Train ticket refunds

Advance tickets aren’t refundable if you decide to change your plans, but a change of journey may be made. Find out more.

In circumstances where due to a cancelled, delayed or rescheduled train you choose not to travel a full refund, without administration fee will be given.

Customers holding these tickets may change their journey to travel at a different time. The difference in fare will need to be paid.

You must apply for a refund within 28 days of the ticket's expiry date. No admin fees are charged if you submit your ticket for a refund before the first date of validity.

Refunds aren't generally allowed unless the tickets are returned before the first date of validity shown on them.

It is not possible to pause and restart your season ticket. If you are not going to be using your season ticket for some time, you should request a refund.

To qualify for a refund, you must meet the following criteria:

• Weekly - there must be at least 3 days remaining on your season ticket
• Monthly and monthly plus - there must be at least 7 days remaining on your season ticket
• Annual - there must be 7 weeks or more left on your season ticket

Season tickets are discounted, and the refund is not a fixed proportion of what you paid. Where a significant proportion of the ticket has already been used there may not be any refund value.

• Flexi Seasons typically have no refund value after 7 days use
• Weekly seasons have no refund value after 4 days use
• Monthly seasons have no refund value after 3 weeks and 4 days
• Annual seasons have no refund value after 10 months and 12 days use

The exact amount you receive may vary depending on the final validation of the refund application. In some cases there may not be any refund value left on the season ticket.

Refunds are calculated from the date you return the season ticket. If you’ve been ill, we can backdate the refund if you provide written evidence and have not started using the season ticket again. We won’t give you a refund or extend your season ticket just because you don’t use it for a period of time, for example because you’ve been on holiday.

To calculate the refund value we’ll work out the total cost of the tickets you’d have needed to buy to make one return journey a day up to the date you returned your season ticket. The refund will be the difference, if any, between this total cost and the price you paid for the season ticket, less an administration fee of £5. This also applies to season tickets with PlusBus and London Travelcards added on.

To claim a refund on a season ticket you’ll need to apply from where you bought it.

Use delay repay to claim where due severe disruption you were unable to travel.

If you want a refund for a duplicate season ticket we issued to replace one that was lost or stolen you’ll need to contact our Customer Service Centre. We will normally give a refund for a replacement season ticket where any of the following applies:

1. The original season ticket is returned within 1 month of the date you told us it was lost
2. The original and replacement tickets were on smartcard and it was possible to cancel the original ticket
3. You were made redundant, resigned, retired, changed your job or address, became pregnant or suffered prolonged illness, and you provide satisfactory evidence of this

We’ll also consider a refund on a replacement season ticket in other circumstances, but we may ask you to attend a meeting with us to confirm the reason for your refund.

All train companies have agreed a Code of Practice for such meetings, which can be found in the National Rail Conditions of Travel (appendix C).

If we agree to a refund, we’ll calculate the amount in the same way as for ordinary season tickets.

If you’ve applied for a replacement season ticket and had to buy tickets to travel while waiting for it to arrive, we’ll give you a full refund on the extra tickets you’ve bought. This applies only to tickets for the same journey as on your season ticket.

You can initiate a refund from your online account. Alternatively, contact our Customer Services on 0345 6000 650 or smartcards@swrailway.com who will arrange the refund.

You will also need to cancel the automatic payment set up in ‘My Account’ unless you want to resume travelling with the same journey the following month.

We are unable to extend the use by date.

A refund of unused tickets is available and must be requested before the expiry date.

Refunds are based on the full cost of the journeys completed less the cost of the ticket. The refund will be the difference less an administration fee of £5.

Flexi Season tickets are discounted, and the refund is not a fixed proportion of what you paid. Where a significant proportion of the ticket has already been used there may not be any refund value.

To claim a refund on a Flexi Season ticket you’ll need to apply to where you bought it from. 

Use delay repay to claim where due severe disruption you were unable to travel.

It is not possible to pause and restart your season ticket. If you are not going to be using your car park season ticket for some time, you should request a refund from where it was bought.

Car park season refunds are calculated on the cost of the period parked less the cost of the ticket. The refund will be the difference less an administration fee of £5, if you are claiming a refund of a rail ticket at the same time only one fee will be charged.

Car park season tickets are discounted and where a significant proportion of the ticket has already been used there may not be any refund value.

If you forget your season ticket and have to buy another ticket to travel, we’ll refund the cost of the extra ticket.

You will need to keep the extra ticket when you request the refund, as well as show your valid season ticket and photocard. Our ticket office will give you a refund immediately, if it can. We’ll give no more than two refunds in any 12-month period:

• First occasion: we’ll give you a full refund
• Second occasion: we’ll give you a full refund, less a £5 administration charge
• Third or later occasion: no refund will be given

If you forget your Railcard and have to pay the full fare or buy another ticket, we’ll refund the extra cost if you meet the conditions listed below. If you received a Penalty Fare or Unpaid Fare Notice for failing to show your Railcard, you can ask us to cancel it. We’ll give no more than one refund in any 12-month period.

• You must claim a refund within 28 days of the expiry date on your ticket
• You’ll need to upload a photo or scan of your Railcard and photocard, plus another form of ID that shows your full name
• Your Railcard must be valid for the day and time of travel
• You’ll need to send us the original tickets, not photocopies
• Unpaid Fare Notice please contact prosecutions@swrailway.com

You can request a refund by logging into your online account.

If you have multiple tickets to refund, please ensure you select all tickets to be refunded.

Use the refund form below if you are applying for a refund or the following reasons:

• Advance tickets due to a cancelled, delayed or rescheduled train. Please add to the additional comments section; Journey affected by service disruption or cancellation
• The original ticket was less than £5

You can also change the date and time of travel by logging into your account and clicking ‘initiate change’. Customer Services can also assist with this.

Alternatively if you visit one of our ticket offices, they will be able to complete the change of journey process for you.

For further information about requesting a refund through your online account please click here.

If you bought your tickets at a South Western Railway ticket office or ticket machine, you can return your tickets to any South Western Railway ticket office where they will arrange your refund. This includes tickets for journeys not on the South Western Railway network but sold at one of our stations.

You can also claim online using the form below.

(Also see ticket machine price guarantee below)

You’ll need to claim a refund from them, including tickets sold for journeys on the South Western Railway network.

You will need to claim a refund from Transport for London if you bought a ticket from London Underground, London Overground or Docklands Light Railway, or through their Oyster website.

In the unlikely event that you buy a ticket from one of our self-service machines, and then find a cheaper one for the identical journey, you could be entitled to a refund for the difference.

Please use the form below to make a claim.

This applies to all refund applications where a paper ticket has been printed, including season tickets.

• You will need to cut the paper ticket in half
• Scan or photograph the ticket (cut in half) and uploaded as an image. We must be able to see the complete ticket in the upload
• If you are requesting a refund on your season ticket, please confirm the date you last used your ticket in the ‘additional comments’
• You will not need to upload any tickets not yet collected

Please include the ticket reference number in the additional comments section on the online refund form and we will be able to cancel your booking.

Please include your unique smartcard number as shown on the bottom of the card in the additional comments section.

Please include the AO ticket reference number below the barcode in the additional comments section on the online refund form.

Upload a screenshot or clear photograph of the eTicket and we will be able to cancel your booking.