Posts Tagged ‘train’
Travelling by Train
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
Thinking of travelling by train either as a regular event or a one off? Did you know there are way’s you can get money off your ticket? Well there are, it’s just that they’re not really that well advertised.
If you’re a regular traveller it’s worth buying a season ticket in advance – this will reduce the cost per journey. However even if you’re not a regular traveller it’s worth trying to buy your ticket early as some companies will offer you a cheaper ticket if it’s bought in advance – 12 weeks early is best as this is how far in advance tickets are released and this way you’ll get the best prices! www.thetrainline.com is a good place to start for buying cheap train tickets in advance, and for season tickets try www.nationalrail.co.uk
Rail cards are available in various formats, and if you travel fairly frequently they can save you quite a bit of money. Here are the different types of card and their costs:
16-25 Rail Card – £26 – Available for anyone age 16-25 and gives you 1/3 off all rail travel for 1 year.
Family and Friends Rail Card – £26 – Available to anyone travelling with kids and gives 1/3 off adult and 60% off kids ticket prices. Up to 4 adults and 4 kids can travel on one card.
Senior Rail Card – £26 – Available to anyone age 60 and over, gives you 1/3 discount on all rail travel for 1 year.
Disabled Person’s Rail Card – £18 for 1 year or £48 for 3 years. – Gives you 1/3 discount on all rail travel for you and a companion traveling with you.
Network Rail Card – £25 – Gives you the same as a family and friends rail card, but is only for use on the South East network.
Something else that many people don’t know is that if you’re train is late, you are actually entitled to claim some money back for the journey that you took. If your train is either canceled, or is more than 15 minutes late, you can get a claim form at the station to fill in to get your money back either in full or in part for the cost of your ticket.
On top of this check out different times for travel if you can. If you travel off peak it is always cheaper than peak times, so play with your timings a little if you can – you may be surprised how much difference it can make.
Contributed by Vialdana
Tags: cheaper travel, national rail, save money, season ticket, train, train travel
Posted in Findings, Savings | Comments Off