National rail season ticket refund: How to get your money back for unused travel fees

2 April 2020, 11:36 | Updated: 2 April 2020, 12:53

Can you get a refund on your train season ticket because of coronavirus? Here's how. Picture: Getty

Coronavirus has many of us working from home, no longer needing our train tickets. So, can you get a refund on your season ticket? And how do you apply for a rail refund?

The coronavirus crisis means most of us are not going to work - so that pricey season ticket you bought for your daily commute is gathering dust and not working out as economical as you thought.

So, can you get a train season ticket refund? And how do you apply for rail refund?

How to apply for a rail ticket refund

The Rail Delivery Group, which is the British rail industry membership body for passenger and freight rail companies, Network Rail and High Speed 2, told the Daily Mail that individual companies are symapthetic to Britain's pandemic conditions, and passengers should contact them direct.

They said: "Train companies understand that at the moment people may not wish to travel in the way they had originally planned.

"Season tickets can be refunded, depending on how long is left unused on them, and people should get in touch with their train company or the website from which they bought their ticket to see what they might be entitled to."

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How much money will my train ticket refund be?

Season tickets work out that you are technically getting a proportion of travel for free, in comparison to paying for individual journeys.

As a rule, annual passes give you two months free out of twelve, and monthly is one week out of four. This means that the train operators will need to do some specific number crunching for each case, and it is impossible to know what exactly you can expect back.

How much has to be left on my season ticket to claim?

Companies are only refunding on tickets that have certain amounts of travel left on them.

Weekly - there must be at least 3 days remaining on your season ticket

Monthly - there must be at least 7 days remaining on your season ticket

Annual - if you have used your ticket for more than 10 months and 13 days, there will be no refund available

Will I have to pay an admin fee to change or cancel my season ticket?

Some train operators charge a £10 admin fee for refunds to season tickets.

This is to cover the amount of work that is going in to change and the huge volume of tickets that could be affected.

What if I had booked another type of ticket?

The Mail’s This is Money team spoke to the Rail Delivery Group, who said: “For any tickets they have sold, train operators have waived 'refund fees' on most refundable fares - Anytime, Off-Peak, Super Off-Peak and Rover/Ranger - and all have waived the 'change of journey fee' for advance tickets which is normally £10.”