Simon Calder reveals how to get train tickets for £4 or less in the Rail Sale
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Deals include Portsmouth to London for £3.50, Norwich to Colchester for £4 and Sheffield to Leicester for £3.80. “More discounted tickets than ever before”: that is the government’s promise as the 2025 Rail Sale gets under way. It offers cut-price rail fares on many journeys between now and the end of May 2025.
Ministers say discounts on “selected Advance and Off-peak tickets” are up to 50 per cent. The Independent has found some examples that are even better than half price, such as Sheffield to Leicester for just £3.80 and Manchester to London (on slower trains) for £7.
The aim is to stimulate more journeys and therefore increase revenue. The government says last year’s Rail Sale stimulated an extra 440,000 journeys. Many buyers, though, will have made the journey anyway and are simply saving money. These are the key questions and answers about the Rail Sale.
Almost all of the promised two-million-plus available tickets are Advance fares for longer journeys. These require committing ahead to a specific train. While normally Advance fares increase in line with demand, the Rail Sale involves a set number of tickets at a fixed price; once they’re gone, they’re gone. Where a participating train company does not offer Advance tickets, Off-peak fares may be offered as an alternative.
Most tickets do not qualify, including Anytime, the vast majority of Off-peaks (except in a few cases), seasons and flexi-seasons. In theory you can go to a station, but in practice almost everyone will book online. You can go through individual train operators’ websites. Booking direct with the operator, which makes things easier if there is a problem with the journey and may qualify for a loyalty bonus, eg LNER Perks. Alternatively you could go through retailers – though note that you will pay an unnecessary fee at Trainline (typically 4 per cent). It will, though, offer “split tickets” to provide extra savings if appropriate.
