Avanti West Coast paid out more than £۲۰m to passengers in just three months this summer in refunds for disrupted journeys on Britain’s main intercity rail network.
The intercity operator paid out almost as much in a four-week period to ۲۵ July – £۹.۳m – as its annual profits for each of the past two years. It repaid a further £۱۲.۲m in the subsequent eight weeks.
The “delay repay” compensation bill for slow-running or cancelled services has been spiralling upwards across the railway network in recent years, according to official figures, with Avanti the biggest payer – although never before at this scale.
Most train operators are yet to publish this year’s payouts. According to the most recent published financial figures from the Department for Transport (DfT), covering all operators, the total passenger compensation for delays rose to £۱۵۰m across the railway in ۲۰۲۴-۲۵, up ۸% compared with the previous year, of which about ۲۷% was Avanti’s payouts (£۴۰.۵m).
Fare inflation and efforts to make passengers aware of their rights have contributed to the industry’s soaring bill, as well as the delays themselves. Compensation has become increasingly automated and some operators now proactively repay passengers who have been delayed.
Under the contracts that replaced the franchising system since the pandemic, train operators’ income comes from fees paid by the DfT instead of depending on fare revenue, with the taxpayer instead taking any profit or loss from ticketing income or refunds.
Avanti, which is due to be taken into public ownership next year as part of Great British Railways, paid out more than £۵۰m in ۲۰۲۵-۲۶, and is expected to pay out more than £۷۰m this financial year.
As heatwaves hit the railway, fewer than half of Avanti trains ran on time in July with passengers delayed by an average ۱۹ minutes, according to figures from the Office of Rail and Road. Its peak payout period also covered the incursion of a large herd of cows on the tracks for several hours one Tuesday.
Long-distance operators typically pay out the largest sums, with customers more likely to claim owing to the expense and the chance of delays reaching the ۶۰-minute threshold where fares are refunded in full.
Avanti and GWR are unusually generous among long-distance operators in paying compensation for delays after ۱۵ minutes, when passengers are eligible for refunds of ۲۵% of the fare paid.
GWR, which runs trains from Wales and the south-west to London, and LNER, which runs London-Scotland trains on the east coast mainline, were the next highest refunders in ۲۰۲۵, paying back £۲۹.۷m and £۲۸m respectively.
The number of compensation claims filed by passengers across Great Britain’s railway reached ۹.۱m in ۲۰۲۶, up almost ۱۰% year on year, with ۸۰% of the claims approved, according to data from the Office of Rail and Road.
An Avanti West Coast spokesperson said: “We apologise to customers affected by train delays. A range of factors can impact service performance, and we are working closely with our industry partners to improve punctuality and reliability across the network.
“To make it as easy as possible for customers to claim compensation when things don’t go to plan, we are committed to ensuring that customers are able to promptly receive any compensation for delays and offer automatic delay repay for journeys delayed by ۱۵ minutes or more.”
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According to Avanti, between May to August this year it was directly responsible for only ۲۳% of those delays, with Network Rail or other operators responsible for the majority, as well as external factors such as trespassers on the line.
GWR said the increase in its delay repay payments this year was “driven largely by repeated heatwaves, with prolonged periods of unprecedented temperatures affecting both trains and railway infrastructure”, including track defects, points failures, speed restrictions and train cooling issues.
The operator said the payments recognised “the impact of disruption and helping maintain confidence in rail travel”, adding: “We’ve recently made efforts to increase publicity of the scheme, with clearer, more frequent announcements onboard delayed trains and on social media disruption updates.”
LNER, which compensates customers only after ۳۰-minute delays, did not provide updated financial data.
According to DfT research, about half of disrupted passengers claim compensation, but an increasing number are satisfied with the process and results.
Most train operators now resolve more than ۹۹% of claims within ۲۰ days, according to data from the rail regulator.
A DfT spokesperson said it was “acting to tackle the root causes of disruption” and making it easier for passengers to get refunds, adding: “Under Great British Railways, we will make it quicker and easier to claim compensation through an easy-to-use service, which will also be available wherever passengers purchase their tickets.”
