The cost of rail travel in the UK is some of the most expensive in Europe. With some on the day return tickets costing over £200 to some season tickets per mile costing three times more than in France, travelling by train can be very expensive, however, I have some top tips that could save you some money.
1) Book in advance
Most train tickets go on sale 12 weeks in advance. If you are visiting London for a show, or Manchester for a concert or flying from Stanstead, an event/journey you know months ahead you need to travel by rail booking 12 weeks in advance is key. For example, purchasing a single from London to Glasgow today would cost £150.10, but I can book a train on Monday 20 April (in 12 weeks time) for £39.00 To make sure you do not forget when your tickets go on sale, you can set up a ticket alert on the Trainline.com
2) Always book in advance
The cheap super advanced tickets that go on sale 12 weeks in advance can be taken up really quickly. If you do not have the luxury of knowing you need to take a train 12 weeks in advance, do not feel like you have missed out on cheap tickets. Up until 18:00 the day before (some operators it is 23:59), you can still get advanced tickets. Sticking with London to Glasgow which today would cost £150.10, I am writing this at 17:30 and I can purchase a ticket for tomorrow for £67.50
3) Do not use the trainline.com
My third tip will not save you as much as the previous two, however, every penny saved is worth it. Although in my first tip I recommend setting up a ticket alert on the Trainline.com, do not book the super advance tickets through their website. You will pay a small booking fee when purchasing tickets on the Trainline.com and if you use a credit card you will need to pay an additional fee. I always suggest booking directly through the operator as most do not charge a booking fee, however, if they also charge a booking fee I suggest using LNER; no booking fee, no credit card fee and you can purchase most national rail ticket on their website. Some operators also operate a reward scheme for tickets on their services, for example gaining Nectar Points with Avanti West Coast or LNER.
4) Railcard
If you are eligible to get a railcard I highly recommend purchasing one. With a railcard you can get up to 1/3 off some rail services. There are many types of railcards available (bold = no peak hour restrictions):
- 16-25 Railcard
- 26-30 Railcard
- Senior Railcard (60+) (Off-peak restrictions in London and the South East)
- Disabled Railcard
- Two Together Railcard
- Family and Friends Railcard
- Network Railcard (Applies to London and the South East, min £13 spend on off-peak)
- HM Forces Railcard
- Local/region Railcard (e.g. Heart of Wales Railcard or Devon & Cornwall Railcard)
There are different terms and conditions with the different railcards, but they are a great way of saving your journey. Going back to the London to Glasgow example, using a railcard and booking in advance, that £150.10 journey would cost just £26.00
The two together railcard does not apply to just couples. If you travel by train a lot with a friend or family member, for example travelling by train with your friend for football, purchasing a two together railcard would cut down some of your costs. Another top top is if you are under 25, purchase a three year 16-25 Railcard just a few days before you turn 24 and you can still get 1/3 off all rail fares until you are 27.
5) Gold card
If you are based in London and the South East and you have an annual season ticket, you can use your 'Gold Card' and apply for off off-peak travel discount for yourself and up to three adults. If you travel a lot by rail off-peak but none of the above railcards apply to you, it maybe cheaper to purchase an annual season ticket between two close stations to get your gold card. For example an annual season ticket between Lapworth and Hatton is £172.00
6) Split ticketing
One of the best tricks to get cheaper rail fare is split ticketing, this is the act of splitting your train journey into segments, however, still sitting on the same train. The classic example is London to Penzance which on the day costs £161.00, however this train stops at Plymouth, a London to Plymouth ticket costs £93.30 and then Plymouth to Penzance costs £4.75 A journey I have taken advantage of is London to Manchester - £185.00 (London to Stoke £84.50 and Stoke to Manchester £9.50). It is also possible to beat the off-peak system. If your train leaves during peak-hours, your entire journey will be classed as off peak. If, however, you are on a long journey, book the on-peak ticket until your train reaches a station when off-peak kicks in, and then pay off-peak for the rest of your journey.
7) Pink oyster readers
Transport for London often say Oyster and Contactless are the same fare, and you may think it is hard to get cheaper tube fares, however, you could be wrong. Whilst there are some faults in the system where Oyster and Contactless are not always the same fare, that is for another day, if you avoid zone 1 you could make a saving. If you are travelling across London from a zone 2 station to another zone 2 station, TfL may think you traveled through zone 1 and you may have to pay a higher fare. Pink oyster card readers help TfL know you avoided zone 1 and will charge you a cheaper fare. You may have never noticed a pink reader, and that could be because they are only at 16 stations. One example where this may save you money is if you live in the student flats at Tottenham Hale but study at Queen Mary, at Mile End. Take the Victoria line to Highbury & Islington, hop onto the London Overground, switch to the District line at Whitechapel and touch the pink reader, you avoid zone 1 and will be a cheaper fare.
8) Claim for delays
Unfortunately sometimes when travelling by train you will face delays and cancellations. Thankfully, this could be an opportunity to recoup some or all of the fare for your journey. By law, rail operators must give you some money back for delays over half an hour. Most operators will give 50% of your fare back if you are delayed by half an hour, or 100% if you are delayed by more than hour. Some operators, such as Abellio Great Anglia, will give 25% back for a 15 minute delay. Some operators give you the choice to donate all or some of your compensation to charities such as the Samaritans.
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