Some ticket refunds are changing from 1 April
What’s happening and when?
From 1 April 2026, refundable walk-up tickets (e.g. Anytime, Off-Peak, Super Off-Peak, Day Travelcard and most Rovers and Rangers) will only be refundable up to 23:59 the day before they become valid for travel.
This change is being made by National Rail and applies to all train operators and other ticket retailers.
Once refundable walk-up tickets become valid for travel, a refund will only be considered if:
- You didn’t travel because your train was disrupted or cancelled.
- There’s an exceptional reason you couldn’t travel.
These conditions are set out in Conditions 29 and 30 of the new National Rail Conditions of Travel.
Changing or refunding train tickets
If you’d like to change your ticket or want to get it refunded, the process you’ll need to follow depends on the type of ticket you have.
Did you know that if you get to your destination station 15 minutes or more later than scheduled because one of our trains was late or cancelled for any reason, you can apply for Delay Repay compensation?
My train was cancelled or delayed so I did not travel, can I get a refund?
You can get any ticket refunded if you decided not to travel because your train was cancelled or delayed.
Under the National Rail Conditions of Travel, if your train was cancelled or delayed and as a result you decided not to travel, you can claim a refund on unused tickets. You won’t be charged an admin fee.
To request a refund, please follow one of the options below, depending on your ticket type and where you brought your ticket.
Select an option below to find out more about ticket changes and refunds:
Anytime, Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak tickets
Advance tickets
Advance tickets can’t be refunded unless you decided not to travel because your train was cancelled or delayed.
If you need to change the day or time that you’re travelling, you can amend your ticket up to 18:00 the day before you travel, fee-free.
You can still make changes after 18.00 the day before you travel. Changes after this time will be subject to our terms and conditions regarding a change of journey and normal fees will apply. Changes can be made up to the departure of your first booked service.
The process you’ll need to follow depends on where you bought your ticket and which delivery option you selected:
I bought my ticket on the app or website
If you bought an Advance ticket on our app or website, there’s currently no fee for amending your journey under our Book with confidence scheme. However, you may have to pay extra if there’s a difference in price between your current ticket and the new ticket.
We’ve introduced self-service ticket exchange for Advance tickets on our app. You can now make changes to your booking up to 18.00 the day before you travel, without incurring a fee.
Step 1: Go to the ticket that you want to change in your wallet and select ‘change travel date or time’.
Step 2: Select a new date and/or time. Your origin, destination and route will remain the same. The exchange summary will indicate ‘New Order’, ‘Exchanging’. It will tell you if you need to pay because there’s a price difference.
The exchanged ticket will now be available in the app wallet. The original ticket will be removed.
For changes to Advance tickets after 18.00 the day before you travel, please phone Customer Relations on 03333 211 202 and select option 2. These will be subject to our terms and conditions regarding a change of journey and normal fees will apply. Changes can be made up to the departure of your first booked service.
Any changes made to Advance tickets after your first booked service has departed are invalid.
Refunds are only permitted on Advance tickets if your original service is delayed or cancelled, and you no longer wish to travel.
Mobile tickets or e-tickets
Phone Customer Relations on 03333 211 202 and select option 2.
Email your new TfW booking reference along with the booking reference of your journey to be refunded, your reason for changing your ticket, your name and the email you used to book to customer.relations@tfwrail.wales. We aim to respond within 10 working days, but at very busy periods it may take up to 20 working days.
Paper tickets
If you bought your tickets online and have collected them, you can:
Email your new TfW booking reference, a photograph of the tickets to be refunded cut in half, your reason for changing your ticket, your name and the email you used to book to customer.relations@tfwrail.wales. We aim to respond within 10 working days, but at very busy periods it may take up to 20 working days.
Post your new booking reference, your tickets to be refunded, your reason for changing your ticket, your name and the email you used to book to:
Freepost
TFW RAIL CUSTOMER RELATIONS
I bought my ticket at a station ticket machine or ticket office
For paper tickets, there’s currently no fee for amending a journey under our Book with confidence scheme. However, you may have to pay extra if there’s a difference in price between your current and new ticket.
Visit a ticket office
The quickest way to change your paper ticket is to take it to your nearest station ticket office.
I bought my ticket from another retailer
Paper tickets - please visit a ticket office
You can make changes to your ticket by taking it to your nearest station ticket office. You may be charged £5 to make a change.
Mobile tickets or e-tickets
To make changes to mobile or e-tickets, please contact the retailer you bought the tickets from.
I received a notification about my journey, click here for more information.
Anytime tickets, Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak tickets
From 1 April 2026, Anytime, Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak tickets will only be refundable up to 23.59 the day before they become valid for travel.
Anytime tickets, Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak tickets are changeable and refundable.
If you bought your tickets on our app or website, there’s no fee for amending your journey or cancelling your ticket.
For paper tickets, changes are free under our Book with confidence scheme. However you may be charged £5 for refunds.
Ticket changes
To change your ticket, first buy a new ticket for your new travel dates and follow the process below to get your original ticket refunded.
The date can be changed on walk-up tickets up to departure if you bought them on or before 31 March 2026. From 1 April, date changes can only be made up to 23:59 the day before the ticket becomes valid for travel. There’s no fee for this.
Changes to the route, class, origin or destination on walk-up tickets can continue to be made up to departure. You’ll be charged for any difference in price between your old and new ticket.
Requesting a refund:
Walk-up tickets bought on or before 31 March 2026 can be refunded for any reason. Please apply for the refund no later than 28 days after the ticket expires. From 1 April, they’ll only be refundable up to 23:59 the day before they become valid for travel.
To request a refund, the process you’ll need to follow depends on where you bought your ticket and which delivery option you selected:
I bought my ticket on the app or website
Mobile tickets or e-tickets
Please phone Customer Relations on 03333 211 202 and select option 2.
Email your new TfW booking reference along with the booking reference of your journey to be refunded, your reason for changing your ticket, your name and the email you used to book to customer.relations@tfwrail.wales.
Please do this before 23:59 the day before the original ticket becomes valid for travel. Refund requests submitted on or after the day of travel will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. We aim to respond within 10 working days, but during busy periods this may take up to 20 working days.
If you’ve made a booking error, please contact us immediately so we can amend this for you.
If you bought your walk-up ticket early and no longer wish to travel, please submit a refund request no later than 23:59 the day before it becomes valid for travel.
Refund requests submitted after this will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. Please send us the unused ticket no later than 28 days after it expires.
Paper tickets
If you bought your tickets online and have collected them you can:
Post your original tickets, your new TfW booking reference (ticket changes only), your reason for requesting a refund, your name and the email you used to book to:
Freepost
TFW RAIL CUSTOMER RELATIONS
Alternatively, email a photograph of the tickets to be refunded cut in half, your new TfW booking reference (ticket changes only), your reason for requesting a refund, your name and the email you used to book to customer.relations@tfwrail.wales.
In both instances you must do this before 23.59 the day before the original ticket becomes valid for travel. Refund requests submitted after this will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. Please send us the unused ticket no later than 28 days after it expires. The same conditions apply to uncollected tickets.
We aim to respond within 10 working days, but during busy periods it may take up to 20 working days.
I bought my ticket at a station ticket machine or ticket office
Visit a ticket office - changes and refunds
The quickest way to refund or change your paper ticket is to take it to your nearest station ticket office. The date can be amended on walk-up tickets up to departure if they were bought on or before 31 March 2026. From 1 April, date changes can only be made up until 23.59 the day before the ticket becomes valid for travel. There’s no fee for this.
Changes to route, class, origin or destination on walk-up tickets can continue to be made up to departure. You’ll be charged any price difference between your old and new ticket.
From 1 April 2026, refundable walk-up ticket types will only be refundable at a ticket office up to the day before they become valid for travel. After this, a refund will only be considered if:
- You didn’t travel because your service was disrupted or cancelled.
- You couldn’t travel because of exceptional circumstances. You may be asked to provide evidence for this.
By post - refunds only
Please post your tickets as soon as you know you won’t be travelling. If we receive them after they’ve become valid for travel, we may not be able to provide a refund.
Please post them to:
Freepost
TFW RAIL CUSTOMER RELATIONS
I bought my ticket from another retailer
Paper tickets - Visit a ticket office
You can still make changes by taking your paper ticket to your nearest station ticket office. The date can be amended on walk-up tickets up to departure if you bought them on or before 31 March 2026. From 1 April, date changes can only be made before 23:59 the day before the ticket becomes valid for travel. There’s no fee for this.
Changes to route, class, origin or destination on walk-up tickets can continue to be made up to departure. You’ll be charged for any difference in price between your old and new ticket.
Mobile tickets or e-tickets
To make changes to mobile or e-tickets please, please visit the retailer you bought them from no later than the day before they become valid for travel.
Book with confidence
Our book with confidence scheme allows you to make changes to all types of tickets, including Advance tickets, bought online or at a station, without any fee.
See full details
You’re able to continue to re-book your Advance ticket within our twelve-week booking horizon.
These terms and conditions apply if you bought your ticket with TfW:
- Fee-free change of journey - you’ll need to pay any fare difference and changes must be made by 18:00 the day before travel; original origin and destination stations must remain the same, but you can change the date and time to travel on another service or day.
- Changes to Advance tickets after this time will be subject to the normal terms and conditions regarding changing your journey; changes are permitted up to the departure of the first booked service, but normal fees will apply and any changes made to Advance tickets after the first booked service has departed are invalid.
- Refund policies are unaffected by this change. This change permits Advance tickets to be exchanged for a different journey. Refunds are only permitted on Advance tickets if the original service is delayed or cancelled and you no longer want to travel.
- You can continue to change non-Advance tickets to travel at another time without paying a fee.
Family tickets
Yes. Family tickets are refundable. If you decide not to use your ticket or the number of booked travellers changes, you can get a full refund. You’ll need to do this by 23:59 the day before it becomes valid by:
- taking paper tickets bought with us to a TfW ticket office
- emailing e-tickets bought on our app or website, or a scan or photo of a paper ticket to customer.relations@tfwrail.wales
- returning tickets bought with another retailer to the place of purchase
Please do this within 28 days of your ticket expiring. You’ll need to buy a new ticket for the correct number of travellers. You may need to pay an administration fee (up to a maximum of £5 per ticket).
You’ll need to buy a new ticket for the correct number of travellers. You may need to pay an administration fee (up to a maximum of £5 per ticket).
Once Family tickets have become valid for travel, a refund will only be considered if:
- You did not travel because your service was disrupted or cancelled.
- There were exceptional circumstances that prevented you travelling. You may be asked to provide evidence for this.
Unfortunately, we cannot refund Family tickets if they’ve been used but not everyone travelled.
First Class tickets
If you’ve purchased a First Class ticket for one of our First Class train services and (for any reason) that service was not provided, you can claim a refund.
You’ll be entitled to a refund of the difference between the First Class and Standard Class fare.
Requesting a refund:
Please keep your ticket to claim your partial refund within 28 days of your travel date.
Please provide your journey details, including your date of travel and where you travelled to and from.
To request a refund, the process you’ll need to follow depends on where you bought your ticket and which delivery option you selected:
I bought my ticket on the app or website
Mobile tickets or e-tickets
Email your booking reference of your journey to be refunded, your reason for requesting a refund, your name and the email you used to book to customer.relations@tfwrail.wales. We aim to respond within 10 working days, but at very busy periods it may take up to 20 working days.
Paper tickets
If you bought your tickets online and have collected them you can:
Email a photograph of the tickets to be refunded cut in half, your reason for requesting a refund, your name and the email you used to book to customer.relations@tfwrail.wales. We aim to respond within 10 working days, but at very busy periods it may take up to 20 working days.
Post your original tickets, your reason for requesting a refund, your name and the email you used to book to:
Freepost
TFW RAIL CUSTOMER RELATIONS
I bought my ticket at a station ticket machine or ticket office
By email
Please email a photograph of the tickets to be refunded cut in half, your name and your reason for requesting a refund to customer.relations@tfwrail.wales. We aim to respond within 10 working days, but at very busy periods it may take up to 20 working days.
By post
Post your ticket, your reason for requesting a refund along with your name and address to:
Freepost
TFW RAIL CUSTOMER RELATIONS
Season tickets
- Season tickets can be refunded at any time. We’ll calculate how much based on the value left on your ticket.
- Any refund is calculated from the date the Season ticket is returned to us or the date we cancelled the Season ticket for further use.
- We do this by deducting the value of any other tickets you could have travelled with in the same time until you stopped using your Season ticket.
- We can usually give you a refund if there’s:
- Seven days (or more) left on your Season ticket valid between one and ten months.
- Three days (or more) left on your weekly Season ticket.
- For an annual Season ticket, there may not be any value left on it if it’s surrendered in the last couple of months of validity. Annual Season tickets have no refund value after 10 months and 12 days, although they are still valid for travel until the expiry date and you can continue to enjoy any Gold Card benefits along with it.
- Our normal Season ticket refund policy will continue to apply although the £5 admin charges have been removed from online bookings.
- You must request a refund no more than 28 days after the expiry of your ticket.
How to make changes or request a refund:
You can make changes depending on where you bought your ticket and which delivery option you selected:
I bought my ticket online or with the app
Smartcard
Please send an email to customer.relations@tfwrail.wales and tell us:
- Your Smartcard number.
- Name and email address used on your web account.
- The journey shown on your Season ticket.
- Your last date of travel.
Phone Customer Relations on 03333 211 202 and select option 2.
Paper tickets
If you’ve already collected your tickets, please post it with your name, address and details of the last date of travel to:
Freepost
TFW RAIL CUSTOMER RELATIONS
I bought my ticket at a station ticket machine or ticket office
Paper tickets
Please pop into one of our ticket offices or
Post your ticket with your name, address and details of the last date of travel to:
Freepost
TFW RAIL CUSTOMER RELATIONS
Smartcard
Send an e-mail to customer.relations@tfwrail.wales and tell us:
- Your name and full postal address.
- The name and number on your smartcard.
- The journey for which your ticket is valid.
- Your last date of travel.
Corporate travel
If you've bought a ticket and choose not to travel, you can apply for a refund from the retailer or train company you purchased it from, unless the terms and conditions of your ticket (Advance tickets for instance) indicate its non-refundable.
From 1 April 2026, refundable walk-up tickets (e.g. Anytime, Off-Peak, Super Off-Peak, Day Travelcard and most Rovers and Rangers) will only be refundable up to 23:59 the day before they become valid for travel. After this, a refund will only be considered if:
- You didn’t travel because your train was disrupted or cancelled.
- There’s an exceptional reason you couldn’t travel. You may be asked to provide evidence to support this.
If you booked your ticket through our Travel Management Services, please contact them at tms@tfwrail.wales. Please don't cut up your corporate season ticket.
National Rail travel vouchers
National Rail travel vouchers can be redeemed against the cost of train tickets at our ticket offices.
Railcards
All railcards are non-refundable.
I bought my ticket from a Payzone retailer and want a refund.
If you buy your ticket from a Payzone retailer before your travel date, you can claim a refund by returning your ticket to the retailer by the day before you travel. A £5 fee will apply. You won’t receive a refund if your ticket cost less than £5.
Once your ticket has become valid for travel, a refund will only be considered if:
• You did not travel because your service was disrupted or cancelled.
• There were exceptional circumstances that prevented you travelling.
You’ll only be able to refund tickets purchased from a Payzone retailer at a participating Payzone store. You won’t be able to get a refund on your tickets at our railway stations or from our Customer Relations team.
