What can I do if my claim for a rail delay was denied?

Simon Calder answers your questions on railway claims, guided trips to Egypt, holiday insurance and more

It is straightforward to appeal against a denied delay repay decision on the London Northwestern website (London Northwestern Railway)

Q Can you advise about delay repay on the trains, please? Last Saturday morning I was due to travel between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly, changing at Crewe, on London Northwestern and Transport for Wales. An incident meant that the line north from Euston was blocked for some hours. I was notified that my train was cancelled and was told that I could use my ticket on Avanti West Coast. When trains started running again I caught a direct Avanti train.

I appreciate that I had a better journey – no waiting for the connection at Crewe – but I still arrived four hours late. My claim for delay repay has been denied. Will that be because I had my ticket scanned on Avanti West Coast?

Sophie D

A “Delay repay” is the rail industry’s compensation scheme that allows passengers who are heavily delayed to claim back the cost of their trip. On Saturday 17 January, I was trying to travel on the same line, in the opposite direction: from Manchester to London. Rail staff were doing their best to handle a difficult situation. But it was a chaotic day, exacerbated by a home derby between the two Manchester rivals, United and City. Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern did their best to help passengers by allowing them to travel with either company.

I infer you were able to wait until the trains were running again before heading for Euston. That made for a more comfortable journey. But the principle of delay repay is that if you reach your destination an hour or more behind schedule, you get your original fare back. It seems clear that you are due a full refund. The fact that you reached Manchester more quickly once the trains were running again is irrelevant.

On the ticket scan element: I don’t believe train operators’ systems are smart enough to extract journey information from other rail firms’ tickets. If I am wrong, the information gleaned will simply confirm how late you were. London Northwestern has a button on its delay repay web page labelled “Appeal a claim decision”. I suggest you do just that.

Best foot forward: the recently opened Grand Egyptian Museum (Getty)

Q We’re thinking of going to the Cairo area in October/November, mainly to see the Grand Egyptian Museum and the archeological sites. In 40 years, we've never been on a package tour. Can we book hotels and transport ourselves, and employ local guides where necessary?

Paul O’S

A That’s quite the record. Evidently putting trips together has worked well for you over the decades, and you must be excellent at travel logistics. Allow me, though, to try to persuade you that an organised trip is just what you need.

Egypt is full of wonders, and Cairo is one of the world’s most exciting cities. But it is also chaotic and confusing, and so much easier to enjoy with a little help from some on-the-ground friends. Last time I went there, I booked a tailor-made trip with Discover Egypt; other specialists are available. With decades of experience in tourism to Cairo and beyond, the firm has strong links with a ground operator who will look after clients – from meeting them at the airport, often as they exit the aircraft, to recommending areas and eateries worth exploring after dark.

The benefits go well beyond simple logistics: the well-trained and knowledgeable local guides will also help maximise your appreciation of the abundance of wonders in Cairo, and take you to rewarding locations that many tourists miss. Yes, it is more expensive – and if the trip has gone well, you really should tip generously. But in terms of the overall investment-reward ratio, I find paying for expert assistance worthwhile.

One more aspect to consider: tourism is a really important way to transfer wealth from richer countries to poorer nations, and a good way to do that is to employ a local or two to upgrade your experience.

If I have not persuaded you, at least let me recommend that you fly to the relatively newly opened airport of Giza. While it is, in fact, many miles from the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, the gateway is far more calm than Cairo’s hyperactive main airport.

It could be expensive to travel to Hong Kong without insurance (Getty/iStock)

Q I am going on a work assignment for eight weeks in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. After that, I want to visit friends in Hong Kong for five days. My problem is travel insurance. My organisation will cover the assignment. But I am no longer covered once I take off for Hong Kong rather than heading straight home. I thought it would be easy to buy an extra week’s insurance – but I’ve looked at various policies, and they all require me to start the trip in the UK. Can you help?

Name supplied

A How frustrating. Mainstream insurers in the UK generally only cover trips that start and end in the UK. They are wary of anything more complicated than a straightforward “there and back again” trip, because experience has taught them that non-standard itineraries could expose them to expensive claims. Yet your circumstances look perfectly reasonable: all you want is a short spell of insurance cover in a popular tourist destination after a work assignment.

Some people in your position might choose not to insure, and to hope for the best. But that could prove expensive. Hong Kong has no reciprocal healthcare agreement with the UK, so you would be expected to pay the going rate for any treatment. The Hong Kong Hospital Authority has just brought out its 2026 price list for “non-eligible persons” (which includes you, unless you by some miracle have residency). Treatment ranges from £200 for a visit to A&E to £4,000 for each day spent in intensive care. So travel insurance is a wise investment.

To find a suitable policy at a reasonable price, compare some quotes for “already abroad” insurance through specialist brokers – though be aware that some require the traveller to have left the UK no more than two weeks before the new cover begins. Try World Nomads, Worldwide and Big Cat. The premium is likely to be at least £100, compared with £20 or less for a trip starting and ending in the UK. It may be cheaper to buy an annual policy that covers long trips, so you would be “double insured” for most of your trip. But that would probably come down to whether the whole trip fits within the usual 60-day (sometimes 62-day) limit.

Virgin Atlantic currently has the lowest fares to Toronro (AFP via Getty)

Q I am planning a schoolfriend reunion for three people in Toronto in September. When would you look to buy flight tickets please?

Margaret

A Having checked a few dates in September for non-stop flights from London to Toronto, I would book right now – so long as your plans work with the super-low fares available on Virgin Atlantic. I am seeing return tickets for £376 from Heathrow on Sir Richard Branson’s airline. Virgin has only recently returned to the route. The low fares suggest the airline is having to undercut the established operators – Air Canada and British Airways – to fill seats. Both of the incumbents have multiple daily flights, too, allowing travellers to choose a range of departures, compared with Virgin Atlantic’s late-in-the-day flights both outbound and inbound: 5.45pm heading west to Toronto, 11.05pm coming back.

The fare is “Economy Light”, which is hand luggage only – but that should be just fine for a stay of a week or so. Virgin Atlantic allows a decent-sized roll-along case as well as a “personal item” such as a backpack. While there is some chance that fares could shrink even further closer to departure, I predict the opposite will happen – all because of President Trump. Many British and Canadian travellers have, to put it politely, taken exception to the current US administration.

They have no wish to spend time and money in a nation governed by someone so contemptuous of both the UK and Canada. And, consequently, we are visiting each others’ nations in larger numbers. As Canadians finalise their summer travel plans, you could find that they bid up fares in September when many of them are returning home.

The only other reason for holding off is just in case your plans or states of health change in the intervening eight months. But if you take out insurance at the same time as buying the flights, that will cover you in the unlikely event of falling ill.

Finally, I recommend you see what kinds of deals Virgin Atlantic is offering for a flight-plus-hotel combo. If you lock into a package holiday, you will have an extra layer of consumer protection.

Email your question to s@hols.tv or tweet @SimonCalder