UK Railcards for 1/3 Off

[clifford]

The Trainline website is currently offering 1 year £30 railcards for £20.10, which is pretty good value if you're planning to do some train travel in the UK over the next 12 months.

I've just purchased one online, and the process is quite simple (but you do need some valid UK ID).

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-train-tickets/#needtoknow-9

 

[SYD]

Some other useful tips on the website. Including “split tickets”.

Presumably visitor railcards are still available? Is there an ”official” website? Last time I went looking, I found a plethora of websites offering cheap rail travel but not what I was expecting.

 

[Melburnian1]

Bar in mind if you're undertaking extensive travel in the UK, a BritRail pass is often better value. It offers flexibility, not tying one down to a particular train on a particular day, or running the risk of paying through-the-nose at the last minute even if one has a railcard.

For those undertaking journeys in both UK and the Continent, a Eurailpass can be better than separate BritRail and Eurailpass, as the latter has been accepted in the UK since 2019.

I always ensure these passes are 1st not standard/second/economy class, as on most trains there's no risk of crowding in First. Recently in the UK (and not just on the day before, or day after a strike), friends have informed me standard (second) class often has standees on many long distance trains.

In the UK, seat reservations are free, but very few trains have compulsory reservations: only Caledonian Sleeper and Riviera Night Express come to mind.

 

[clifford]

Bar in mind if you're undertaking extensive travel in the UK, a BritRail pass is often better value. It offers flexibility, not tying one down to a particular train on a particular day, or running the risk of paying through-the-nose at the last minute even if one has a railcard.

For those undertaking journeys in both UK and the Continent, a Eurailpass can be better than separate BritRail and Eurailpass, as the latter has been accepted in the UK since 2019.

I always ensure these passes are 1st not standard/second/economy class, as on most trains there's no risk of crowding in First. Recently in the UK (and not just on the day before, or day after a strike), friends have informed me standard (second) class often has standees on many long distance trains.

In the UK, seat reservations are free, but very few trains have compulsory reservations: only Caledonian Sleeper and Riviera Night Express come to mind.

Yes, I'm sure you're right, but for someone like me the railcard is absolutely the right choice.

I'm planning to visit the UK a couple of times in the next 12 months (I have the tix), and will be visiting my sister who lives in the North of England and possibly a couple of trips to the South coast (from London) each time. The railcard will probably save me $50 or so, but it also provides good back up in the case of IRROPS, which happen frequently on England's railways (from personal experience).

 

[Melburnian1]

Presumably visitor railcards are still available? Is there an ”official” website? Last time I went looking, I found a plethora of websites offering cheap rail travel but not what I was expecting.

There are about 20 rail operators in the UK so sometimes it can be good to look at individual ones like LNER, Great Western Railway, Avanti West Coast et al.

An 'official' one is nationalrail.co.uk that has an excellent journey planner. It normally updates the running of individual timetabled trains.

If there are what aviation calls 'IRROPS', such as overhead wiring being disarranged on the East or West Coast main lines, you may be able to travel on 'other' operators' trains via a different route.

It doesn't solve every delay, but the UK has many alternative rail routes thanks to how originally when the railways were built by men of great foresight, there were often competing routes.

I am visiting soon and am informed by friends that numbers using the main lines have recovered to about 75-80 per cent of pre-COVID, which is good given that there are a few days of no trains (industrial action) each month. Cl;early the Brits have embraced travel again, perhaps more so than Australians.