Avanti Paid Over £20m in Delay Refunds in Three Months

Avanti West Coast paid more than £20m to passengers this summer in refunds for disrupted journeys. The sum covers just three months.

In the four weeks to 25 July the operator repaid £9.3m, almost as much as its annual profit in each of the past two years. A further £12.2m went out over the next eight weeks. Avanti paid more than £50m in 2025-26 and is expected to pay out more than £70m this financial year.

Heat, cows and late trains

Fewer than half of Avanti trains ran on time in July, according to the Office of Rail and Road. Passengers were delayed by 19 minutes on average. Heatwaves hit the railway, and the peak payout period also included several hours on a Tuesday when a large herd of cows got onto the tracks.

Avanti says it was directly responsible for only 23% of delays between May and August. Network Rail, other operators and outside factors such as trespassers on the line caused the rest.

The wider bill

Across the network, official figures show delay compensation rose 8% to £150m in 2024-25. Avanti's £40.5m was about 27% of that. GWR and LNER were the next largest refunders in 2025, at £29.7m and £28m.

The Office of Rail and Road counted 9.1m compensation claims in Great Britain in 2026, up almost 10% on a year earlier. Some 80% were approved. Most operators now settle more than 99% of claims within 20 days.

Fare inflation and efforts to raise awareness of passengers' rights have contributed to the rising bill, as have the delays themselves. Compensation has become more automated, and some operators repay delayed passengers proactively. Since the pandemic, operators' income has come from fees paid by the Department for Transport, so the taxpayer takes any profit or loss from ticket income or refunds.

Avanti and GWR pay compensation for delays after 15 minutes, when passengers can claim 25% of the fare. LNER pays only after 30 minutes and did not provide updated figures. GWR said repeated heatwaves drove its increase, causing track defects, points failures, speed restrictions and train cooling issues.

An Avanti spokesperson said: "We apologise to customers affected by train delays." The company offers automatic delay repay for journeys delayed by 15 minutes or more. Avanti is due to be taken into public ownership next year as part of Great British Railways. The Department for Transport said it would make claiming quicker and easier under Great British Railways.

Source: the Guardian