Railcards users to face additional checks when buying tickets

[Belperpete]

I have seen this referred to in a BBC article, titled Train delay repay rule changes to make claims easier

Train travellers who buy discounted tickets using railcards will face additional checks, as part of a trial to crack down on ticketing fraud starting in April.

In future, railcard users will have to complete what is described as a "simple verification step", whether they buy their ticket online, at a machine or in a ticket office.

Once verified, passengers will automatically see the correct discount they are entitled to. Trials are due to begin later this year, on the Greater Anglia and C2C networks.

The government says the new scheme will help passengers feel confident they were purchasing valid tickets, as well as preventing fraudulent use.

As this is supposedly due to start in April, and we are now mid-March, presumably details must have been sorted out by now? However, it then goes on to say that trials are due to begin "later this year". Okay, I know that strictly speaking tomorrow counts as "later this year", but it does suggest that it is more than just a few weeks away.

It says that trials are due to begin "on the Greater Anglia and C2C networks". Does that mean anyone buying a ticket for a journey that starts or ends on the GA/C2C network will be affected? Regardless of vendor? Anyone who buys a ticket somewhere on the GA/C2C network, even if the journey is elsewhere?

More importantly, does anyone have any idea what this "simple verification step" will entail? Particularly when buying a ticket at a machine.

How will it affect people who are buying their tickets in advance, who haven't yet bought their railcard? If you are buying tickets say three months in advance, but don't intend to travel before then, it would be a waste to buy a railcard that you are not going to use for three months. Or you may not be entitled to buy the railcard at the time you buy the tickets.

How will it affect people whose railcard will become due for renewal between buying the ticket and date of travel? Or who are buying tickets on behalf of someone else?

Edit to say:
I have found very similar wording on various other news sites, suggesting that the wording has been lifted more or less word-for-word from a press release, presumably from RDG or DfT or somesuch. However, I found this slightly more helpful wording on https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/new...checks-railcard-passengers-coming-april-2026/

From the second half of 2026, passengers buying discounted tickets from machines will need to:

• Scan their railcard or
• Enter railcard details, such as the number and their name

Those purchasing via a website or app with a registered account will only need to input this information once, allowing automatic validation for future purchases.

How exactly am I going to scan my three-year plastic railcard at a TVM - it doesn't appear to have either a mag stripe or a chip? Likewise if you have a digital railcard stored on your phone? Having to manually type in my railcard number and my name for every ticket does not sound a quick process.

And having automatic validation for future web-site and app purchases sounds like a recipe for trouble.


The bit that the headline is referring to, is allowing people to claim delay repay from the ticket vendor:
A separate scheme will also make it easier for passengers who buy their tickets from third-party retailers such as Trainline to claim compensation for late or cancelled services under the Delay Repay scheme.

This plan is expected to come into force when the new national rail operator Great British Railways is up and running.
Currently, all compensation claims have to be made directly with the train operator responsible for each service. According to the DfT says this "creates confusion and frustration".
In future, passengers will be able to request money back directly from whoever sold them their ticket, bringing third party retailers such as Trainline into the scheme.

Edit: the Herald article also goes on to say:

Under GBR, compensation systems across 14 different operators will be merged to make claiming refunds quicker, simpler, and less confusing.

What passengers need to do ahead of the changes​

Passengers can prepare by:

1. Knowing their start date – if your turnover is above £50,000, ticket validation begins in mid-2026.
2. Choosing recognised software or apps – including free and paid options, with bridging software for those who still prefer spreadsheets.
3. Signing up early – don’t wait until the last minute to ensure smooth travel and refund claims.

Eh??

 

[grinderx]

It was probably written by an ai.

It takes ages to change software in the rail industry and there are so many different formats of railcard out there. I personally have my doubts this is more than a popup message.

Frankly I'm amazed that they haven't scrapped railcards yet anyway.

 

[Kite159]

I wouldn't be surprised if all it will be is a tick box along the lines of 'i confirm I have a valid Railcard'.

As for delay repay, I agree with whoever suggested everything should be claimed via a 3rd party for all the operators rather than putting additional burdens onto the ticket sellers

 

[Benjwri]

Edit: the Herald article also goes on to say:
Eh??

Looks like somehow whatever AI wrote it has got confused with Making Tax Digital in some way.

 

[saismee]

I saw this too but certainly haven't heard anything internal. I am curious how this would be "rolled out" as I'm sure it would take ages to update all the TVMs across the network, not to mention all the different retailers.

Signing up early – don’t wait until the last minute to ensure smooth travel and refund claims.

Signing up for early access is as easy as moving to East Anglia! It's like they don't even try to hide the use of AI anymore.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Spain's equivalent to our Senior Railcard, the Tarjeta Dorada, requires you to enter the railcard number into the online ticket purchase process.
Otherwise you do not get the discount applied.
It also means you have to physically have the railcard before making bookings, as you can't buy discounted tickets without quoting the number.

I have a digital senior railcard. Presumably I will just have to register that with the GBR retail system to buy discounted tickets in the new system.
It looks like being a year or two before rollout of the new system, though, with a trial first on GA/C2C.

 

[AllWork]

Will this new delay repay scheme mean you can’t claim from the operator? It’s pretty common for people travelling for work to claim the delay directly when the ticket has been bought via a central booking engine by their company (for obvious reasons).

 

[talldave]

It's hilarious that the rail industry thinks it's worthwhile issuing a press release to announce an outbreak of common sense! Proving entitlement to a discount in order to claim it?? What will they think of next.

Can we set up a single thread on here to keep all the inevitable corner case whinging in one place?!!

 

[island]

Will this new delay repay scheme mean you can’t claim from the operator? It’s pretty common for people travelling for work to claim the delay directly when the ticket has been bought via a central booking engine by their company (for obvious reasons).

It seems that way.

 

[yorksrob]

I already show my railcard to the person in the ticket office, so I'm not sure what additional verification they will be able to do.

 

[gazthomas]

You only have to see all the requests for help on this forum from people who have purchased tickets without a valid Railcards (fraudulently or otherwise) to know this is long, long, long overdue

 

[WesternLancer]

Presumably this site’s ticket buying facility will have to engage with both of these things being announced so people responsible for that will soon get guidance on what to do about that eg the railcard verification process ticket buyers will go through.

Ref retailers having to pay delay repay that could increase retailers costs especially if they have to handle appeals when automated claim systems can’t cope with claims. That could be disproportionately onerous for smaller scale retailers.

 

[AllWork]

It seems that way.

I’m sorry to say that the result will be fewer business miles by train. At the moment the person inconvenienced is compensated. In this model the company will be, people won’t bother to claim as often and will be more annoyed at their wasted time.

 

[mmh]

I bought a bunch of railcard discounted tickets last year when I didn't have a railcard - I bought the tickets months in advance so didn't bother buying a railcard until the day before travelling, rather than waste nearly 3 months validity.

Will "advance railcards" be available online? Would any checking system (if one actually materialises - it feels unlikely to me) accept a railcard that isn't yet valid?

Railway ticketing is a complete shambles and as we all know attempts to "simplify" it or make it "fairer" are inevitably a shambles on top of the shambles and have the opposite effect.

 

[NeakPed]

I’m sorry to say that the result will be fewer business miles by train. At the moment the person inconvenienced is compensated. In this model the company will be, people won’t bother to claim as often and will be more annoyed at their wasted time.

That is not really an issue for the rail industry. They are still paying delay repay when you are delayed.

It is something business travellers will need to agree with their boss/company.

 

[WesternLancer]

I’m sorry to say that the result will be fewer business miles by train. At the moment the person inconvenienced is compensated. In this model the company will be, people won’t bother to claim as often and will be more annoyed at their wasted time.

Yes. If it was an extra task to carry out in ones work time and yourvemployer got the result of that, dedicating the time to claim the sum would probably not be a high work priority compared with other tasks that needed to be done.

I doubt I’d start to drive instead however. For most people I suspect mode used is just determined by convenience.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

This all sounds very well-informed. For those of us less in the loop, please can you point us to the source so that we can catch up?

Also just to comment that what appears to be being proposed is something that a lot of posters have been asking for for a long time. We may be about to find out quite what the phrase 'be careful what you wish for' means in reality.

 

[yorkie]

I bought a bunch of railcard discounted tickets last year when I didn't have a railcard - I bought the tickets months in advance so didn't bother buying a railcard until the day before travelling, rather than waste nearly 3 months validity.

Will "advance railcards" be available online? Would any checking system (if one actually materialises - it feels unlikely to me) accept a railcard that isn't yet valid?

RDG probably won't care about such matters, sadly.

Railway ticketing is a complete shambles and as we all know attempts to "simplify" it or make it "fairer" are inevitably a shambles on top of the shambles and have the opposite effect.

Absolutely spot on.

This all sounds very well-informed. For those of us less in the loop, please can you point us to the source so that we can catch up?

People who work in the industry are best not pointing to any internal sources if it may cause them to get into trouble.

Also just to comment that what appears to be being proposed is something that a lot of posters have been asking for for a long time. We may be about to find out quite what the phrase 'be careful what you wish for' means in reality.

Yes, some people who ask for change do not understand how the systems work in reality, and the part I highlighted in bold is very true.

 

[edwin_m]

For online bookings in advance when no railcard is held that is valid at the time of travel, they could prevent download until the railcard was confirmed.

 

[WesternLancer]

Yes. I wonder if the buying tickets in advance before it’s necessary to buy the railcard will be considered an edge case and filed in the too difficult pile, and quietly removed from something you will be able to do.

I wonder how easy it was to do that in pre internet days ref BR APEX tickets? Would ticket office staff happily sell you one on the verbal assurance you would purchase a railcard to commence on or before the date of travel if you didn’t have one when booking the APEX ticket?

Booking office staff wouldn’t normally sell you any railcard discounted tickets without seeing the actual railcard.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

The bit that the headline is referring to, is allowing people to claim delay repay from the ticket vendor:

I guess no more Northern complementary tickets then.

 

[mmh]

For online bookings in advance when no railcard is held that is valid at the time of travel, they could prevent download until the railcard was confirmed.

There's absolutely no chance they'll come up with a process or system sophisticated enough to handle that. This is the railway!

 

[mmh]

Yes. I wonder if the buying tickets in advance before it’s necessary to buy the railcard will be considered an edge case and filed in the too difficult pile, and quietly removed from something you will be able to do.

I wonder how easy it was to do that in pre internet days ref BR APEX tickets? Would ticket office staff happily sell you one on the verbal assurance you would purchase a railcard to commence on or before the date of travel if you didn’t have one when booking the APEX ticket?

Booking office staff wouldn’t normally sell you any railcard discounted tickets without seeing the actual railcard.

I would imagine in those days they'd have sold you a post-dated railcard with your tickets.

 

[WesternLancer]

I already show my railcard to the person in the ticket office, so I'm not sure what additional verification they will be able to do.

Yes. Presumably that validation method will be unchanged. But who knows.

Validation at ticket machines could seriously result in slow purchase processes and lengthy queues whilst people do it.

But for on line purchasing I assume retailers will come up with a more robust method of storing your railcard on your purchase log in in a way that doesn’t automatically retain it after expiry date - in the way see lots of cases of, or so people claim, on the disputes section of the forum.

 

[AlterEgo]

I would imagine in those days they'd have sold you a post-dated railcard with your tickets.

This is something which ought to be permitted now, in my view. Or, have some grace period at the end of the railcard expiry, or extend the usual validity for an extra couple months to compensate, etc.

 

[WesternLancer]

I would imagine in those days they'd have sold you a post-dated railcard with your tickets.

I am not sure they would have done but interesting to know. I can’t recall doing it myself but APEX tickets rarely booked by me I don’t think.

There would no doubt have been a rule about it, surely.
Former ticket office staff on the forum may be able to clarify.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I’m a bit confused by how the new buying process will improve things for purchases of advanced where the travel date is after the expiry of the railcard.

Yes, you can prove you have a railcard at point of purchase and it was in date. But by the date of travel it isn’t, so what does that do to improve the situation for the vast majority of the people we see here getting in trouble for railcards a week out of date when they travel?

Will it become an issue that where the railcard is renewed between purchase and travel that the railcard number on the ticket is different to the number on the railcard carried?

 

[Egg Centric]

That is not really an issue for the rail industry. They are still paying delay repay when you are delayed.

It is something business travellers will need to agree with their boss/company.

There's nothing to agree imo. It's clear that it's compensation for the traveller. It's true that many companies may not understand this until it's pointed out but the companies that provide the infrastructure for corporate bookings should understand. I book my own train tickets on principle but I use my employers travel thingy (Altour with a Atriis front end) for hotels and flights and it lets you input frequent flyer numbers and hotel loyalty scheme numbers as well as crucially payment details. I would expect in this new world it should by default be set to do delay repayment to the latter.

Or am I being naive!

 

[WesternLancer]

There's nothing to agree imo. It's clear that it's compensation for the traveller. It's true that many companies may not understand this until it's pointed out but the companies that provide the infrastructure for corporate bookings should understand. I book my own train tickets on principle but I use my employers travel thingy (Altour with a Atriis front end) for hotels and flights and it lets you input frequent flyer numbers and hotel loyalty scheme numbers as well as crucially payment details. I would expect in this new world it should by default be set to do delay repayment to the latter.

Or am I being naive!

Gets muddled when you are paid on a time sheet for working hours if your employer accepts time to get to meetings or event the employer has requested you to attend is in work paid time. So if delayed coming back to base then employer is losing out, but doesn’t get the delay repay compensation as the employee currently gets it.

I can see HR teams seeing this as a way to prevent that scenario continuing.

 

[NeakPed]

I would imagine in those days they'd have sold you a post-dated railcard with your tickets.

As a former booking clerk, way way back in BR days, railcards were not issued pre-dated. They were issued to start on the day of sale/issue.
I think, but may be wrong, that there was something like a 3 (or maybe 7) day leeway for (continuation) renewals.