Unused ticket refunds

How to apply

Refunds work differently depending on the type of ticket and where you bought it.

We charge a £10 admin fee for every application made - this will be waived if your train is delayed or cancelled, and you decide not to travel.

If you travelled but were delayed, visit our compensation page. If you didn’t buy your ticket from GWR you will have to contact the original retailer to arrange your refund.

We are currently processing refunds within 5 days of receipt. Refunds of tickets originally purchased at stations may take longer.

Special arrangements for tickets during Covid-19

Christmas Travel

If you held a ticket for travel between 23 and 27 December and your ticket was bought on or after 24 November and up to and including 19 December, we won’t charge an admin fee and will refund your ticket in full.

Normal refund conditions apply if you bought your ticket before 24 November or after 19 December.

National Lockdown 2021

If you purchased an ANYTIME, OFF-PEAK or SUPER OFF-PEAK ticket before 5 January 2021, you can apply for a refund on this ticket. A £10 refund admin fee will apply. Alternatively, you can change your ticket for travel on a different date or time and the change of journey admin fee will be waived.

If you bought an ADVANCE ticket before 5 January, you can change your ticket for travel on an alternative date and/or time. We have temporarily waived the usual £10 admin fee.

Alternatively, if you are unable to change the date of your journey and no longer wish to travel, we can provide an e-voucher to cover the full cost of the ticket, that can be used at any time in the next 12 months. To apply for an e-voucher you'll need to let us know about your journey and provide a copy of your tickets; we'll do the rest.

If you have a paper ticket, we strongly encourage you to submit a refund claim before the date of your journey. This means we can accept a photo of your ticket cut in half to support your claim. If you apply for a refund after the date of your journey, we may ask for your tickets to be posted to us to validate that they have not been used.

Normal refund conditions apply if you bought your ticket on or after 5 January 2021.

Anytime, Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak tickets

You can claim a refund for any reason if you didn’t travel by completing our refund claim form. If you choose not to travel you can apply for a refund up to 28 days after the ticket’s expiry.

Advance tickets

Advance tickets are non-refundable, but you can still apply for a refund if your train is delayed or cancelled and you’re unable to complete your journey as planned.

Season tickets

Any refund you are entitled to is calculated from the date the ticket is returned to us.

If you bought your tickets from another train company, or travel agent, you’ll need to get in touch with them directly. A list of other train companies, and how to get in touch with them can be found on the National Rail website here.

You can find more information about Season Ticket refunds, and how to apply on our Season Ticket refunds page.