering works, strike action and emergency timetables can all make Delay Repay feel unclear. You may have bought a ticket for one journey, seen a different timetable appear later, travelled by a replacement service, or arrived late during a day when the railway was already disrupted.

The short answer is this: Delay Repay may still apply during planned engineering, strikes and emergency timetables, but the delay is usually assessed against the timetable that applied to your journey on the day, not always the timetable you first saw when you bought the ticket.

That difference matters. If an amended timetable said your train would arrive at 09:40 and you arrived at 09:42, there may be no qualifying delay. If that same amended timetable said 09:40 and you arrived at 10:15, a claim may be worth making.

This guide explains when Delay Repay planned engineering strikes claims may be valid, when compensation is less likely, what evidence to keep, and how Railed monitors eligible delays and helps process Delay Repay claims automatically.

The quick rule

For most UK rail passengers, Delay Repay is compensation for a journey you made but arrived late enough to qualify under the train operator's rules.

During planned engineering, strike action or an emergency timetable, ask three questions:

1. Did you travel?
2. What timetable applied to your journey on the day?
3. How late did you arrive compared with that timetable?

If you did not travel because the service was cancelled, retimed or disrupted, a refund from the ticket retailer may be the right route instead. If you did travel and arrived late, Delay Repay may apply if the delay meets the relevant operator's threshold.

National Rail's compensation and refunds guidance explains the basic split between refunds and compensation. Refunds are usually about unused or abandoned travel. Delay Repay is about compensation after you travel and arrive late.

What counts as the timetable for Delay Repay?

Delay Repay is normally judged against the timetable in place for the day you travelled. This can be different from the timetable you saw weeks earlier.

National Rail's timetable changes guidance describes the Published Timetable of the Day as the schedule of passenger services, including rail replacement services, for the day you plan to travel. The National Rail Conditions of Travel set out how compensation works when trains are delayed, cancelled or missed. In practice, operators may use the amended timetable that was published for the travel day when they assess a claim.

That means the original advertised timetable is not always the compensation baseline. If planned works, industrial action or an emergency timetable were published before travel, the operator may compare your actual arrival with that amended plan.

This is not the same as saying "no one can claim during disruption." If the amended service itself runs late, is cancelled, misses a connection, or leaves you arriving later than the applicable timetable, Delay Repay may still be relevant.

Planned engineering and Delay Repay

Planned engineering compensation train claims are often misunderstood because the delay is built into the journey before you travel.

If Network Rail or a train operator plans engineering works, the timetable may be changed in advance. Trains may start earlier, arrive later, be diverted, or be replaced by buses for part of the route. If you travel according to that planned amended timetable and arrive when the amended timetable said you would, Delay Repay is unlikely to apply just because the journey took longer than normal.

Delay Repay may still apply during planned engineering if:

• the amended train or replacement bus ran late
• a planned connection failed and you arrived late at the final destination
• the operator cancelled a service that was still shown in the amended timetable
• the published engineering timetable changed too late for your journey and caused an eligible delay
• staff directed you onto an alternative route that arrived late

For example, suppose your normal train would arrive at 08:45, but planned engineering means the published timetable for the day says you should arrive at 09:20. If you arrive at 09:20, there may be no Delay Repay claim. If the replacement bus is late and you arrive at 09:55, the claim should usually be assessed against the 09:20 planned arrival.

Always check the train operator's Delay Repay page and Passenger's Charter, because treatment can vary by operator, ticket type and disruption notice.

Strike action and Delay Repay

Delay repay strike action claims depend heavily on the timetable that was running on the strike day.

During industrial action, train companies often publish reduced or amended timetables. Some routes may have no trains, last trains may be earlier, and services can be much busier than usual. National Rail keeps industrial action updates on its strike and industrial action information page.

If you travel on the strike timetable and arrive late compared with that timetable, Delay Repay may apply. If you compare your arrival with a normal weekday timetable that was no longer the timetable for the day, the operator may reject the claim.

Common strike-day examples:

• You travel on a strike-day service scheduled to arrive at 18:10 and it arrives at 18:45. A Delay Repay claim may be valid if the operator's threshold is met.
• Your usual 17:30 train did not run because no such train existed in the strike timetable. Delay Repay may not apply if you simply arrived later than a normal non-strike day.
• You do not travel because the strike timetable makes the journey impossible. A ticket refund or fee-free change may be the route to check instead.
• Your strike-day train is cancelled after appearing in the amended timetable, and you take the next available service. Delay Repay may apply if you arrive late enough.

Be cautious with blanket advice here. Some operators publish specific strike-day refund, acceptance and compensation rules. If you are claiming, use the operator's own page for the affected date and keep screenshots or emails where possible.

Emergency timetable Delay Repay

Emergency timetable Delay Repay works in a similar way, but the timetable can be introduced at short notice.

Emergency timetables are used when the railway has to respond to events such as infrastructure problems, emergency repairs, severe weather, fleet issues or major disruption. Sometimes they are announced the day before. Sometimes they change during the day.

If an emergency timetable has been formally published for your journey, the operator may assess Delay Repay against that timetable. But if the emergency timetable then fails, or if you are delayed beyond the emergency timetable's scheduled arrival time, a claim may still be worth submitting.

The practical question is not "was the railway already disrupted?" It is "what journey was the operator offering for that day, and how late did you arrive compared with it?"

For emergency timetable cases, evidence is especially useful because online journey planners may update after the event. Keep your ticket, booking confirmation, screenshots of the planned itinerary, service updates, and the time you actually arrived.

When Delay Repay is more likely to apply

Delay Repay is more likely to apply when you travelled and one of these things happened:

• your train arrived late compared with the published timetable for the day
• a replacement bus or amended service arrived late
• a cancellation made you take a later service and arrive late
• you missed a valid connection because of a delayed or cancelled train
• the timetable changed during the day after you had already planned or started the journey
• staff advised a route that still left you late
• a strike-day or emergency service failed after being shown as part of that day's timetable

The strongest claims usually explain the full journey, not just one delayed train. Delay Repay is normally about the delay to your arrival at the destination you were ticketed to reach.

When Delay Repay may not apply

Delay Repay is less likely to apply when:

• you arrived on time according to the amended timetable for the day
• the only "delay" is that the planned engineering timetable was slower than usual
• your usual train was removed from a strike timetable before the day of travel
• you chose not to travel and need a refund instead
• you travelled on a different day after changing the ticket
• the arrival delay is below the operator's Delay Repay threshold
• the claim is sent after the operator's deadline
• the operator has a specific exclusion or alternative process for that disruption

This is why amended timetables cause so much confusion. A journey can be much slower than normal and still not be late for Delay Repay purposes if the slower journey was the timetable that applied.

How much compensation could you get?

The Department for Transport's passenger compensation data says DfT train operating companies provide Delay Repay from 30 minutes, while some provide compensation from 15 minutes.

Common Delay Repay bands are:

• 15 to 29 minutes: often 25% of a single fare
• 30 to 59 minutes: often 50% of a single fare
• 60 to 119 minutes: often 100% of a single fare
• 120 minutes or more: often 100% of a return fare

These are guide bands, not a universal promise. Season tickets, Flexi-Season tickets, split tickets, multi-operator journeys, smartcards and contactless travel can all be calculated differently. The operator that caused the delay is normally the place to start.

For a wider explanation of the basic rules, read Railed's Delay Repay train compensation guide. For thresholds and percentages by company, see our train delay compensation by operator guide.

Refund or Delay Repay during planned disruption?

Use this distinction:

• If you do not travel, check refund rights with the retailer that sold the ticket. Our cancelled train refund or Delay Repay guide walks through the split.
• If you travel and arrive late, check Delay Repay with the operator responsible for the delay.
• If you start the journey but abandon it because of disruption, the answer can depend on ticket type and what happened.
• If your journey involved a missed connection, the claim is normally judged against the final arrival, not the individual leg.

MoneySavingExpert's train delay guide gives a useful consumer overview of when to claim compensation for delayed train journeys and when refunds may be more relevant. National Rail is the better source for the official operator route, but consumer guides can help passengers spot when they may be missing a claim.

Do not assume that buying an Advance ticket, travelling during strikes, or using a replacement bus automatically removes all options. Equally, do not assume a slow planned journey automatically produces compensation.

Evidence to keep

Claims around planned works, strikes and emergency timetables are easier when you can show both the timetable and the journey you actually made.

Keep:

• the ticket, booking reference or smartcard journey record
• the original itinerary if you booked in advance
• the amended itinerary for the day of travel
• screenshots of strike, engineering or emergency timetable notices
• the scheduled arrival time under the amended timetable
• the actual arrival time
• details of replacement buses, missed connections or staff instructions
• emails from the operator or retailer about changes
• the Delay Repay claim reference after you submit

If the claim is rejected and you think the operator used the wrong timetable or missed a connection, this evidence gives you a clearer basis for an appeal. Our guides on Delay Repay evidence and why Delay Repay claims get rejected cover this in more detail.

How Railed helps

Railed helps with the part passengers most often miss: turning a delayed journey into a completed Delay Repay claim.

During planned engineering, strikes and emergency timetables, it is easy to lose track of whether a delay was eligible. Railed monitors eligible train delays and helps process Delay Repay claims automatically, so you are not relying on memory, screenshots and a form filled in weeks later.

Railed still works within the operator's rules. It cannot guarantee that every claim will be accepted, and it is not a replacement for a refund when you do not travel. But when you do travel and the journey appears to qualify, Railed helps reduce the admin that stops passengers from claiming.

That is especially useful if you commute, travel through disruption regularly, use more than one operator, or buy tickets across different retailers. If you hold a season ticket, see our Delay Repay for season tickets guide for how thresholds are calculated against the daily fare equivalent.

In our experience handling claims through 2024 and 2025, the most common reason a planned-engineering claim is rejected is that the passenger compared their arrival with the originally booked timetable rather than the amended timetable for the day. A successful appeal usually attaches a screenshot of the amended itinerary that was live at the time of travel, alongside the actual arrival time recorded by the operator's own real-time data.

Practical checklist

Use this checklist after a planned engineering, strike or emergency timetable journey:

1. Confirm whether you travelled.
2. Find the timetable that applied on the day.
3. Note the scheduled arrival time under that timetable.
4. Note your actual arrival time.
5. Check whether the delay meets the operator's threshold.
6. Identify the operator responsible for the delay.
7. Keep the ticket and any amended itinerary.
8. Save screenshots of relevant engineering, strike or emergency notices.
9. Submit the Delay Repay claim before the deadline, often within 28 days.
10. If you did not travel, check the ticket retailer's refund route instead.
11. If the claim is rejected, compare the rejection reason with your evidence.
12. Use Railed to monitor eligible delays and help process Delay Repay claims automatically.

FAQ

Can I claim Delay Repay for planned engineering works?

You may be able to claim if you travelled and arrived late compared with the amended timetable for the day. If the journey simply took longer because the planned engineering timetable was slower than usual, Delay Repay is less likely to apply.

Can I claim Delay Repay during a rail strike?

Sometimes. If you travelled on a strike-day timetable and arrived late compared with that timetable, Delay Repay may apply. If your normal train was removed from the amended strike timetable before travel, the operator may not treat that as a Delay Repay delay.

What if my train was cancelled during planned engineering?

If the cancelled service was part of the timetable that applied to your journey and you arrived late after taking an alternative service, Delay Repay may apply. If you did not travel, check the refund route with the retailer instead.

Does a replacement bus count for Delay Repay?

It can. If a rail replacement bus is part of the journey and it causes you to arrive late compared with the published timetable for the day, the delay may be relevant to a Delay Repay claim. Keep the itinerary and actual arrival evidence.

What is an emergency timetable?

An emergency timetable is a short-notice amended timetable introduced because the railway cannot run the normal service, often due to infrastructure problems, severe weather, fleet issues or other major disruption. Delay Repay is usually assessed against the timetable that applied to the journey, but late running against that timetable may still matter.

Can I claim if the timetable changed after I bought my ticket?

Possibly. If the timetable was amended before travel, the operator may use the amended timetable as the baseline. If the change meant you chose not to travel, a refund may be more relevant. If you travelled and still arrived late against the timetable for the day, Delay Repay may be worth checking.

What if the operator rejects my claim because of an amended timetable?

Read the rejection reason carefully. If the operator used the wrong timetable, ignored a missed connection, missed a cancelled replacement service, or calculated the arrival time incorrectly, appeal through the operator's process and include your evidence.

Can the Rail Ombudsman help with Delay Repay disputes?

The Rail Ombudsman may be able to consider eligible unresolved complaints about participating rail service providers after the company has had a chance to respond. It is usually a later step, not the first place to submit a Delay Repay claim.

Can Railed guarantee compensation during strikes or planned works?

No. Railed monitors eligible delays and helps process Delay Repay claims automatically, but train companies assess claims under their own rules. Railed helps reduce missed claims and admin; it does not guarantee that an operator will pay every claim.