Which timetable counts
Compensation on a rail replacement journey is based on when you reached your destination, compared with the timetable in place on the day you travel (National Rail Conditions of Travel, condition 27.4). So when the bus was arranged matters:
- Planned buses (engineering work announced in advance): the bus timetable is the timetable on the day. Train companies include the longer journey times in their timetables (condition 27.1), so the extra time isn't a delay. If the bus itself runs late against those times, that is.
- Emergency buses (put on at short notice because of disruption on the day): your delay counts from when your train was due. Transport for Wales and Northern say so.
What each train company says about replacement buses
| Train company | What it says | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Anglia | Delays are measured against the planned, advertised timetable, so compensation is not usually paid during pre-planned engineering works or when replacement buses run. | Guide |
| GWR | Delays are worked out against the planned and advertised timetable, so compensation is not usually offered for longer journey times caused by pre-planned engineering works. | Guide |
| Hull Trains | Hull Trains doesn't normally pay if you knew about disruption before you bought your ticket. It also doesn't pay for planned engineering work with a published revised timetable, unless the replacement services run late or are cancelled. | Guide |
| London Northwestern Railway | Delays are worked out against the planned, advertised timetable, so compensation is not usually offered during pre-planned engineering works and when replacement bus services are used. | Guide |
| Lumo | Lumo doesn't normally pay if you knew about disruption before you bought your ticket. It also doesn't pay for planned engineering work with a published revised timetable, unless the replacement services run late or are cancelled. | Guide |
| Northern | If a replacement bus was advertised in advance with a revised timetable, compensation is for delays against the revised times. If replacement transport ran without notice and you arrived 15 minutes or more later than your train was due, Delay Repay applies as usual: say so in the notes section of the claim form. | Guide |
| ScotRail | ScotRail does not normally accept a claim if you were told about the delay before you bought your ticket, or if it ran a replacement bus or let you use your ticket on other buses, trams or the Glasgow Subway. | Guide |
| Stansted Express | Claims are not normally accepted if you were told about the delay in advance, such as planned engineering works or replacement buses. | Guide |
| Transport for Wales | On a planned rail replacement bus, the delay is measured against the bus timetable. On an unplanned emergency bus, it is measured against when your train was due. | Guide |
| West Midlands Railway | Delays are worked out against the planned, advertised timetable, so compensation is not usually offered during pre-planned engineering works and when replacement bus services are used. | Guide |
Other companies' pages we checked don't mention replacement buses. The Conditions of Travel rule above applies.
Refunds, luggage and getting you there
- You decide not to travel: if your train is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled, you get a full refund with no administration fee from whoever sold you the ticket (condition 30.1).
- Luggage, bikes or animals: if a bus put on at short notice can't carry them and so you don't travel, you get a full refund with no administration fee (condition 27.2).
- Pay as you go in South Wales: Transport for Wales asks you to tap in at your origin station and tap out at your destination when you use a replacement bus.
How to claim
- Check your train on Railhop. Tell Railhop where you travelled and roughly when. It finds the train you planned to catch and works out the delay against the timetable in place on the day.
- Railhop fills in the train company's claim form. In the Railhop iPhone app, or with Railhop's browser extension on a computer, Railhop opens the claim form of the company that ran your train and fills it in for you, with your journey, your ticket and your details.
- Check it and press submit. You check the claim and press submit on the train company's own form, within 28 days of travelling. Say in the notes that you travelled by replacement bus. The train company pays you directly. Railhop never submits a claim for you.
Questions
Can I claim Delay Repay on a rail replacement bus?
Yes, if you reached your destination late enough against the timetable in place on the day. For a planned bus that's the bus timetable; for an emergency bus it's usually when your train was due.
Can I claim because the bus took longer than the train?
Not if the buses were planned in advance. The longer bus times are the timetable on the day, so only a delay against them counts.
My train was cancelled and they put on a bus. Can I claim?
Yes, if you arrived late enough compared with when your train was due. Transport for Wales and Northern measure an unplanned bus that way.
Does ScotRail pay Delay Repay when it runs a replacement bus?
Not normally. ScotRail says it won't normally accept a claim if it provides a replacement bus or lets you use your ticket on other buses, trams or the Glasgow Subway.
Sources
- National Rail Conditions of Travel (30 July 2026)
- Northern: completed my journey by replacement transport but arrived late
- Greater Anglia: Delay Repay
- Lumo: Delay Repay
- ScotRail: Delay Repay
- Transport for Wales: Delay Repay
Train company terms checked 6 October 2026. Terms change: if something here doesn't match the train company's own page, the company's page is right. Tell us and we'll fix it. Railhop fills in the train company's own claim form, and you check it and submit it yourself. Railhop is not affiliated with any train company, TfL or National Rail.