13 Top tips to save money on rail travel in the UK

5. Buy a Railcard

Railcards for British trains are available to U.K residents and visitors alike.

If you choose to purchase a one year railcard you will receive significant discounts on every U.K rail journey during the 12 month validity period. These passes are fantastic value for money and will often pay for themselves in a few short journeys or in one long journey.

For example, a one year Family and Friends Railcard gives holders ⅓  off adult rail tickets and a 60 % discount for children aged between 5 and 15 years. Up to four adults and four children can travel on one Family and Friends Railcard. 

A 16-25 Young Persons Railcard gives pass holders ⅓ off rail tickets. Other railcards available include Senior Railcards, a 26-30 Railcard and Two Together Railcard.

If your U.K sightseeing is limited to London and the south east of England, consider purchasing a Network Railcard.

Railcards can be downloaded in a digital format onto a mobile phone or you can order a physical card in advance of your visit. 

It is important to carry a railcard when travelling as conductors will ask to see a railcard alongside your rail ticket. 

Click here to purchase a one year railcard

6. Use the Trainline app

Download and use the Trainline app to help you save money on rail travel in the UK. This helpful app will help you find the cheapest tickets available for your dates and journeys. 

The app is also a useful source of information as it will send you updates about train delays and cancellations plus it can be used for journey planning whilst on trains.

For example, if you have to make a tight train connection, you can use the app to find which platform your connecting train leaves from. This will save you valuable time once you arrive at your connecting station.  

7. Consider split tickets 

Buying split tickets (also called split ticketing) means purchasing individual tickets for each leg of a trip rather than one through ticket. 

Split ticketing usually works out cheaper than buying one through ticket and it is a confusing, but money saving, quirk of the U.K rail system.

For example, if you are travelling from York to Cardiff you must change trains at Manchester Piccadilly. You can buy one through ticket from York to Cardiff but it is generally cheaper to buy a ticket from York to Manchester Piccadilly and then buy a ticket from Manchester Piccadilly to Cardiff. 

Another bonus of this method of travelling is that you can set a travel timetable to suit your needs. Through tickets that involve connections often leave very little time to connect with the other trains, particularly if you are connecting in a large station with multiple platforms.

So, if you are uncomfortable with a ten minute connection time, you can buy a slightly later ticket for your onward connection if you use the split ticketing method.

Organising split rail tickets can be a fiddly and time consuming process but it can save money on U.K rail travel. There are two new websites that will help you find split rail fares. Check out Train Split or Split My Fare but always do your own price comparison before booking through a third party website.