How much the railway owes you when your train is late, and where to claim it: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Eurostar and Delay Repay in Britain.
- Free, no sign-up
- The railways’ own published rules
- Checked on 13 October 2026
Your train
Your compensation
How it works
When a train gets you to your final destination late, the railway owes you part of the ticket price back. In the EU it is at least 25% from 60 minutes and 50% from 120 minutes. Switzerland pays the same even after storms and landslides, France pays from 30 minutes on TGV INOUI and Intercités, the Netherlands from 30 minutes, Belgium the full price from 60 minutes, and British train companies from 15 or 30 minutes with Delay Repay.
Choose the railway, your ticket and how late you arrived. The calculator applies the rules the railways publish, read on 13 October 2026, and tells you where to claim and by when.
The rules at a glance
| Railway | From | How much | Claim within |
|---|---|---|---|
| SwitzerlandSBB, BLS, PostBus | 60 min | 25%, from 120 min 50%also after storms and landslides | 30 days |
| International ticket from SBB | 60 minTGV Lyria 30 min | 25%, from 120 min 50% | 90 days |
| TGV LyriaSwitzerland and France | more than 30 min | 25%, from 2 hours 50% | 90 days |
| GermanyDeutsche Bahn | 60 min | 25%, from 120 min 50% | 12 months |
| AustriaÖBB | 60 min | 25%, from 120 min 50%not for regional trains only | 1 year after the ticket expires |
| FranceTGV INOUI and Intercités | more than 30 min | 25%, from 2 hours 50%, after 3 hours 75%a voucher under 60 min | 90 days |
| FranceOUIGO | 60 min | 25%, from 120 min 50%a voucher, sent by itself | automatic |
| ItalyTrenitalia | 60 minFrecce 30 min, as a bonus | 25%, from 120 min 50% | 1 year |
| ItalyItalo | 60 min | 25%, from 120 min 50%a voucher, sent by itself | automatic |
| NetherlandsNS | 30 min | half the price, from 60 min all of it | 3 months |
| BelgiumSNCB | 60 min | 100% | 3 months |
| Eurostar | 60 min | 25% in money or 30% as an e-voucherfrom 120 min 50% or 60%, from 180 min 50% or 75% | 3 months |
| BritainDelay Repay | 15 or 30 min | from 25% of a single to 100% | 28 days |
| Rest of the EU | 60 min | 25%, from 120 min 50% | complain within 3 months |
Examples
Switzerland, a CHF 60 ticket, 75 minutes late
25% of CHF 60: CHF 15, paid to your bank account. Claim online on swisspass.ch within 30 days.
France, TGV INOUI, an 80 euro ticket, 45 minutes late
The G30 pays 25% from more than 30 minutes: 20 euros, as an e-voucher because the delay is under 60 minutes.
Eurostar, a 120 euro ticket, 2 hours 10 minutes late
50% in money, so 60 euros, or 60% as an e-voucher, so 72 euros.
Germany, a 14.90 euro ticket, 65 minutes late
25% would be 3.73 euros. Deutsche Bahn does not pay amounts under 4 euros, so there is nothing to claim.
Britain, a £90 single with Avanti West Coast, 35 minutes late
Delay Repay pays 50% of a single from 30 minutes: £45. Claim within 28 days.
The EU rules in short
- 25% from 60 minutes, 50% from 120 minutes late at your final destination, on every train in the EU. Missed connections and cancellations count the same way.
- Return tickets are counted on half the price, because only one way was late.
- Payment in money within one month of your claim, and in vouchers only if you agree. Railways may refuse to pay amounts under 4 euros.
- No compensation when you knew about the delay before you bought the ticket, or when extreme weather, a natural disaster, people on the tracks, cable theft or a similar outside event caused it. A strike by the railway’s own staff is not such an event, so it is compensated.
- From 60 minutes of expected delay you may also choose your money back, another route or a later trip, and you get meals and a hotel if needed. If the railway offers no other route within 100 minutes, you may arrange other transport yourself and claim the reasonable cost.
Switzerland: what is different
- Storms and landslides count. Since 2021 Swiss public transport pays even when a natural event caused the delay. Only the hotel is not paid then.
- CHF 5 minimum. Smaller amounts are not paid out.
- 30 days. Claim online on swisspass.ch within 30 days of the trip. SBB pays no compensation at its ticket offices.
- Season tickets valid for at least a week: the value of one day of the pass for a delay of 60 minutes or more, at least CHF 5, and in total at most 10% of its price. Not for the half fare travelcard, the Junior card or the Kinder-Mitfahrkarte.
- International tickets bought from SBB in one payment are covered for the whole journey: 25% from 60 minutes and 50% from 120 minutes (TGV Lyria from 30 minutes), within 90 days.
France: the G30 guarantee
On TGV INOUI and Intercités, SNCF pays for delays of more than 30 minutes whatever the cause: 25% of the ticket up to 2 hours, 50% between 2 and 3 hours and 75% beyond 3 hours. On international TGV INOUI trains the most is 50%. Under 60 minutes you get an e-voucher, and from 60 minutes you may ask for a bank transfer. Claim within 90 days on tout-oui.sncf.com.
OUIGO follows the EU rules and e-mails you a voucher by itself within 3 days. TER regional trains are not part of the G30: each region handles its own delays. TGV Lyria between Switzerland and France pays from more than 30 minutes on trips of at least 100 km. Bought from SBB, it pays 25% and from 2 hours 50%, to your bank account. Bought from SNCF, it pays 25% in vouchers only up to 1 hour, then in vouchers or by transfer, and 50% from 2 hours.
Britain: Delay Repay
Almost every British train company pays Delay Repay, whatever caused the delay, measured against the timetable of the day. Most pay from 15 minutes, some only from 30. Claim within 28 days on the company’s own website.
| Delay | Single ticket | Return ticket |
|---|---|---|
| 15 to 29 minutes | 25% | 12.5% |
| 30 to 59 minutes | 50% | 25% |
| 60 to 119 minutes | 100% | 50% |
| 120 minutes or more | 100% | 100% |
From 15 minutes: Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, GWR, South Western Railway, Southern, Stansted Express, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Railway. From 30 minutes: CrossCountry, LNER and ScotRail. Hull Trains pays from 30 minutes, with its top band from 60. Grand Central pays from 60 minutes: 50%, from 2 hours 75% and from 3 hours 100%. On the Elizabeth line and London Overground, TfL refunds the single fare from 30 minutes, but not for strikes, bad weather or engineering works.
Season tickets
- Switzerland: the value of one day of the pass for each delay of 60 minutes or more, at least CHF 5.
- Germany: a flat amount for each delay of 60 minutes or more: 5 euros for a long-distance season ticket (7.50 in 1st class), 1.50 for a local one (2.25), 10 for the BahnCard 100 (15) and 1.50 for the Deutschlandticket. Paid from 4 euros, so collect several delays, and at most 25% of the ticket’s value.
- Austria: 1.50 euros for each delay of more than 20 minutes on day, week and month tickets, paid in cash at ÖBB ticket offices from 4 euros. Annual tickets and the KlimaTicket Ö are compensated once a year when trains were not punctual enough.
- Belgium: the price of one journey (the season ticket price divided by 40, 120 or 480) for each delay of 60 minutes or more, and 50% for each delay of more than 30 minutes once you have 10 within six months.
- Britain: per journey, with a formula set by each train company.
When you get nothing
- You knew about the delay before you bought the ticket.
- Extreme weather, a natural disaster, people on the tracks or a similar outside event caused it. This does not apply in Switzerland, to the G30 in France or to Delay Repay in Britain.
- In Austria, you only used regional trains within the country.
- The amount is under the minimum: CHF 5 in Switzerland, 4 euros in Germany, in Austria and on Eurostar, 2.30 euros in the Netherlands.
- You took a refund of the ticket instead.
How to claim
- Keep your ticket until the money has arrived.
- Note how late you arrived at your final destination. In Austria, ask the train staff for a delay confirmation or download one online within 7 days.
- Claim with the railway that sold you the ticket, on the page the calculator links. The forms are free, so you do not need a claims company.
- Mind the deadline: 28 days in Britain, 30 days in Switzerland, 3 months in most of the EU (90 days for the G30), and up to a year in Germany, Austria and Italy.
- If the railway refuses or does not answer within a month, complain to the national body for rail passenger rights of the country.
Questions
- Do I get compensation for a missed connection?
- Yes, if both trains were on one ticket: what counts is how late you arrive at your final destination. With separate tickets, only the delayed ticket is compensated.
- Does a strike count?
- Yes. Under the EU rules a strike by the railway’s own staff is not an extraordinary circumstance, so you are compensated. In Britain Delay Repay pays whatever the cause, but TfL pays nothing on the Elizabeth line and London Overground when strikes cause the delay.
- Do I get money or a voucher?
- Under the EU rules money, unless you agree to a voucher. Some railways pay vouchers by default: SNCF under 60 minutes, OUIGO and Italo automatically, Trenitalia’s Frecce for 30 to 59 minutes. Eurostar pays more if you choose an e-voucher.
- My train in Switzerland was late because of a landslide. Do I get anything?
- Yes. Swiss public transport pays 25% from 60 minutes and 50% from 120 minutes even after storms, landslides and rockfalls. Only a hotel is not paid then.
- How long does the payment take?
- Under the EU rules, within one month of your claim. SBB usually pays within about 30 days, OUIGO sends its voucher within 3 days, Italo credits within 30 days, and in Britain an accepted claim should be paid within 14 days.
- Can I claim for a return ticket?
- Yes. In the EU and on Eurostar the compensation is counted on half the price, because only one way was late. Delay Repay in Britain has its own percentages of the whole return price.
- Is this calculator official?
- No. It applies the rules the railways publish, read on 13 October 2026. The railway decides your claim, and its own page has the last word.
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Sources
- European Commission, Your Europe: rail passenger rights, read on 13 October 2026
- Switzerland: Alliance SwissPass, passenger rights; SBB, compensation for delays; BLS, compensation for delays, read on 13 October 2026
- TGV Lyria: compensation for delays, read on 13 October 2026
- Germany: Deutsche Bahn, passenger rights and Deutschlandticket delays, read on 13 October 2026
- Austria: ÖBB, Fahrgastrechte and Zugverspätungen; apf, Verspätung und Zugausfall, read on 13 October 2026
- France: SNCF Voyageurs, G30 guarantee, OUIGO and TER, read on 13 October 2026
- Italy: Trenitalia, compensation for delays; Italo, questions and answers, read on 13 October 2026
- Netherlands: NS, refunds for delays. Belgium: SNCB, compensation, read on 13 October 2026
- Eurostar: claiming compensation and conditions of carriage, read on 13 October 2026
- Britain: National Rail, compensation and refunds, the National Rail Conditions of Travel (July 2026) and the Delay Repay pages of the train companies; TfL, Elizabeth line and London Overground delays, read on 13 October 2026
This calculator is a guide based on the published rules and not legal advice. The railway or train company decides each claim.