Thameslink Reviews 

Yet again the train cancelled without warning last minute. Most of the train companies are pretty crap, but Thameslink rules the roost for appalling service and reliability.

I pre-booked two tickets costing £21 for the 4:38 pm Thameslink service from Leagrave to London St Pancras International on 13 July. The train was cancelled.
I then purchased another two tickets costing £21 for the 4:45 pm service on the same route, but this train was also cancelled.
Despite not being able to use either set of tickets, Thameslink has rejected both of my refund claims. I do not understand how they can refuse a refund when both services were cancelled and the tickets were never used.
Thameslink currently owes me £42. Based on this experience, I would strongly advise passengers to avoid pre-booking Thameslink tickets, as obtaining a refund for cancelled services appears unnecessarily difficult.
This has been a very disappointing experience, and I will avoid travelling with Thameslink wherever possible in future.

No air conditioning when it was 28 degrees (external temperature) on a 1 hour train and the windows don't open. Livestock is transported under more humane conditions than we were.You can't have a train where the air conditioning isn't working in mid summer.
Awful experience.

Customer service is frankly appalling.
Good luck if you’re attempting to get a refund for trains that don’t run..!
Painfully slow, incompetent and as such will give you the runaround in any attempt to resolve issues.
Automated, standardised replies is the most you can expect from them.
Clearly, their hope is that out of sheer frustration of not receiving a proper response you simply ‘go away’ exasperated..!!

I am very disappointed with how Thameslink handled my complaint.

On 14 June 2026, I was due to travel from Gatwick Airport to East Croydon at around 7:00pm to 8:00pm. Due to significant disruption and cancelled services, I had to arrange alternative transport and paid £65.13 for a Bolt journey.

I provided Thameslink with the Bolt receipt as evidence of the additional cost. However, they asked me for an Oyster journey statement showing my taps. I explained clearly that no Oyster journey record exists because I did not touch in or out when the train services were cancelled.

Despite this, Thameslink refused to properly consider my claim. I repeatedly asked what alternative evidence they required, but this question was not answered. Instead, after a lengthy delay, I was issued with a deadlock letter and referred to the Rail Ombudsman.

I understand that claims need to be supported by evidence, but I provided the receipt and explained why the requested Oyster record could not exist. I do not feel my complaint was considered fairly or handled with reasonable care.

The most frustrating part was the lack of a clear answer about what additional information was actually needed. I have now had to escalate the matter to the Rail Ombudsman simply to get the claim properly reviewed.

A very poor customer service experience.

Absolutely horrendous. Drivers, shareholders, senior management get paid too much, and deliver zero service. Shocking!!!
Delays, Cancelation and you know what, passengers can do nothing about it!!

Thames link and southern rail are the most expensive scam trains of all time. Probably 1 in every 15 trains actually runs on time, they cancel the trains if it drizzles with rain and an hour long journey can cost 65 pounds. I have stopped going from Brighton to London because of these trains. Absolutely despicable company 😂

The customer service is really not good enough

Takes far too long to process Delay Repay claims. Then they incorrectly rejected my delay repay claim, without any proper information.
Then an appeal which I’ve so far been waiting another 2 weeks to be looked at. And a complaint - waiting the same, 2 weeks.

Total of a month and still haven’t had my money back. Apparently it could be up to another 2 weeks.
For the incredibly high ticket costs generally across the rail network, customer service response should at least be a less painfully long wait, and there should be ways to respond and liaise with a member of staff directly, rather than than having to restart with new claims all over again.

Rarely get a seat. Air con poor.

Thameslink is the WORST train service in the PLANET. It is sooo bad that I worry for the employees: how can you work for a service that is so BAD. They don't run at weekends - the excuse of engineering work - but the surprise is that it doesn't work during the week either!! AVOID using it. It should be free, it is that BAD!

Every single day, trains are cancelled or late. Thameslink should be cancelled as well.

If you’re thinking of buying a house along the Thameslink route, I urge you to reconsider. Move anywhere else, get a bus pass, learn to enjoy a 10 mile walk, or use absolutely any other means of transport because you will never make it home on time with Thameslink.

Terrible and unjust family experience with Thameslink, and when I sent a message to Mr Alistair Beaton, Senior Revenue Protection Manager (the top man for the incident involved), I never even received a response from him. It just sums up their attitude to customers from top to bottom.

ZERO STARS

Extremely disappointing experience.

Our train was significantly delayed in the middle of the night, leaving passengers stranded and causing us to arrive much later than planned. To make matters worse, after submitting a legitimate Delay Repay claim, it was refused despite the clear disruption to the journey.

The lack of customer care was just as frustrating as the delay itself. When you’re travelling late at night, delays have a much greater impact, with limited transport options and additional costs to get home safely. Refusing compensation in these circumstances feels unfair and completely out of touch with the reality passengers face.

Reliable service is one thing, but when things do go wrong, customers expect a fair and straightforward refund process. Sadly, Thameslink failed on both counts.

Very disappointing, and not the level of service I would expect from a rail operator.

ALWAYS cancelled and delayed. We've heard all the excuses in the book, from signal issues and lack of drivers to shortage of staff. It's pathetic! 0 stars, but it costs a fortune. The Thameslink gets worse with each year. I cannot remember the last time I had a journey that was on time! Whoever is in charge at the Thameslink should be fired immediately!

Yet again Thameslink have ripped me off. I've been charged nearly £50 pounds for a delayed overcrowded service which, let's face it has no consideration other than raking money of people! Two payments taken from my bank account in one day. One for over £16 and one for £29 pound. Do not tap with your bank card/phone as they will rob you!

Would give Thameslink 0 stars if that was an option. No air con on multiple services during a heatwave, not one train on time this week and now reduced summer timetable coming. Over £5000 a year for a season ticket and £2.80 refund when delayed for 15-29 minutes. Honestly needs sorting out properly, it is a joke yet unfortunately I have no other options for commuting to work from Hertfordshire.

If you travelled with Thameslink and there wasn’t a delay, buy a lottery ticket immediately. Today’s your day.

I use the Thames link service regularly. Three trains across London. I can honestly say, not a day passes without delays and missed connections. Several journeys have hit almost 3 hours, when it should take 1. In 35 years of commuting, this is by far the worst service I have ever used.

Today was the last straw before a negative review. I see a lot of people got here before I did. Literally repugnantly bad. Always delayed, always crowded, toilets are rank, staff undertrained. How it costs so much is beyond me. I was 45 mins late to work this morning because of cancellations and worse on my way home. They have stolen so much of my time. The idea of having a captive audience and treating them like this astounds me. I wonder if they even look at these. Time to hand over to someone who can do this properly. Can’t think of a worse experience I’ve ever had with a company. Ever.