Saving Money On Train Tickets

For those of us who don't have to travel regularly by train but can plan some time in advance a great deal of money can be saved. This is especially so compared to turning up at the train station and buying a ticket on the day of travel. The train companies clearly want a good cash-flow and getting customers to pay in advance makes business sense for them even if the money they get is less than if everyone had to pay on the day. 

The best deals are for travelling out of the busy morning and evening commuting times so if you can adjust your travel arrangements accordingly, whether it's for business or leisure, you can save an enormous amount.

My top 3 tips for saving money when travelling by train are:

1. Book as early as you possibly can - decide whether you want a flexible ticket or not but remember flexibility adds to the cost
2. Travel out of the peak travelling times in the morning and evening - the trains are less crowded too 
3. Journeys are usually more expensive when there is a straight through service to your destination - changing trains may make it cheaper but there's the added risk of potential delays

I happen to like travelling by train and do so on longer journeys and I've got used to planning as far ahead as I can even if occasionally if I have to cancel a journey I know I've lost the price of that ticket - the amount I save doesn't make it seem so bad.

Saving Money On Train Fares

The cost of train tickets can at times seem extortionate for what appear to be short journeys.  This is especially so if you travel at peak times and buy your ticket at a train station on your day of travel.  

Thankfully there are ways of significantly reducing the price of train tickets.  What’s required is some forward planning for travel plans, wherever that is possible.

Here are some ways that train ticket prices can be reduced:

Buy Tickets Ahead Of Time

If you can plan your journey ahead of time then you have the opportunity to buy your tickets up front.  This is no different to buying flights really; the sooner you can book your ticket the cheaper it will be.  You can buy tickets ahead of time at train stations or online.

Plan To Use Specific Trains

If you are able to specify exactly which train you plan to use then you are able to benefit greatly compared to a less restrictive ticket.

Buy Tickets Online

There are a number of train ticket websites and each of the UK’s train companies has it’s own site too.  Occasionally it is cheaper than buying equivalent tickets at train stations.  The systems work well and you can have your tickets posted to your home (usually free) or arrange to pick them up at the train station on your day of travel.

Travel Outside Peak Times

If you must travel during peak times then there will be quite a cost associated with that.  You can offset this by buying ahead of time, reducing the price of your ticket compared with just turning up on the day.  Make sure you check the times of your journey as peak times aren’t the same everywhere. 

Season Tickets

For people who know what their forward travel commitments are buying a season ticket for as little as a week or perhaps as long as a year is worth considering.  Just remember that if you have any known periods when you won’t need to travel then you might want to mix and match season ticket durations.

For those occasions when you get no notice at all about having to travel then the ticket price will be high.  Hopefully those situations are few and far between and a little forward planning will save a significant amount of money.

Spend a little time to save a lot of money!