How To Ride The UK Rails

If you plan on spending some time in Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) during your travels, you may want to consider purchasing a young person’s rail card for £26 (currently around $40). This card is valid for anyone who is under 25 or can prove that they are a full-time student. The card is valid for one year and allows you to receive major discounts on all train tickets.

To show how you can save in the UK with a young person’s rail card, I randomly priced two journeys for a week in advance:

London to Liverpool:
Without young person’s rail card – £55.50
With young person’s rail card – £36.65
Total savings: £18.85

London to Edinburgh:
Without young person’s rail card - £42.70
With young person’s rail card - £28.20
Total savings: £14.50

As you can see, if you are taking frequent train trips around the UK, you can save some pounds by purchasing the young person’s rail card after the cost of the card is factored in.

When you purchase train tickets online, you do not have to have purchased your young person’s rail card yet. You just need to show the rail card to the conductor who checks your ticket. When you purchase train tickets online, simply make sure you are buying reduced tickets with the ‘RAIL CARD’ option selected.

While you can purchase your young person’s rail card online or at the train station during your first travel, remember that train tickets are cheaper when purchased in advance. When purchasing your card from the station, make sure you have your passport and a passport-style photo.

To check out all young person’s rail card information, visit:
http://www.16-25railcard.co.uk/

To view train times and prices and to buy tickets, visit: www.nationalexpress.com