This piece first appeared in the money section of the Saga website on 17 August 2011
The text here may not be identical to the published text

CUT YOUR RAIL FARES

Travelling by train will be a lot more expensive from January. Under a new formula the cost of most rail fares in England and Wales will rise by 3% above the rate of inflation in July as measured by the Retail Prices Index. This week we learned that was 5% so most fares will rise by an average of 8% from January 2012. For journeys wholly in Scotland the rise will be 1% above RPI or 6%. Individual journeys may rise a lot more – or less – than these standard amounts.

So now is the time to cut your rail fares.

1. Get a Railcard. There are five separate Railcards offering discounts on the price of tickets. Senior Railcard for those aged at least 60 cuts one third off the cost of any standard (or first class) fare including those booked in advance. The card costs £28 a year or £65 for three years (which is £21.67 a year). If you buy through the official website www.senior-railcard.co.uk and put in the promotional code Senior10 you currently get 10% off the one year price. For other railcards see www.railcard.co.uk 

2. Book early and stick to your plans. Advance tickets are singles and you are booked on a specified train. If you miss it your ticket is not valid on other trains and you will not get a refund. Normally you can book about 12 weeks in advance and generally the earlier you book the cheaper they are.

3. Travel off-peak. These tickets are more flexible than advance tickets and ‘off-peak’ can cover a very wide range of times. You can get a refund (though there may be a small fee) and you are not tied to a particular train – though you must travel on an off-peak one. Make sure you get the right train or you may have to pay a lot more.

4. Buy online. It is often cheaper to buy on-line than at a station ticket office which will not always find the cheapest way to travel. Train company websites may offer a discount on their own lines. And they will have a ‘slower trains’ box to tick which will include journeys that take longer but may be cheaper. Commercial ticket websites can charge you extra for using a credit or debit card (and there is no other way to pay!) But they can also be best at finding the cheapest fare or combination.

5. Split your tickets. You can save money on long distance travel by buying separate tickets for parts of your journey. The train must stop at the stations your tickets run from. Rail staff will not advise you but many commercial websites will. Complicated, but can save a lot of money.

 

 


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