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Train Travel Payment Practices Report 2024

19 October 2025•By Alastair Campbell, Founder•Reports

UK Train Sector Outpaces National Payment Average, But Wide Disparities Persist

The Numbers

  • Companies Analysed: 9
  • Average PaymentCheck Score: 62.5/100
  • UK Average (all sectors): 50.0/100
  • Train Sector Average Above UK Average: 12.5 points
  • Highest PaymentCheck Score: 84.4/100 (Merseyrail Electrics 2002 Limited)
  • Lowest PaymentCheck Score: 34.9/100 (Hitachi Rail Limited)
  • Regional average payment score varies by nearly 36 points.

What Stands Out

While the UK train travel sector's average payment score of 62.5/100 beats the national average of 50, a significant disparity exists, with some companies lagging far behind. The difference between the top payer (Merseyrail at 84.4) and the bottom payer (Hitachi Rail at 34.9) is nearly 50 points, suggesting wildly different approaches to supplier payments within the industry.

Best Payers

  1. MERSEYRAIL ELECTRICS 2002 LIMITED - 84.4/100
  2. EUROSTAR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED - 84.2/100
  3. TRANSPORT UK EAST ANGLIA LIMITED - 77.6/100
  4. XC TRAINS LIMITED - 73.9/100
  5. GRAND CENTRAL RAILWAY COMPANY LIMITED - 61.75/100

Worst Payers

  1. HITACHI RAIL LIMITED - 34.9/100
  2. SIEMENS MOBILITY LIMITED - 44.07/100
  3. UNIPART RAIL LIMITED - 49.1/100
  4. THE CHILTERN RAILWAY COMPANY LIMITED - 52.65/100
  5. GRAND CENTRAL RAILWAY COMPANY LIMITED - 61.75/100

Regional Patterns

The North West, solely represented by Merseyrail Electrics 2002 Limited, has the highest average payment score at 84.4, contrasting sharply with the South East's average of 49.1, suggesting payment performance might be linked to regional operational structures or specific company policies. It's worth noting that Grand Central Railway appears in both top and bottom five lists. late payment calculator

The train travel sector payment data shows that you are likely to experience a wait on your invoice, make sure you use a late payment calculator to reclaim interest on late payments.

The 49.5 point gap between Merseyrail Electrics' (84.4) and Hitachi Rail's (34.9) payment scores highlights the considerable spectrum of payment behaviours within the UK train sector.

Still waiting to be paid?

A reminder from you is easy to ignore. PaymentCheck sends a formal late payment notice on your behalf — from a third party that publicly tracks the payment behaviour of 9,600+ UK companies. Free, and it takes 60 seconds.

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Categories

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Recent Posts

Loading recent posts...

Resources

  • Late Invoice Calculator
  • Company Search
  • Browse by Sector
  • Browse by Region

Share Your Story

Have you experienced late payments? Share your story to help other businesses.

Submit Your Story

PaymentCheck

Our mission is to change the culture of late payments in the UK and help save over 55,000 companies every year which close due to cashflow issues.

Services

  • Payment Check
  • Business Solutions
  • API Access
  • Invoice Calculator
  • Late Payment Help
  • Get Your Score
  • Get Certified
  • For Accountants

Company

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Search Archive
  • Compare
  • EULA
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Awards

  • Methodology
  • 2025 Awards
  • 2024 Awards
  • 2023 Awards
  • 2022 Awards
  • 2021 Awards
  • 2020 Awards

Contact

  • office@paymentcheck.co.uk
  • +44 (0) 7915 608 057
  • Send Your Story

© 2026 Payment Check Ltd

Registered Address: 3rd Floor Suite 207 Regent Street London W1B 3HH

Made by Alastair Campbell