Rivers Travel

1. Book In Advance

Try and book 12 weeks ahead to bag super bargain fares. Advance tickets can be available as late as 6pm the night before; so it’s worth a call to check.

2. Split Ticketing

This is where you can break your journey into smaller chunks but stay on the same train and pay less than the standard open or saver return, or even on a one way fare.

If you wanted to travel from Station A to Station C, you would expect to buy a ticket direct from A to C. With Split Your Ticket, depending on your route you may find it cheaper to buy a ticket from A to B and B to C. You still complete the same journey from A to C but stay on the same train without getting off – saving money!

When it comes to saving money on your UK train fares, remember to split your ticket not your journey.

3. Buy a Rail Card

If you’re under 26, over 60, or travelling with children, you can cut a third off most ticket prices with a railcard, costing £26 a year.

There is also a railcard for you if you are disabled, for just £18 and a friend travelling with you will also get the discount.

Also a Network Railcard covers London and the Southeast and allows three friends to travel with you at the same discount and up to four children at 60% discount.

For journeys costing over £60, always get a railcard. The saving on the fare will cover the cost of the Railcard.

4. Only Pay Peak For The Portion That is Peak

Peak times are usually before 10am and between 5pm and 7pm. If at all possible avoid these times and you’ll find better bargains.

You can still cut the cost by buying two singles instead of a return if only one part of your journey is during peak times or else by using split ticketing (see above), so that if some of your journey isn’t during peak time, you’re not paying a peak price for your whole ticket.

For more information go here .