Advance tickets affected by COVID restrictions in England
Changes following Government announcement on 4 January
Advance tickets purchased before the announcement on 4 January: The date and time of travel may be without paying a fee or a refund in rail vouchers only claimed instead.
Advance tickets purchased after the announcement: Will not be eligible for a fee free change of journey fee or refund in rail vouchers. A change of journey may be made, however normal rules and fees will apply.
Changes to Advance tickets must be made before the first booked service in all circumstances, and any changes made to Advance tickets after that service has departed are invalid.
Vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash. If you have booked to travel after 2 January 2021, normal rules will apply.
Please be aware of the following:
- Changes to Advance tickets must be made before the train you originally booked to travel on is due to depart
- You’ll be required to pay any difference in fare if changing your journey
- Flexible tickets such as Off-Peak and Anytime can already be rebooked to another date without an admin fee
There are some slight differences in how we will handle your request if you purchased online. Please review the table below:
| How you received your ticket |
Change the date and time of travel |
Request a voucher |
| Collect from station – tickets not yet collected |
You can 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. |
A voucher may be requested by completing the online form. You must provide the booking reference number and state ‘COVID restrictions’ refund. |
| Collect from station – ticket collected or postal delivery |
You can only change the date and time of travel by visiting one of our ticket offices. |
A voucher may be requested by completing the online form. You must provide the booking reference number and state ‘COVID restrictions’ refund as well as uploading an image of your ticket(s) cut in half. |
| eTicket (barcode) |
You can only change the date and time of travel by visiting one of our ticket offices. |
A voucher may be requested by completing the online form. You must provide the booking reference number and the eTicket UTN which can be found underneath the barcode. You must also state ‘COVID restrictions’ refund. |
In the event that you have an Advance ticket for travel and your intended train is no longer running, you will be allowed to travel on a comparable service on that day, including connecting services with other train companies as shown in your itinerary. You will not be able to use your Advance ticket on alternative routes operated by a different train company. However, if you choose not to travel, you can claim a full cash refund (with no administration fee).
