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Rail travel in Britain has become ridiculously expensive, with some journeys costing as much as £1 per mile.
But you don’t always have to spend huge amounts of money on train tickets, as long as you know how to book tactically.
We consulted experts, scoured rail company websites, investigated all the quirks and hidden savings and read all the small print to find out how you can actually pay less on Britain’s railways.
With a little planning and shopping around you can save hundreds of dollars.
And our snapshot of the benefits of booking well in advance shows you can get huge savings, up to 80 percent.
Other train travellers can save up to £300 on return tickets from London to Edinburgh.
Here’s our 15-point guide to becoming a smart train traveller.
Sign up for notifications
For the very best deals, Kevin Goodson and Jenny Keefe at Moneysavingexpert.com recommend signing up for price alerts via the train company websites/apps – or via Thetrainline.com. To resolve an alert on Trainline, try to buy a ticket outside the current ‘ticket booking window’ for that route. You will then be given the option to ‘set up alert’. Alternatively, you can set up an alert on the individual train company websites – which may require you to register with the train company using your email address.
You don’t always have to spend huge amounts of money on train tickets – if you know how to book
8 to 12 weeks rule
The cheapest fares, particularly for long-distance routes, are typically available eight to 12 weeks before departure, when most rail companies release timetables, Goodson and Keefe say. Some do it earlier. London North Eastern Railway and Great Western Railway, for example, offer timetables 24 weeks in advance. To check exactly when to strike – which is absolutely essential if you want the best deals – see the ‘Advance ticket booking window’ on Thetrainline.com. As a general rule, fares bought eight to 12 weeks in advance are 75 percent cheaper.
But never at way ahead
Be warned: booking outside of the published timetable could cost you money. Train guru Mark Smith of Seat61.com warns: ‘Don’t fall into the trap! There are several weeks at the end of the booking horizon when expensive Anytime and Off-Peak fares go on sale, but before cheap Advance fares go on sale. This ‘trap’ catches out many overseas visitors to the UK who are desperate to book train travel months in advance.’ That’s why you need to check the exact release date of your intended train operator for tickets.
Book directly
Fees on third-party websites are typically £1.50 per ticket – rising to £2.79 – so it’s best to book directly with the train companies. ‘Beware of Trainline’s booking fees,’ says Moneysavingexpert.com – which recommends using Trainline to check prices (but not to actually book trains). Booking website Mytrainticket.co.uk also has small fees.
Or ‘Go Welsh’
Transport for Wales (TfW) is the main rail operator for Wales – and one of the quirks of its website (tfw.wales) is that you can book all trains on it for free. This is available for all UK trains except sleeper trains. Smith from Seat61.com recommends this and says: ‘There is no need to find the “right” train company website or compare prices on different sites, [they are all on] tfw.wales.’ Or try redspottedhanky.comwhich operates a ‘no fee’ policy.
Two singles, no returns: big savings
Two one-way tickets are almost always cheaper – even though you might expect return tickets to be better value for money. For example, a return ticket from London to Glasgow at any time can cost as much as £393 on Avanti West Coast. But two one-way tickets for the same days cost £81 – a huge saving of £312. Always check.
Split rate offers
Trainline is one of the websites that offers split-fare deals as a way to save money
Buying two or more single tickets is often cheaper. This is called ‘split ticketing’ and is possible due to complicated pricing anomalies that can (legally) help you avoid ‘peak’ period fares. To check/book, go to Trainsplit.com, which only charges a small fee if savings are found. Split ticket prices are also offered at Thetrainline.com, Raileasy.com and Mytrainpal.com – each also have small fees. Buying four tickets for a last-minute direct journey from Plymouth to Birmingham on Trainsplit.com came to £73.94 when we checked – a saving of £26.26 (35 per cent off).
Try a ‘price predictor’ tool
Trainline has an excellent ‘Price Predictor’ for major routes that lets you check how prices are likely to change in the days leading up to your departure date. For example, a fare from London to Liverpool was available when we checked for £43, but would rise to £48 six days later, to £68 four days later and finally to £76.30 on the day of departure. Knowing this will help you make an informed decision about whether to buy outright or not.
Say yes to newsletters
This is different to signing up for alerts on the railway companies’ websites. Instead, you click to accept the latest news and general offers. It’s a great way to keep an eye on the market, with half-price discounts and promotions.
Travel on Wednesday during lunch
According to Seat61.com, this could be one of the cheapest times of the week to travel.
Railcards for (almost) all
Senior, youth, friends and family railcards and the lesser known ‘Two Together Cards’ offer a one-third discount on fares
You may be surprised to discover that you are eligible for a ‘railcard’. Yes, there are senior, junior and friends and family railcards, but lesser known are the ‘Two Together Cards’ which offer a one-third discount on fares (£30 per year for a card covering two people, twotogether-railcard.co.uk) when you travel with your companion. You don’t have to be married to apply. Two friends/family members are eligible; the cards are particularly suitable for sports fans travelling together, or those travelling in weekend walking/hiking groups. You can get more than one (different cards for travelling with different friends).
London and the South East
If you live here and travel by train regularly or even occasionally, it’s almost certainly worth buying a Network Railcard for £30 for a year, with 34 per cent off fares after 10am Monday to Friday (minimum fare £13) and at weekends (network-railcard.co.uk). The area covered stretches from Exeter and Plymouth to Kent, right through London, to just outside Colchester in Essex and just outside Banbury in Oxfordshire. You can take up to three adults and four children aged five to 15 with the same discount. Rail guru Mark Smith swears by his.
View special promotions
National Rail’s job is to promote British rail travel, and its website is a great place to look at ‘rover’ tickets – from one to seven days – which give you unlimited travel on certain lines (nationalrail.co.uk). An Anglia Pass for Norfolk, for example, costs £68.10 – less than a tenner a day.
Savings for occasional travelers
If you travel a few days a week on a fixed route, a ‘flexible season ticket’ with eight return tickets over 28 days could work out well for you. Moneysupermarket.com recently found that savings could be made on 97 per cent of routes (£500 a year for someone travelling between Milton Keynes and London two days a week, for example). Check out the ‘Cheapest way to commute’ page.
Don’t forget the Eurostar!
Sign up to the Eurostar newsletter and be the first to hear about our latest offers – from £35 one-way from London St Pancras to Paris (eurostar.com/uk-en/newsletters). Eurostar tickets are released 6-8 months in advance, making this the best time to book the cheapest fares to France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
* Tom Chesshyre is the author of five books on train travel. His sixth, Slow Trains Around Britain: Notes from a 4,162-mile Adventure on 144 Rides, is due out next June (Summersdale).
