Train travel on a budget, top tips & latest deals for single travellers
Off out for the day? Visiting friends or family, want to see some more of the UK or planning a trip to Europe or even the world! Then the train can be a great way to travel for simple days out, meeting up with friends or family as well as a great way to travel for adventures and holidays. With no traffic jams and expensive parking fees the other end travelling by train gives you a chance to take time out and enjoy your day from the minute you set off.
It also means that unlike fed up commuters having to stick to a timetable, those of us travelling because we choose too may have a choice of train operators, with the option of picking the best operator alongside the best ticket price for your journey. People travelling on a day out for example may be happy to take a longer journey if it’s going to save them some cash.
As for the train operators themselves, Chiltern Railways, Eurostar, Eurotunnel and Chiltern Railways are consistently voted THE BEST train networks to travel on by all the leading travel experts. Worth remembering if you have a choice and the price of the ticket isn’t the only factor for you.
So check out our TOP TIPS, check out the latest deals, get some ideas and make the most of your travel budget. It could be cheaper to travel by train then you think.
4 really easy tips for finding cheap train tickets What where & how made simple for single travellers.
STEP 1
BOOK YOUR TRAIN TICKET 12 WEEKS AHEAD WHENEVER YOU CAN. The earlier you book, the cheaper the ticket!
Buying your tickets in advance can result in some great savings* – Network Rail sets its final timetable 12 weeks ahead, so all the different train operators normally release some cheaper ‘advance tickets’ shortly afterwards. So the key here, is the word ‘some’, these cheaper tickets are sold in limited numbers and so subject to availability.
So put your next travel date in your diary and start looking around 12 weeks before you plan to travel by train, 4 months if you plan to travel by EUROSTAR or 12 months in advance if you plan a trip on a Caledonian Sleeper
Thankfully for train travellers looking for a bargain Network Rails website lists all the information you need on the release date of each train operator’s website. It’s not the easiest info to find. Here’s where you’ll find it
Some train companies, like Avanti West Coast (formerly Virgin Railway), Greater Anglia and the major long distance operator Cross-Country Trains even offer a ticket-alert email service so that you’ll be the first to hear about new advanced ticket releases. Well done to them.
STEP 2
SPLIT YOUR TICKET OR MAKE USED OF CHEAPEST TRAIN FARE TOOLS
If you’re going on a longer journey, take a few minutes to make use of the free online tools aimed out helping you find the money saving routes and the best deals. The brilliant campaign spearheaded by Martin Lewis to make train fares more transparent has led to some good free sites that help us all make sense of it all. So if you’re happy to either juggle your journey around a bit and then stick to the travel route specified for a split ticket, trainsplit, Split Ticketing and Raileasy will help you split or divide your journey and help you find the best train fare. Simple.
STEP 3
GET A NATIONAL RAILCARD
Save up to a very handy third off your rail fares and grab a bargain.
Aimed at encouraging more of us to travel by train, there’s all sorts of railcards for all sorts of groups now. At £30 a year or £70 for 3 years, an absolute bargain if you’re planning to take the train a few times or more each year. With an average annual saving of around £184 plus not only will you save a third on fares for a year you’ll also get information on all sorts of offers you can take advantage of.
Current railcards include 16-25 Railcards, Disabled Persons Railcard, some Regional Railcards the 26-30 ‘Millennial’ Railcard and the Senior 6o+ Railcard– all of which seems to cover all sorts unless (like us) you fall into the 31 to 59 age brackets! Basically we’re snookered on these particular deals.
Do you qualify for a railcard? Find out more now
STEP 4
AVOID THOSE ANNOYING ONLINE BOOKING FEES – ‘FREE BOOKING SITES’
If you’re buying your train ticket in advance from one of the main independent booking sites it can be very tricky and time consuming to work out who charges what booking fee until you have been through the entire booking process and click on the ‘pay here’ button. Sadly, with the exception of LNER London North East Railway many of the independent sites have sneaked in booking fees – anything from 75p through to a fiver!
Here’s the train travel sites that we’ve found that DON’T charge booking fees and who DO give the best advance booking service:
- National Rail –the official overarching operator, although they don’t sell tickets directly to travellers, they DO highlight the cheapest fares and do pass you through to the relevant train operator most of which don’t charge fees.
- Each Train Operators own site – where you can book direct and get any information on discounts.
- North East Railway Despite their name they currently sell tickets for all train companies, no fees for booking or paying, but you will need to pay a small fee if you want your tickets posted onto you, (unless of course you opt to collect them from the station ticket machine)
Been on a late train? remember the delay compensation scheme & get up to 100% of your train fare back.
Latest published stats report that just over 81% of trains run on time., but if you’re train is more than 15 minutes late fill in an online customer compensation form.
Most major UK rail operators now use a standardised scale to calculate compensation for daily tickets In Great Britain, you’re entitled to compensation if your train journey is delayed or cancelled. Under Delay Repay, you can claim compensation for delays as short as 15 minutes, with payouts based on the severity of the delay and the type of ticket you purchased
‘Compensation Claim Forms’ can be found on your train operators website or picked up from any staffed rail station. It’s much easier to claim now and you could be eligible for a partial or even a full refund. Having used it a few times, I can honestly say it’s really is quick and simple to use. (Maybe something the UKs flight operators could look at using).
INDEPENDENT TRAIN TRAVEL TO EUROPE (OR EVEN THE WORLD!)
Planning to travel abroad or thinking about taking a rail holiday?
Train tours are a great way to get around the single supplement challenge. Mindful of limited space, sleeper trains were built with cabins for single as well as double use. Other rail holidays organise a holiday itinerary, hotel accommodation and transport you across different destinations using scenic rail routes. Tour companies have seized the opportunity and now run some great railway holidays with no single supplements. (yeah!) FIND MORE RAIL HOLIDAYS WITH NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENTS HERE
If you’re travelling long distances to a holiday many overnight sleeper trains offer single cabins for the same price per person as doubles (Orient Express, Royal Scotsman, etc) so it’s well worth looking into if you want to avoid single supplements.
Having travelled on the train in many different European countries and regions it’s a great way to travel. Not only are the trains reliable, (leaving absolutely dead on time), but also in my experience clean with plenty of good seat space with helpful passengers and staff, a great way to get to know about local people and see the country at the same time.
The helpfulness of local travellers never fails to amaze me, whether you need to check your going the right way or ask how many stops away your station is, there always seems to be someone who will help.
There are a few minor differences you’ll need to look out for in some European countries, from validating your ticket in a platform machine before you board the train in some countries through to longer trains splitting up en route, so it’s also important to check you board the right carriage on the right train!
Planning and then booking longer term train travel is also a bit different. As Europeans generally plan train travel at shorter notice, days or weeks ahead many European train operators only provide a facility to book your journey up to 90 days ahead, (some central and eastern European operators only let you book 60 days ahead), but some train companies are now moving to 120 and like Eurostar, 180 days ahead, making it easier to plan longer term holidays and travel, not too mention take advantage of any discounts. (So like UK train travel, the earlier you book, the cheaper the train fare)
EUROPEAN/WORLD TRAIN TRAVEL – TOP SITES
EUROSTAR –
Express Travel from London to Paris, Marseilles, Brussels & now Amsterdam
With up to 36 trains running a day and links from London’s St Pancras International station via the Channel Tunnel, Eurostar can get you to Paris’ Gare du Nord in 2¼ hours and Brussels’ international terminal in one hour 50 minutes, up to 12 a day with some trains also stopping at Lille and Calais in France along the way. They also run several trains a week from London to Disneyland Paris; London to Marseilles via Lyon and Avignon; and London to the French ski resorts running from December to April and with their new twice-daily train direct from London to Amsterdam, Eurostar can now take you from city centre to city centre in just 3hrs 41 mins
With tickets released for booking up to 4 months in advance, there’s no hidden charges for luggage or limits on liquids on any of their routes, – what you see is what you get on the ticket price. The train stations at St Pancras International, Paris and Brussels are also more central than city airports, so overall, the journey takes as little time as the equivalent flight, with less hassle.
Eurostar in London also sell tickets onwards to some Continental destinations, so its worth checking if there’s any discounts when booking.
SNCF CONNECT
Although there’s 28 different train operators in Europe, all with their own timetables, fares, interactive websites and real time travel information you can book most train journeys and InterRail passes through the SNCF connect rail site expert in European rail, tickets and passes for rail travel around Europe. Experienced in helping all sorts of travellers get to their destination, whether it be a trip from the UK to the continent or a European wide rail adventure travelling through different European countries the site can help you find the best price and the best way to get to your destination.
SEAT 61
If you’re planning a trip around the UK, Europe or even the world SEAT 61 really is an absolutely brilliant award-winning site and a fountain of knowledge on train travel all around the world. Set up by a rail enthusiast and former Rail Manager, Seat 61 provides all sorts of detailed expert information on the best routes, fares and journey times from the UK to Europe and around the world.
CAN YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CHEAPER TRAVEL TIMES? TRAVELLING OFF PEAK & SUPER OFF PEAK HOW IT WORKS
All the off-peak rules can be a bit of minefield if you’re not a regular train user. Each train operator has its own guidelines around what constitutes off peak and especially, super off-peak travel times.
Travelling outside of normal commuter hours generally means that the train will be less crowded and less expensive. Off-Peak tickets are also cheaper than other forms of cheaper tickets like for example a fully flexible ‘Anytime Ticket’. But for most travel operators, travelling OFF PEAK normally applies before 6.30am, from 9.30am to 3.30am and after 6.30pm.
Super Off-Peak train fares apply during the quietest times of the day, usually between 10:00 and 15:30 and again from 19:15 onwards on weekdays. They are also valid all day on weekends and bank holidays. Always check your train operator’s guidelines as these times can vary by route as well as train operator.
So the bottom line is if you’re fairly flexible on travel times and not too worried about which train operator you travel with, factor this in when booking your train journeys.
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