Buffet counter. However, I use it to see the range of fares available between two points without using a journey planner. Lines open 24 hours a day, calls are charged at local rates.
Is your train on time? Go to www. Pro tip: If you want a really detailed version, try www. Map of the national rail network : Click here for national rail map. This is the map which used to be included in the big printed Great Britain National Timetable, and in my opinion it's the still best map of the network, sufficiently schematic to see the lines, sufficiently geographic to see where they go.
The map is sadly no longer available on the National Rail website, where none of the replacement maps are as good. Other maps : There are other train network maps listed on www.
I also recommend rail fare expert Barry Doe's UK rail map which shows which train operator runs where, www. Buy train tickets for any train journey in Britain at www. You'll be offered a mobile ticket for many journeys, simply show the barcode on your smartphone, tablet or laptop. Or you can collect tickets from the self-service machines at any main station.
You'll need the original credit or debit card with you as ID, if you have any problems you can also collect from the staffed ticket office. Or they will post tickets to any UK address for a fee, with guaranteed next day delivery by 1pm. Tip: There's no need to find the 'right' train operator website , or to compare prices on different sites as all train operator websites including www.
Anytime fares are good for any train. Off-Peak fares are good for any train outside Monday-Friday peak periods. Advance fares are only good for the specific train you book with limited or no changes or refunds allowed. For a more detailed explanation, see my quick guide to the 3 types of train ticket. Tip: Avoid booking fees by using a train operator website such as www. Most independent third-party ticket retailers add a small booking fee on top of the ticket price, including www.
For example www. There are a few exceptions, for example www. Tip: Ticket sales normally open weeks ahead , beware of looking too far ahead as explained here. But here's a good idea: Sign up for a free email 'ticket alert' when bookings open for the specific route you want, allowing you to snap up those cheap fares as soon as they are released It's worth trying later in the day if you don't immediately see any cheap deals available.
To sign up for an alert, go to www. Some other train companies also offer this service. Tip: Choose your exact seat from a plan A few operators allow you to choose a specific seat from a seat plan, but only if you use their own site to book their own trains. Although I personally prefer the booking engine used by www. You'll find seating plans for some key British trains on the seat numbering plans page.
See how it works and download the Seatfrog app. The National Rail website www. To buy train tickets by phone , call any train operator telesales line. They all sell the same tickets at the same prices, for example, Avanti West Coast on Consider buying a railcard This is well worth it if you're under 26, over 60, travel as a family, travel as a couple, or have a registered disability.
Book longer-distance trips in advance. The price varies like budget air fares, the earlier you book, the cheaper they're likely to be.
Buy tickets for any route in Britain at www. You can also buy at www. Advance fares are only good for the specific train you book, no refunds, limited or no changes to travel plans.
If you want flexibility, you need to buy an Off-Peak fare or Anytime fare. Even booking the night before can save money: Bookings for Advance fares theoretically close at the day before travel. But in practice they remove any remaining Advance fares at on many routes, and one or two operators now even sell them on the day, so it's worth trying even if you've just missed the deadline!
Wednesday lunchtime is usually cheaper than Friday or Sunday afternoon. Sign up for a ticket alert : Advance fares normally go on sale weeks ahead, the exact period varies. If reservations aren't yet open for your date of travel, sign up for an automatic ticket alert at www. But don't fall into the 'trap' explained above by buying an expensive Anytime or Off-Peak ticket before cheap Advance fares go on sale.
Don't fall into the trap! This 'trap' catches out many overseas visitors to the UK, desperate to book train trips months ahead. To see how far ahead booking for major operators is currently open, see www.
There's no advantage in buying these in advance. Advance fares are much cheaper, but can only go on sale when reservations open, usually 8 to 10 weeks out it varies because availability at each price level is controlled by the reservation system. To secure a cheap price, you need to buy these Advance fares in advance.
Got that? Journey planners are built to find the fastest route, then find fares for that route. Sometimes there's a slower route with cheaper fares which a regular journey planner enquiry won't find. To check if there's a cheaper but slower option, simply run the usual enquiry on www. Then look for the little easy-to-miss link at the bottom of the search results saying Click here to see if slower routes with cheaper fares are available.
Click this and you will usually see a list of fares, starting with the cheapest. Click the button against each price, working your way down the list. Only www. Split the journey, where two tickets are cheaper than one You'll sometimes find a situation where the cost of a ticket from A to B plus a ticket from B to C is less than the cost of a ticket from A to C.
As long as the train stops at 'B', you're legally entitled to use a combination of tickets, there is no need to get off the train. Check your journey at www. Such situations arise in two ways: First, where different pricing managers from different train companies price the various sections of route, and have not noticed the anomaly, and second, where part of the journey can be made with an Off-Peak fare even if the other part has to be done on a peak Anytime fare, which saves money over making the whole trip with a peak Anytime ticket.
Anomalies are less likely to happen on obvious direct routes to and from London, as these will usually be priced by one pricing manager working for one train company who will naturally avoid creating them if he can.
For example, rather than buy a Penzance to Birmingham Off-Peak ticket you can save money by buying a Penzance to Cheltenham Off-peak ticket plus a Cheltenham to Birmingham Off-peak ticket, as all the Penzance-Birmingham trains call at Cheltenham. Under Condition 19 of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage there is no need to get off the train, as long as the train itself stops there.
How to check if split-ticketing will save you money:. You then click to buy all the tickets online as one transaction, as easily as buying one ticket. There's no booking fee unless they make you a saving, then they take a small fee out of the saving. The benefit if any of split ticketing varies enormously from route to route and time period to time period.
I checked these claims using nationalrail. I'm not sure I'd now buy any long-distance flexible ticket without at least checking it. Other topics. Search on entire page:.
Sign in. You are not signed in Accessibility tools My account. Buy tickets Your tickets Stations and destinations Travel information Travelling with us Help and support. Home Super-off peak terms and conditions. Super Off Peak terms and conditions. Ticket description Super Off-Peak fares are cheaper tickets for travelling on trains that are less busy. Up to two children aged under 5 can travel free with each fare paying passenger.
See terms and conditions of the appropriate Railcard or discount card for details. Railcard holders travelling on a discounted ticket must carry their Railcard when they travel. Refunds Your ticket is refundable.
Changes If you wish to change your time of travel you can pay the difference between the cost of the ticket held and the cost of the ticket that is most appropriate for the journey you need to make. Conditions Super Off-Peak tickets may require you to travel at specific times of day, days of the week or on a specific route.
Availability: Tickets can be bought in advance or immediately before travel. Break of journey: Outward A break of journey is permitted unless otherwise indicated by a restriction shown against the ticket's Restriction Code. Return Not applicable. Buy train tickets to any destination in Britain — no booking fee.
Buy season tickets Accessible booking tool Touch smartcard. Please start typing and select departure station name. Please start typing and select arrival station name. Please select option Via or Avoid from list. Please start typing and select name of station for via or avoid option. Please select date from calendar for outbound journey. Please select if you want to depart after or arrive before the selected date Depart after Arrive before.
Please select time for outbound journey. Single Return Open Return. Please select departure station name for return journey.
Please select arrival station name for return journey. Please select date from calendar for return journey. Please select if you want to depart after or arrive before the selected date on the return journey Depart after Arrive before. Please select time for return journey. Please select total number of adults traveling in this journey from list. Please select total number of children traveling in this journey from list. Booking for 10 or more, please visit our Group travel page. This will involve paying the difference between your discounted fare and the full-priced Anytime fare.
You should do this at a train station's ticket office before boarding. If you don't, you could be fined if you're caught traveling by a revenue inspection officer, which could be embarrassing. Michael Roennevig has been a journalist since He has written on politics, the arts, travel and society for publications such as "The Big Issue" and "Which? Video of the Day. Trains From Paris to Brussels. The first is luggage: If you've ever had to wrestle a large suitcase up or down narrow escalators in the rail station, worry about squashing it into an overfull luggage rack on the train, or watch a stream of disgruntled travelers part around the bulky obstacle you make in the center of the train, you'll appreciate how much easier it is to navigate luggage during the relatively uncrowded off-peak hours.
If you're worried about the train's luggage regulations — for example, you'd like to bring an extra checked bag, or you're hauling an oversize item like a bike along — traveling during the off-peak is no guarantee, but at least conductors and other officials are more likely to be lenient during this time.
In some systems, they even have the option of allowing non-service-animal pets aboard during off-peak hours, even if they're strictly prohibited during peak hours. And finally, even if you're not hauling luggage around, riding any subway or rail system can be stressful during the most crowded peak times — and that goes double if you're not familiar with that system's rail lines and stations.
Traveling during off-peak times gives you a little more time and leisure to figure it out. Also, since the less-stressed people around you probably won't be rushing to or from work, it'll be that much easier to find someone who's willing to take a moment and help you if you need it.
You'll find the term "off-peak" thrown around in other situations, too. Although the exact meaning depends on the context, you can almost always take this to mean "outside the most popular times. So, for example, booking an off-peak plane ticket to Ireland would mean avoiding the summer months, which are the most popular travel season; while an off-peak gym membership means you save money in exchange for only coming during off-peak hours , or when the gym is less busy.
That's typically weekend evenings and daytime during the week. Even in travel systems that don't specifically adjust fares for peak or off-peak travel, there are some ways you can save money.
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