Rail travel can be expensive but these tips will help you save money
Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year for train travel. Thousands of people up and down the country will be travelling to see their families, while others might just be looking for a nice pre-Christmas getaway.
A new study revealed this week that UK train operators are in the most expensive in Europe. The analysis, which covered 27 European operators, concluded that “travelling by rail in the UK is particularly costly”, blaming infrastructure costs and “private monopolies” for the steep prices. With this in mind, experts from QR Code Generator have come up with five tips to help you save on your next train journey and beat the price hikes.
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Pre-plan your journey: Book now for the best discounts
Advance fares are much cheaper than flexible tickets, and the time to act is as soon as possible. A single journey from London to Liverpool is up to 46% cheaper when booked in advance. A ticket for this particular journey booked a month before Christmas travel costs as little as £41 compared to a £76.30 day of travel ticket. That’s a saving of over £35.
Even if you can’t book tickets this far beforehand, advance tickets may be available until an hour before departure. Tickets are subject to availability and can often sell out in busy periods due to high demand, so be sure to book your travels well in advance, especially if you are travelling for the festive period which is likely to see busy trains.
Railcards are likely to pay for themselves in one or two trips
While railcards might seem like an expensive investment for those who do not regularly travel by train, do not underestimate their worth. Most railcards mean you can save around a third on train fares. Often the railcard will pay for itself within the first few journeys. For instance, at the time of writing, a return fare from Edinburgh to London on either side of Christmas can be as much as £60 cheaper using a 26-30 railcard. The railcard costs just £30 so it pays for itself in just one trip.
Travel during off-peak times to save big
The cheapest tickets are available when you travel in off-peak times. Generally, any time post 09:30 in large towns and cities, and 09:00 for other locations is considered off-peak, while weekends and bank holidays are always off-peak. Currently, a single journey, booked just one day prior to travel, from London to Manchester comes in at almost £185 when leaving around 8:30 am.
The exact same journey leaving at around 10:30 am, however, costs just £50, an unbelievable £135 saving. If you can be flexible with your departure time, a journey delayed by a couple of hours can prevent you from spending extra money on anytime travel tickets.
Travel together to save on tickets
If there’s someone you regularly travel with, the Two Together railcard earns up to 1/3 discount for both passengers. At the time of writing, a journey for two passengers from Newcastle to Birmingham, booked one day in advance, costs just over £206.
With a Two Together railcard, this fee is reduced dramatically to £138, almost a £70 saving. All tickets must be booked together, and all passengers must travel together, so buddy up and make your plans to capitalise on this.
Get refunds when you’re entitled to them
Different train operators have different compensation schemes, but all allow you to claim when you’re delayed. You may be entitled to a refund if your journey was delayed by as little as 15 minutes. While most delays are very minor, between 30 and 40% of railway trips suffer some form of delay, and with 80.6% of claims being compensated (between April 2023 and March 2024), it’s always worth checking if you are entitled to a refund.
Information on compensation and refunds for all operators can be found on the National Rail website under ‘Compensation and Refunds’. You should always try and make your claim within 28 days of departure date and, crucially, you must always keep your tickets to have a chance of being compensated.
Marc Porcar, CEO of QR Code Generator said: “Railway travel is undeniably extremely costly in the UK currently. However, it remains one of the most popular, and pleasant, methods of travel.
“Plenty of people will be looking to commute long distances to visit family and loved ones in the next few months, so hopefully these tips can help them save as much as possible for the more important things this Christmas.”