How LateMate works
LateMate uses past National Rail running records to compare trains. It cannot know who travelled, who asked for money back or whether a claim was paid. It also cannot tell you what your next train will do.
Where the train times come from
LateMate uses past train times from National Rail. We add new records each night. The website covers selected LNER, Lumo and Avanti West Coast trains linking London, Manchester and Scotland. It does not cover every UK train.
Where we measure the delay
On a journey page, we measure the delay when the train reached the station where you get off. Bigger route and train company totals use the train's final stop, unless the page says something different.
What on time means
We count a train as on time if it arrives early or no more than 4 minutes late. The website calls this “within 5 minutes”.
Why 30 and 60 minutes matter
If a train reaches your stop 30 to 59 minutes late, you may be able to claim Delay Repay compensation worth half of a one-way ticket price. At 60 minutes late or more, it may be worth the full one-way ticket price. The “30 minutes or more” number includes every train that reached the stop at least 30 minutes late, including trains that were 60 minutes late. Cancelled trains are not included in these percentages. Delay Repay is compensation for a journey you took. It is different from a refund for a ticket you did not use. The train company still checks your ticket, journey and claim before deciding.
Cancellations
We count a journey as cancelled when there is no recorded arrival at the station where you get off. We show cancellations separately from long delays.
Why the number of past journeys matters
One lucky day should not make a train look like the best choice. The journey finder hides train and weekday groups with fewer than 15 past journeys. The long delay table needs at least 25 journeys that reached their stop. We use a score that gives more weight to bigger groups. The percentage you see is still the simple rate from the records.
Months that are not finished
We leave out a partly recorded month at the start. The latest month says “to date” until it is finished. We show it in the chart, but do not use it when naming the best or worst month.
What the data can get wrong
Old records can have missing information, timetable changes or mistakes. A train can also change its stops while keeping a similar departure time. We show the number of past journeys so you can see how much data backs each result.