- for the first time, passengers whose trains are cancelled can
use another operator's service to complete their journey
immediately, free of charge
- ends passenger limbo and last-minute bills for replacement
tickets
- latest move to put public service back at the heart of the
railway ahead of the creation of Great British Railways
From Sunday (20 September 2026), passengers whose trains are
cancelled will be able to use other services free of charge
ending limbo at stations and the need for costly re-bookings.
Currently, passengers are paying the price for a system which
prioritises shareholders when trains are cancelled.
People are left to wait on platforms for operators to agree
ticket acceptance, rush to catch another service across the
station, buy a new ticket, or abandon their journey altogether
with countless meetings, appointments, and reunions missed as a
result.
That changes this weekend, as the government introduces reforms
to make rail services work for people and end cancellation limbo.
This comes ahead of the creation of Great British Railways
(GBR) bringing
railways under stronger public control to put passengers and
their experience first.
What is changing?
From Sunday 20 September 2026, if a passenger's train is
cancelled, they will be able to transfer to another service run
by a different operator to complete their journey at no
additional cost.
Customers holding a valid ticket will be able to travel on
another participating operator's train, departing within 2 hours
before or after their original cancelled service, using a direct
or reasonable alternative route. Passengers will need to show
their original ticket to customer support staff on their new
service as proof of purchase, with no requirement to download a
new ticket.
Cross-operator ticket acceptance is already in place across all
publicly owned operators, but from Sunday 20 September, this
expands to include CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, Avanti
West Coast and Chiltern Railways, bringing operators running key
intercity routes across the UK into the scheme to support
thousands more passengers.
Rail Minister, , said:
This is a simple, common-sense change that puts passengers first.
No one should be left stranded because of a fragmented railway
when their journey is disrupted.
From this weekend, if your train is cancelled, you can get on
another operator's service and carry on your journey without
paying again. We're fixing the railway from the ground up,
making it simpler, fairer and easier to use, as we move towards
Great British Railways and put public service back at the heart
of our railways.
Who is covered?
Following the expansion this weekend, the following operators
will be taking part in the scheme. East Midlands Railway will
join the scheme at a later date:
- c2c
- Gatwick Express
- Greater Anglia
- Great Northern
- LNER
- London Northwestern Railway
- Northern
- Southeastern
- Southern
- Thameslink
- South Western Railway
- Transpennine Express
- West Midlands Railway
- Avanti West Coast (new)
- Chiltern Railways (new)
- CrossCountry (new)
- Great Western Railway (new)
Expanding ticket acceptance signifies the government's
common-sense approach to reform the overly complicated and
outdated rail fare system ahead of the establishment of
GBR.
The government is investing £156 million in new ticketing schemes
so that by 2027, pay-as-you-go will be available at over 100 more
stations across Greater Manchester, the Midlands and the
south-east.
Digital ticketing allows passengers to download an app that uses
GPS to track their journeys to calculate the best fare without
physically checking in and out or buying a ticket in advance.
A new GBR website and
app is also in development, which will serve as a one-stop shop,
with passengers able to buy tickets, check train times and access
support in one simple-to-use app.
Robertson, Chief Executive of the
independent watchdog, Transport Focus, said:
When passengers are delayed, they just want to get where they
need to be, not worry about whether their ticket will be accepted
on another train.
This is a welcome change that we have long called for and should
make it easier for people when services are cancelled.
The key now is making sure passengers get clear information about
their options whenever disruption occurs.
