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Book Train Tickets online using the Rail Easy™ train ticket price check and Rail Saver online reservation system to find the cheapest available train ticket price on your selected route at your preferred travel times with all of the train operators on the National Rail network.

Train Ticket Types and Online Ticket Reservations

Rail Saver offer a comprehensive range of point to point online train tickets impartially between train operating companies on the National Rail network.

There are different types of tickets depending on when you want to travel and how early you book. The details of the type of train ticket you have bought are printed on your ticket.

An explanation of the various ticket types to help you better understand how the railway operators structure their ticket pricing is detailed below.

UK (point to point) rail fares can be divided into 2 main types, quota or walk on fares:

• Quota fares are the cheaper fares that are available up to 12 weeks in advance of travel. There are a limited number of each type of these and, as they sell on a particular train, the seats become more expensive. In many cases particularly on intercity trains your ticket includes a reserved seat.
  
  
• Walk on fares are more expensive but are always available. These are the fares you buy when you turn up at a station on the day.

U.K. Rail tickets are broken down into the following groups:

Buy any time for travel any time

You can buy tickets at any time, with no limits on what day or time you travel. These include
Open tickets and some Day tickets. These tickets cost more than others with restrictions for the same route.

Buy any time, travel restricted

You can often buy cheaper tickets with some limitations on when you can travel. These include SuperSavers, Savers and Cheap Day tickets.

Buy in advance (specified trains only)

You can buy bargain tickets,in advance, on many routes. There are only limited numbers available and you must travel on the trains stated. These include Apex and SuperAdvance tickets.

Multi-journey

You can buy season tickets which give you unlimited travel on certain routes. They can be used for up to seven days, or for any period from one month to one year.

Regional and All-Line Rover Tickets

You can also buy Regional Rover tickets in some parts of the country. They can be used for unlimited travel in a certain area.

An All-Line Rover ticket gives you seven or fourteen days of unlimited travel on the railways.

Multi-transport

You can buy tickets which enable you to travel by train and other types of transport such as bus (PlusBus) or ferry services.

Leisure Attractions and Special Events

You can buy tickets that allow you to travel by train and then get in certain attractions or special events.

Group Advance Tickets

If you book seats before you go you can get cheaper tickets if there are ten or more people traveling. together. You can also get cheaper tickets for smaller groups on some trains, if fewer than ten people are traveling.

Children Tickets

At all times, up to two children under the age of 5 may travel free of charge with an accompanying adult, and do not require a ticket (but see the Family Railcard article for one exception to this). Children between the ages of 5 and 15 (inclusive) travel at half of the standard adult fare. (Full adult fare for journeys are almost always in multiples of £0.10; in the rare instances where the adult fare is a multiple of £0.05, the Child fare will be rounded up to the nearest £0.05.)

On tickets issued for children, the wording CHILD will appear in the "concessions" (status code) field of the ticket(s). Children can gain further reductions by travelling with adults who are using certain Railcards, or adults travelling on certain other concessionary tickets.

Accompanied Animals and Large Articles

A charge of 50% of the standard adult fare, subject to a maximum fare of £4.00 or £8.00 (depending on the type of ticket held by the passenger), would be charged for the following:

• "Dogs, cats and other small inoffensive animals or birds" (maximum of two per passenger)
• Non-folding prams (maximum of two per passenger)
• Skis and surfboards (maximum of one per passenger)
• Cellos (maximum of one per passenger)
• Disabled persons' "runabout" or other electric vehicles (maximum of one per passenger; not permitted in InterCity 125, InterCity 225 or sliding-door trains). In all of these cases, a ticket with the status code AAA would be issued for the article. This was represented as A A A on APTIS and PORTIS tickets until 1988. (Such tickets also showed NIL adults and NIL children, uniquely.)

Items exceeding the weight or size parameters, including furniture, canoes, hang-gliders and large musical instruments, will be issued with a ticket at the standard adult rate.

Most railcards and certain other concessionary fares could be combined with the Accompanied Animals and Articles discount, resulting in much larger discounts on the standard adult fare.

Privilege Tickets

Railway employees, their spouses or partners and their dependent children are able to travel on the railway network free of charge or at a substantial discount on the standard adult or child fare, depending on the type of staff travel pass, privilege pass or staff identity card they possess.

In cases where free travel is not available - either on certain routes or on all routes - the standard discount for adults is 75% of the full adult fare (i.e. a quarter-rate fare), although certain cheap-rate tickets (such as Cheap Day Returns) are not available in conjunction with the discount.

Railcards

You can buy different Railcards which give you big savings on many fares.

The Family Railcard is for groups of adults and children traveling. together (you do not need to be from the same family). The Family Railcard gives you over 30% off many fares for adults and 60% discount on many children’s fares (£1 minimum fare).

If you are aged 16-25 you can get a Young Persons Railcard. This gives you over 30% off the price of a range of fares. The Senior Railcard is for people aged 60 or over. This Railcard gives over 30% off a variety of fares.

For more information on Railcards please click here.

Season Tickets

Season tickets make your journey easy and you may purchase a season ticket for any duration. Your local train operator can provide you with a weekly / monthly / annual season tickets. Contact your local train operating company for details.

Rail Saver finds the most cost effective train fares for your rail journey quickly - enjoy more rail travel for less.