Passengers whose train is cancelled can now use their ticket on another operator’s train without paying again. The Department for Transport announced the scheme on 14 September 2026, and it started on 20 September.
The rule has limits. The replacement must be run by a participating operator, depart within two hours before or after the cancelled service, and take a direct or reasonable alternative route. Passengers show their original ticket to staff on the replacement train, with no new ticket to download. The operators covered are c2c, Gatwick Express, Greater Anglia, Great Northern, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, Southeastern, Southern, Thameslink, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Railway, with Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry and Great Western Railway named as the next to join. East Midlands Railway is due to follow, with no date given. ScotRail, Transport for Wales, open-access operators, the Underground and international services aren’t on the list.
Passengers in the concourse at London King's Cross. Earlier photograph.
For families, the practical benefit is on train journeys to airports, ferry ports and UK breaks, where a cancellation with luggage and young children is hard to absorb. A ticket that keeps working on a different operator can save a long wait or a second fare.
The scheme covers cancellations, not delays. It doesn’t promise a seat or a place for a pushchair or wheelchair on the replacement train, and the original reservation doesn’t transfer, so families who need space or assistance should ask staff. It also doesn’t guarantee an on-time connection, and a missed flight or ferry isn’t reimbursed. The scheme doesn’t replace refunds or Delay Repay.
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