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How much Southern pays
Southern uses Delay Repay 15: from 15 minutes late at your destination, it pays back 25% to 100% of the fare for the journey.
| Late by | Single | Return |
|---|---|---|
| 15 to 29 min | 25% | 12.5% |
| 30 to 59 min | 50% | 25% |
| 60 to 119 min | 100% | 50% |
| 2 hours or more | 100% | 100% |
More in Delay Repay with a Season Ticket. On a Railcard or Advance ticket, the bands apply to the price you paid: see Delay Repay with a Railcard and Delay Repay on an Advance ticket.
Railhop works this out for you: check your train and it shows how late it was, which band that is and what you're owed.
How to claim Southern Delay Repay
- Check your train on Railhop. Tell Railhop where you travelled and roughly when. It finds your Southern train, how late it really was from National Rail's data, and what you're owed: Southern pays from 15 minutes late.
- Railhop fills in Southern's claim form. In the Railhop iPhone app, or with Railhop's browser extension on a computer, Railhop opens Southern's own claim form and fills it in for you, with your journey, your ticket and your details. Southern's form needs an account: you sign in yourself, and Railhop never keeps your login.
- Check it and press submit. You check the claim and press submit on Southern's own form, within 28 days of travelling. You choose how to be paid: bank transfer (BACS), PayPal, an e-Voucher (with an online account), National Rail vouchers, or a donation to charity. Southern pays you directly. Railhop never submits a claim for you.
Southern has automatic Delay Repay for some tickets: see below. For everything else, Railhop fills in the form.
Used Delay Repay Sniper? Railhop is the modern way to claim: it finds your delays and fills in the form, and you stay in control of the claim. Read what happened to Delay Repay Sniper.
Cancelled Southern trains
If a Southern train is cancelled on the day and you take the next train you can, the delay is measured at your destination against when the cancelled train was due.
If you decide not to travel, ask whoever sold you the ticket for a full refund, with no admin fee. You can have a refund or Delay Repay, not both. More in Delay Repay for a cancelled train.
Strike days and replacement buses have their own rules: see Delay Repay on strike days and Delay Repay on a rail replacement bus.
Check the cancelled train on Railhop: it shows the cancellation, works out what you can claim and fills in Southern's form for you.
Contactless and Oyster on Southern
Contactless and Oyster pay as you go are covered: attach a print-out of your TfL journey history showing the date, where you touched in and out and the cost.
More in Delay Repay with contactless and Oyster. Add your TfL statement and Railhop checks every journey on it, finds the delays you can claim for and fills in Southern's form for each.
Southern Delay Repay form and login
You claim on Southern's own Delay Repay form, which runs on the OTRL claim system. Railhop opens it and fills it in for you in the Railhop iPhone app, or with Railhop's browser extension on a computer: your details, the journey, the delay and your ticket. Southern's form needs an account: you sign in yourself, and Railhop never keeps your login. You check the claim and press submit yourself.
Proof of travel
Southern accepts these, depending on your ticket:
- The ticket number or Unique Ticket Number (UTN).
- A photo of your paper ticket, or an image of your e-ticket barcode.
- A booking confirmation or receipt showing the date, ticket type and price.
- Your Key Smartcard number.
- For pay as you go (Oyster or contactless): a journey history print-out showing where you touched in and out and the cost.
- For season tickets: the season ticket and photocard.
Add your ticket in Railhop once: snap it in the app, or add it on the website, and Railhop attaches it to your claim where the form takes a file.
Automatic Delay Repay on Southern
Auto Delay Repay is for Key Smartcard holders who tap in and out. It does not cover Oyster or contactless, so pay as you go passengers claim on the form with a journey history print-out.
For tickets the automatic scheme doesn't cover, check your train on Railhop and it fills in Southern's form for you.
How Southern pays, and how long it takes
You choose when you claim: bank transfer (BACS), PayPal, an e-Voucher (with an online account), National Rail vouchers, or a donation to charity. The National Rail Conditions of Travel say a claim should be paid within 14 days of being agreed. More in how long Delay Repay takes. Southern pays you directly, and Railhop keeps the claim reference for each claim you make, so it's easy to follow up.
Split tickets
You can use two or more tickets for one journey (the National Rail Conditions of Travel, condition 14.2), and the delay is still measured at your destination. More in Delay Repay on split tickets. Railhop checks the whole journey and measures the delay at your destination.
If Southern rejects your claim
Ask Southern to look at it again, with your evidence: the train, the times and your ticket. If you're still unhappy after Southern has replied, you can take it to the Rail Ombudsman. More in what to do if a Delay Repay claim is rejected. Railhop's claims use the train's real times from National Rail's data, so they match what the train company sees.
About Southern
Southern runs trains from London Victoria and London Bridge to south London, Surrey and Sussex, including East Croydon, Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Littlehampton and Portsmouth. Southern is often called Southern Rail.
Southern is one of the four Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) brands, run by Thameslink Southern Great Northern Limited and in public ownership since 31 May 2026.
Good to know on Southern
- Southern also has a paper claim form you can print and post; postal claims are paid in National Rail vouchers only.
- Southern says its process is designed for the person who experienced the delay to make the claim, and accepts claims for someone else only in mitigating circumstances such as travelling with children.
- Delays caused by planned engineering work are not covered. Unplanned disruption is, whatever the cause.
Questions about Southern Delay Repay
How do I claim Southern Delay Repay?
Check your train on Railhop: it finds how late it was and what you're owed, then fills in Southern's own claim form in the Railhop iPhone app, or with Railhop's browser extension on a computer, with your journey, ticket and details. You check it and press submit within 28 days of travelling, and Southern pays you.
How much Delay Repay does Southern pay?
Southern uses Delay Repay 15, from 15 minutes late at your destination. On a single ticket you get 25% of the fare for 15–29 minutes, 50% for 30–59 minutes, 100% for 60–119 minutes and 100% for 2 hours or more. On a return ticket: 12.5%, 25%, 50% and 100% of the return fare. Railhop works out the amount for your train.
How long do I have to claim Southern Delay Repay?
28 days from the date of the delayed journey. Railhop shows the claim-by date for every delay it finds, and the app reminds you 3 days before it runs out.
Can I claim Southern Delay Repay by post?
Yes. Southern has a paper Delay Repay form you can print and post, but postal claims are paid in National Rail vouchers only. Claiming online gives you more payment options, such as bank transfer or PayPal.
Can Railhop fill in the Southern Delay Repay form for me?
Yes, in the Railhop iPhone app, or with Railhop's browser extension on a computer. Railhop opens Southern's own claim form and fills in your details, the journey, the delay and your ticket. You choose how to be paid, check the claim and press submit: Railhop never submits claims or sees your bank details.
Can I claim Southern Delay Repay if my train was cancelled?
Yes, if you still travelled. If a Southern train is cancelled on the day and you take the next train you can, the delay is measured at your destination against when the cancelled train was due. If you decided not to travel, ask whoever sold you the ticket for a full refund instead: you can have one or the other, not both. Check the cancelled train on Railhop and it works out what you can claim.
Do I need an account to claim Southern Delay Repay?
Southern's form needs an account: you sign in yourself, and Railhop never keeps your login. Railhop fills in the rest of the form for you.
How does Southern pay Delay Repay?
You choose when you claim: bank transfer (BACS), PayPal, an e-Voucher (with an online account), National Rail vouchers, or a donation to charity. The National Rail Conditions of Travel say a claim should be paid within 14 days of being agreed.
What can I do if Southern rejects my Delay Repay claim?
Ask Southern to look at it again, with your evidence: the train, the times and your ticket. Railhop has the train's real times from National Rail's data. If you're still unhappy after Southern has replied, you can take it to the Rail Ombudsman.
Sources
Other GTR brands: Gatwick Express Delay Repay, Great Northern Delay Repay, Thameslink Delay Repay. Delay Repay guides for other train companies.
Terms change. If something here doesn't match Southern's own terms, Southern's terms are right. Railhop fills in Southern's claim form for you, and you check it and submit it yourself. Railhop is not affiliated with Southern, GTR or National Rail.