Have you just bought your train ticket for Christmas and gawked at the prices? Do you feel increasingly irate at the fact you could fly to Berlin five times over for the cost of a single to Manchester? Pining for a time when rail renationalisation was being proposed by politicians who actually cared? Well, hold on to your rather uncomfortable, beer stained seats; rail fares are only set to increase further in the coming months.
Indeed, rail passengers could see their ticket prices rise by an incredible 4.8% next year, the largest hike in a decade. That said, we should all be endeavouring to use public transport more, since train travel is better for our environment then travelling by car or plane.
But how to level this desire to use greener methods of transport with the extortionate price of tickets? Here’s a start; if you’re looking for cheap train tickets, here’s how to lower the cost of your rail fare.
SPLIT YOUR FARE
Did you know that you could ‘split’ your fare on a train journey and save money doing so? Indeed, with splitmyfare.co.uk, you can save up to 90% when you split your train tickets.
So far, so good, but what does splitting your train ticket actually entail? Nope, this isn’t one of those situations where you wear a massive overcoat and smuggle a friend onboard underneath it. Instead, ticket splitting is the practice of buying two or more tickets for different legs of a longer single ticket journey.
Here’s an example:
“Instead of buying a single ticket from Manchester to Edinburgh for £59.90 you can save £17 with SMF by buying split tickets from Manchester to Chorley and Chorley to Edinburgh for a total of £42.90. You stay on the same Manchester to Edinburgh service and don’t have to change train, or even seats.”
A glitch in the Matrix or a smart hack frequent travellers have discovered to lessen the blow of increasingly exorbitant train tickets? You decide.
GET A RAILCARD
There are also railcards available if you’re going to make a habit of train travel in the future.
Whilst many are age dependent (the 16-25, the Senior), if you and your partner travel together often, then a two-together railcard is a no brainer. It only costs £30 for a whole year’s worth of unlimited travel on any off-peak service – which you usually make back in one journey anyway, as the railcard entitles you to ⅓ off all of your tickets.
Over 60s can also save a third with a Seniors Railcard, which costs £30, whilst a Family & Friends Railcard will grant a further 60% off tickets, with a maximum of 4 adults and 4 children able to travel on one card. You don’t even have to be related to apply.
Yep, there’s a railcard to suit all manner of traveller types.
AVOID BUYING ON THE DAY
Buying tickets on the day of travel in the UK can be really expensive. Based on research in 2019, BBC Reality Check reported via the rail blogger Mark Smith that if you book a ticket from London to Sheffield a month in advance, it will cost you £22. However, if you buy it on the day, it will cost a whopping £79.
As the BBC explain, this is because “British train companies maximise revenue by selling tickets more cheaply ahead of time, when trains are emptier, in order to fill seats, and for much higher prices on the day”.
Use a little foresight and you could well end up saving some serious money. Always book your train tickets in advance, because you are guaranteed a better price than purchasing tickets on the day of travel.
So, if you need to book a long train journey, try to book a few months beforehand. Thetrainline.com claims it can save you up to 43% on fares nationwide, if booked up to 12 weeks early. Or, if you’re the ‘designated booker’ for a group of 3-9 people on Virgin Trains, you could save up to 20% off selected advance fares. A heft dose of data, sure, but it’s clear that buying your tickets in advance of travel will likely save you a pretty penny.
GO OFF PEAK
The difference between peak and off peak travel pricing is out of control. What’s even more surprising is that so many aren’t aware of the savings to be made simply by travelling at certain times. Indeed, according to Trainline, by booking off-peak tickets in advance you’ll save an average of 61% on your tickets.
In general, train travel from city to city is considered ‘off peak’ between 9:30am and 4:30pm, and after 7pm, Monday to Friday.
You can make further savings by travelling in the ‘super off peak’ time slot, which generally falls between 10am and 3pm, and after 7:15pm, Monday to Friday. Both these discounts apply for weekends, too.
Right now, this is the most COVID-safe way to travel, too, as these are the least busy times. If you’re flexible with your schedule, this is the perfect way to save money on travel, and the good news; in the UK’s major cities, travelcards bought with off peak discounts also apply to buses, trams and other forms of public transport.
DOWNLOAD YOUR TICKET
Most companies don’t charge delivery fees for digital tickets. However, they do charge delivery fees for any tickets sent to you in the post and may even charge a fee for tickets collected at the station, which seems weird, but little about train ticket pricing makes much sense.
You can save a little on fees by using either an eTicket or an mTicket:
- eTickets – An eTicket is a train ticket that is emailed directly to you
- mTickets – An mTicket is a train ticket that is held on your mobile device in a rail travel app.
Both types include a barcode that holds your ticket information, which is scanned to validate it for travel and to open those gates for you.
THE BOTTOM LINE
When you take the time to consider all of these things, it’s possible to find cheaper train tickets. It just takes a bit of patience and forward thinking on your part.
Alternatively, you could make use of the significantly more affordable tickets on the continent, and explore Europe by train. For some inspiration, here are 5 of the best Spanish train trips. Buen viaje!