Used Taxi to "Intercept" Train due to Delayed First Leg

[charlesisbozo]

I'm not sure if this belongs here or in the disputes forums. I'm looking for some advice about what if any reimbursement/compensation is due.

On Saturday 13th, I was travelling from Romsey to Oxford (departing 0951, arriving 1137, changing at Southampton Central). The GWR train from Romsey to Southampton Central was delayed by 10 minutes, which would have left insufficient time at Southampton to change. I therefore got an Uber to Southampton Airport Parkway to catch the XC train up to Oxford. The Southampton - Oxford train appears to be 3 minutes late leaving Southampton Central, such that it now appears that there would have been enough time to change.

I travelled on two tickets - an Anytime Day Return from Romsey to Basingstoke, and an Off-Peak Day Return from Basingstoke to Oxford, though I believe for the purposes of delay repay, this would have been considered to be one journey.

The Romsey - Southampton Central train was:

Realtime Trains | 0727 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour | 13/09/2025

Real-time train running information for 0727 departure from Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour on 13/09/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

The Southampton Central - Oxford train was:

Realtime Trains | 1015 Southampton Central to Manchester Piccadilly | 13/09/2025

Real-time train running information for 1015 departure from Southampton Central to Manchester Piccadilly on 13/09/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

1) Had I used the train to get into Southampton Central, would the fact that the second train was also delayed (possibly held to allow passengers to connect) mean no delay repay is due?
2) Would it be possible to claim the cost of the Uber to Southampton Airport Parkway as the Romsey - Southampton Central train was due into Southampton Central with insufficient time to connect, or was the "correct" procedure to wait for the delayed train and accept the risk of missing the connection?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Watershed]

1) Had I used the train to get into Southampton Central, would the fact that the second train was also delayed (possibly held to allow passengers to connect) mean no delay repay is due?

Yes, that's correct. Delay Repay is calculated based on your actual arrival time at your destination vs the scheduled arrival time. If the delay doesn't reach the relevant threshold (15 mins for GWR/SWR, 30 mins for XC) then there is no Delay Repay due.

2) Would it be possible to claim the cost of the Uber to Southampton Airport Parkway as the Romsey - Southampton Central train was due into Southampton Central with insufficient time to connect, or was the "correct" procedure to wait for the delayed train and accept the risk of missing the connection?

Since the XC serrvies are generally hourly I think it would be expected for you to wait for the next one if you miss the connection. It would be more reasonable to take a taxi where the delay would exceed an hour but you would really need an overnight delay for there to be any kind of legal entitlement to getting it reimbursed.

You can always contact GWR's customer relations to ask them to consider making a gesture of goodwill.