For information on changes and refunds due to COVID and travel restrictions please view this article.
Searching for information covering refunds for travel outside of the UK? - click here.
Which tickets can I refund?
Flexible tickets (Off-Peak, Super Off-Peak and Anytime tickets)
These types of tickets can be refunded online for a fee.
You have 28 days from expiry of the ticket to request a refund. If you have a mobile ticket and it has already been activated, you can no longer claim a refund on that journey.
Advance Single ticket
Advance Single tickets cannot be refunded but they can be changed.
Changes are only allowed for a different time/date of travel, so you need to stick to the same departure and arrival stations. Visit this page for more information on changing.
SplitSave
Similar rules apply to a combination of tickets.
The Flexible tickets can be refunded. The Advance Single tickets can only be changed. However, if you have a combination of Advance and Flexible then all the tickets can be changed.
Refund fees
If you originally got your ticket by calling our contact centre then we charge a set £10.00 fee.
For tickets bought online or using our apps, the refund fee is based on the value of the ticket that is being cancelled. The breakdown of refund fees for tickets bought online or using our apps is as follows -
| Ticket value / Refund fee per ticket |
| Up to £1.99 / No fee |
| £2.00 to £4.99 / £1.00 fee |
| £5.00 to £9.99 / £3.00 fee |
| £10.00 to £14.99 / £7.50 fee |
| Over £15.00 / £10 fee |
How to request a refund online
If you have an account:
- Find your booking on our website in My Bookings or within our App under 'My Tickets'
- Select 'Refund my tickets'
If you don’t have an account:
- Create an account by following the link in your confirmation email. Search your inbox for auto-confirm@info.thetrainline.com.
- Follow the steps above to request a refund.
When will I get my refund?
Refunds can take an average of 3-5 days to process. You can check the status of your refund in your account.
Here's a guide to what the statuses mean.
- Refunded/ Refund Approved - You've done everything you need to and your refund is on the way back to you, it will appear in your account within 5 days.
- Refund Processing/ Refund - Action Required – Before we can process your refund we may need you to return your tickets.
- Refund Rejected– We’re unable to refund your tickets. This could be because you've scanned your eticket or activated your Mobile Ticket.
My card has expired
We only refund the card that was originally used to make the booking – this is to make sure that the refund goes to the right place and avoids any problems. If your card has expired then normally this won’t make any difference to money being refunded.
If your account is closed and the refund still isn't appearing in your account after 15 days, please contact your card issuer. They'll be holding the funds for you and will be able to arrange a transfer to your new account. If your card issuer has confirmed that the refund funds have been sent back to us, please obtain an ARN number from them to allow us to trace the returned refund.
Refunds for delayed or cancelled trains
- To request a refund for a cancelled train find your booking on our website in My Bookings or within our App under 'My Tickets' then 'Refund my tickets'. If our system recognises your train as cancelled then you will see the normal admin fee has been waived (£0). Full refunds through your online account will be accessible anytime from the date of travel onwards.
- For a delayed train please see Delay Repay compensation.
