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About "Alert Me"

The new Travel Alert service from National Rail Enquiries

We've recently launched our improved alerting service, which lets you quickly and easily sign up to receive text messages if your train is late or has been cancelled.

So, whether you travel by train on daily basis or travel every so often, you'll be kept up to date if we are aware of any problems with your train.

How do I sign up?

There are two easy ways to register to receive an alert:

When you are planning a journey, you can simply click on the icon in the train times table or click the "ALERT ME" button next to your chosen train.
Use the 'Travel Alerts Wizard'. Simply choose the journey you wish to be alerted on and tell us your mobile number.
By default, we'll set up an alert that is sent:
- every weekday
- for 12 weeks
- if the train is 5 minutes or more late
- as soon as we know there is a delay
You can simply click on 'Edit' to change these settings.
If you're a registered National Rail Enquiries user it's even quicker - simply login, click on the icon in the train times table or click the "ALERT ME" button next to your chosen train - you'll be able to create an alert in just 2 clicks. Register now!

How much does it cost me?

We'll only send you a message if your train is delayed or cancelled. You'll be charged 25p for each alert - even if we send you more than one text message.

For example, if your train is delayed and later cancelled, we'll only charge you for one message.

What do the text message alerts look like?

A journey between Guildford (GLD) and Sheffield (SHF):

One of your trains is delayed:

National Rail Alert @ 0920. Your
journey 28 Jan dep GLD 1502,
arr SHF 1905. KGX to DON train
now expected to depart 132 mins
late. Call 08712004950 for more info
One of your trains is cancelled:

National Rail Alert @ 0920. Your
journey 28 Jan dep GLD 1502,
arr SHF 1905. The KGX to DON
train is cancelled. Call
08712004950 for more info

How do I change an Alert?

All the alert options can be changed by selecting 'Edit alerts' when setting them up or if you log in to your National Rail Enquiries Homepage. You can choose:

how long you want us to keep you updated - just once or up to 12 weeks
which days you want to receive alerts - so you're not disturbed when you're unlikely to be travelling
how late a train must be before you are alerted - if a short delay will not really affect you
how long before the scheduled departure time you want to be alerted - anytime between 10 minutes and 2 hours.

Why must I verify my mobile number?

To make sure that only you setup alerts to your mobile phone, we ask you to verify your mobile telephone number.

How do I cancel my alerts?

To cancel all of your alerts, simply text STOP ALL to 64950. If you are a registered user you can also cancel your alerts from your National Rail Enquiries Homepage.

How can I renew my Alert?

Three days before your alert expires we will send you email notification. You can then simply renew the alert by clicking the link in the email. If you are a registered user you can also renew alerts from your National Rail Enquiries Homepage.

How do I check what alerts I have created?

If you are a registered user you can check your Alerts from your National Rail Enquiries Homepage.

My train was delayed and you didn't let me know - why?

There are a few rare occasions when you may not receive an alert for a delayed train. For example if:

your alert had expired - we allow alerts to be setup for twelve weeks
your network provider was experiencing problems in delivering text messages
the train was delayed, but didn't match the criteria you'd set
your journey involved one or more changes and an alert had already been sent for one of the legs
your alert was for a 'non-train' leg of the journey e.g.: Underground or bus
the journey didn't run on the day you selected to receive the alert
you join the train at its origin - in these cases, we don't know a train is delayed until after it should have departed.