As train fares rise, my ruses to keep ticket prices down
The Man Who Pays His Way: I’ve spent my life travelling by train, and I try not to pay a penny more than I need
MikeTyes
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Despite today’s rail fare rise in England and Wales, train tickets can be excellent value. That might sound absurd to long-suffering passengers enduring delays and cancellations. But I have never owned a car and always rely on railways. And I never want to pay a penny more than necessary.
Some background: fares have just gone up by more than the rate of inflation in England and Wales. The rise of so-called “regulated fares” is 4.6 per cent, significantly above the current rate of inflation of 3 per cent. (In Scotland, ticket prices go up 3.8 per cent on 1 April.) These are for “regulated” fares: season tickets, journeys in and out of major cities, and longer-distance off-peak fares. The government has prescribed that the off-peak one-way fare from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston has gone up by £2.50 to £79.80.
At the other end of the scale, advance tickets are set according to demand, and because – like airfares – they fluctuate, it’s difficult to say whether they are increasing and if so by how much. In between, you have many other fares that are unregulated but have risen by about the same percentage – including what I think is the most expensive stretch of track in the UK apart from the Heathrow Express. The 24-mile trip on the Great Western Railway from Didcot Parkway to Swindon increases by £1.40 to £32.60 at peak times – well over £1 a mile.
The government’s justification for putting prices up above the rate of inflation is that rail finances are in such a mess. The presumption is that the formidable cost of running the railways can only come from two sources: passengers’ fares and the taxpayer.
Things were bad before the Covid pandemic but with fewer people travelling and in particular season ticket sales falling off the proverbial cliff, the taxpayer is shovelling £12.5bn a year into the railway abyss to try to keep the trains on track. That’s £400 per second. Much of it is paid by people who never go near a train. They’re not tempted because they’ve heard too many stories about unreliability (on average one train in 25 is cancelled) and because they believe they will be ripped off. And unfortunately, they are often correct. Fares are high, unless you understand that complexity can sometimes unlock savings – and that there are some excellent deals around. The UK has some of the highest fares in Europe but also some of the lowest if you’re prepared to be flexible about when you travel.
1 Split those tickets. People with less time on their hands than me who want to travel from Bristol to London and who are booking on the day might fondly imagine that it makes sense to buy a ticket from Bristol to London. But that’s the last thing you should do. Nobody who’s aware of “split ticketing” would ever dream of buying a ticket straight through. Much better to deploy the “Didcot Dodge” and save up to £57 by buying one ticket to Didcot Parkway and another from there. No need to change trains. One essential: ensure that the train stops at your chosen split point – some London-Bristol trains whizz through Didcot at 125mph.
Even then, splitting a ticket is only the start of the complexity to be sure you’re getting the best deal. If you are coming back by rail, it usually pays to buy a return, with the exact fare depending on timing. Many people who are not regular train travellers will do the obvious thing and buy each journey leg separately, often paying more than they should. On which subject ...
2 Don’t use Trainline. On top of the 5 per cent commission the company earns from online sales, it adds a fee to about one-third of transactions, charging up to £2.79 or 4 per cent on some tickets. You can avoid this but still get the excellent functionality of Trainline by using the ScotRail app.
Better still, use a retailer that gives a discount on normal prices. Uber is the leading discounter, saying you can “get up to 10 per cent back in Uber credits to spend on trains, rides or eats”. This applies to Eurostar as well. Trip.com has a deal of 2 per cent off rail travel up to 20 June 2025.
3 Get a railcard, though annoyingly they’ve just gone up by a fiver to £35. You get one-third off many tickets (or half price with the 16-17 card) – though discounts do not apply to all journeys, with time and minimum fare restrictions on some cards. People in the 31-59 age range cannot qualify for a railcard they can use on their own, but can avail of Two Together (travelling with a named individual) or Family & Friends (travelling with at least one child).
4 Sign up for loyalty schemes. With LNER Perks you get an immediate £5 in credit to spend on journeys on the East Coast line from London King’s Cross to Yorkshire, northeast England and Scotland. Better still, refer a friend and you both get £10 in credit. On all journeys with LNER, you get 2 per cent credit for future journeys.
Avanti West Coast, meanwhile, has Club Avanti. Upon joining, members get an immediate 10 per cent off the price of a standard return ticket on the network, which connects London Euston with the West Midlands, northwest England, North Wales and southern Scotland. If you make nine qualifying journeys within a year of joining, you get a complimentary standard premium return ticket. After 20 journeys you get a free first class return.
ScotRail has an age-restricted loyalty scheme for older travellers, Club 50, which requires a £15 annual subscription. But this buys the chance to travel anywhere in Scotland for a flat fare of £17 return at certain times of the year; a 20 per cent discount on advance and off-peak tickets bought online; and half-price drinks on trains.
5 Trade speed for savings. On the West Coast Main Line, for example, London Northwestern offers much cheaper tickets than Avanti West Coast on many journeys – particularly at peak times. Between London and Crewe, the journey may take an hour longer but you can typically save £40 – which I think is a decent rate of return. In the north of England, Northern’s advance fares are sold up to 10 minutes before departure and are often much cheaper than other operators.
6 Let the train firm decide on timing. Avanti West Coast’s Superfares offer trips such as London to Birmingham for £9 and Liverpool to London for £15 if you book at least a week ahead and let the firm select a less-busy train. Choose a morning, afternoon or evening departure window. You will be sent a ticket for a specific train a day ahead of travel.
