Rail passengers whose trains are cancelled will be able to use another participating operator without buying a new ticket. The change will take effect on Sunday, 20 September 2026, and is intended to prevent travellers from becoming stranded during disruption. Passengers will be allowed to continue their journey on a different operator at no additional cost. The measure was announced by the UK government on Monday, 14 September 2026.
Under the present system, passengers cannot always use their tickets on trains run by another company. Operators sometimes agree to accept each other’s tickets during major disruption, but travellers may have to wait for this permission to be confirmed. Some passengers instead buy an expensive replacement ticket before requesting a refund for the original journey. Others miss appointments or abandon their journeys while waiting for information at the station.
From this weekend, if your train is cancelled, you can get on another operator's service to carry on your journey without paying again.
— Jo Stevens (@JoStevensLabour) September 15, 2026
This covers @GWRHelp and @CrossCountryUK services from #CardiffCentral.
A common sense change that will keep more money in people's pockets. pic.twitter.com/MtKKsxLCZb
The new arrangement will apply to customers holding a valid ticket for a cancelled service. They will be able to take a participating operator’s train departing up to two hours before or after the cancelled service. The replacement journey must follow a direct or reasonable alternative route to the passenger’s destination. Travellers will only have to show their original ticket to customer support staff and will not need to download or obtain a replacement.
For example, a passenger booked on a cancelled 2:00 pm service could consider an eligible alternative departing between 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm. This does not mean that the ticket can be used on every train during that period. The alternative service must be operated by a company taking part in the scheme and follow an appropriate route. Passengers should therefore check departure information or speak to station staff before boarding.
Cross-operator ticket acceptance is already available across publicly owned operators. From Sunday, 20 September 2026, Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry and Great Western Railway will also participate, bringing several important intercity routes into the scheme. They join c2c, Gatwick Express, Greater Anglia, Great Northern, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, Southeastern, Southern, Thameslink, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Railway. East Midlands Railway is expected to join at a later date.
NEW TRAIN PASSENGER RIGHT — SAVE THIS
— Dean Dunham KC (@deandunham) September 14, 2026
From Sunday, if your train is CANCELLED you will be able to use another participating train operator to complete your journey WITHOUT PAYING AGAIN.
You can use an alternative service departing within:
⏰ 2 HOURS BEFORE
or
⏰ 2 HOURS…
“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,” said Rail Minister Lord Hendy. He said passengers should no longer have to pay again when their train is cancelled. Hendy connected the measure with the government’s wider plans to make the railway simpler and easier to use. The reform comes before the creation of Great British Railways, which will place most passenger services under stronger public control.
The new right is more limited than the general idea of switching freely between operators. It only applies following a cancellation and passengers must comply with the two-hour window and route conditions. It also covers the operators participating in the arrangement rather than every rail company. The scheme applies to operators serving the British rail network and should not be confused with services in Northern Ireland, which has a separate railway system.
Transport Focus, the independent passenger watchdog, welcomed the change after calling for a simpler response to cancellations. Chief executive Alex Robertson said disrupted passengers generally want to reach their destination instead of worrying about whether another company will accept their ticket. “The key now is making sure passengers get clear information about their options whenever disruption occurs,” said Transport Focus chief executive Alex Robertson. Information displayed at stations and in journey-planning services will be particularly important when several alternatives are available.
Using another operator and requesting compensation are separate parts of the passenger’s rights. The new measure allows a traveller to complete the journey without paying for another ticket, but it does not introduce new compensation rates. National Rail says passengers whose journeys are delayed or cancelled may be entitled to compensation or a full refund, depending on whether they travel and how late they arrive. Travellers should retain their original ticket and check the rules of the operator responsible for the disrupted journey.
The government is also investing £156 million (€182.3 million) in new ticketing systems. Pay-as-you-go travel is expected to become available at more than 100 additional stations across Greater Manchester, the Midlands and the south-east by 2027. A proposed digital system will use a mobile application and GPS data to record journeys before calculating the appropriate fare, removing the need to buy a ticket in advance or physically tap in and out. A Great British Railways website and app are also being developed to combine ticket sales, timetables and passenger support in one place.
