Contents
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Ticket Guide
to the most common fares.
Fares have been simplified into three basic types as detailed below.
The good news is that you may now use a railcard on all fares, even
Advance - the cheapest ticket.
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Advance Fares |
These tickets
are the best value fares for longer distance journeys.
You must specify which trains and days you are going to
travel on (although you may change these subject to the
difference in fare and a £10 administration charge).
These tickets have different price bands so the earlier you
can book the cheaper your ticket will be.
The most
exciting aspect of these new fares is that Railcard
discounts will be available (Advance fares did not allow
discounts in the past). Child discounts apply
for all Advance fares. 16–25 (Young Persons), Family &
Friends (Family), Senior, HM Forces and Disabled Persons
Railcard holders save 1/3 on all Standard Class Advance
fares. Senior, HM Forces and Disabled Persons Railcard
holders also save 1/3 on all First Class Advance fares.
In addition, 16–25 Railcard holders save 1/3 on First Class
Advance fares for travel on CrossCountry, East Midlands
Trains, First Great Western, East Coast and
Virgin Trains services.
These fares
all come with a complementary seat reservation and all are
single fares - so that you can mix and match for the best
price. |
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Off Peak |
Off-Peak are
cheaper fares for travelling when it’s less busy, so they
have restrictions on when you can travel. Travel
restrictions will generally relate to times of the day or
days of the week that you can travel.
Where there is more than one Off-Peak
fare for a journey, the cheaper fare with more restrictions
will be named Super Off-Peak.
Off-Peak Single
and Off-Peak Day fares must be used on the
date printed on the ticket. The outward portion of an
Off-Peak Return ticket must be used on the date printed on
the ticket and the return portion is valid for one month.
Return tickets on the other hand offer the benefit of
being able to break your journey on the way back. You
can even break your journey overnight, so long as you are
travelling again by 12 noon the next day.
Off-Peak
tickets are available for travel in Standard Class and,
where available, First Class. Reservations are not
required, but maybe available on longer distance journeys
and are sometimes highly recommended on busier services.
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Peak |
Anytime fares
will be available for travel on or after 7 September 2008.
Anytime
is the most flexible fare as there are no time restrictions
on when you can travel. Perfect for people who need complete
flexibility.
Anytime
Single and Anytime Day fares must be used on the date
printed on the ticket. The outward portion of an
Anytime Return ticket must be used on the date
printed on the ticket and the return portion is valid for
one month.
Anytime
tickets are available for travel in Standard Class and,
where available, First Class. Reservations are not
required, but maybe available on longer distance journeys
and are sometimes highly recommended on busier services. |
Are other tickets available?
These are the three main types of ticket, excluding
promotions. However, keep in mind that you can make
considerable savings on all three types by using a
railcard. The other types of
ticket to think about are unlimited
travel fares - either rover tickets or season tickets.
They can offer considerable savings for people making the same
journey even a few times a week, regular commuters or people wishing
to do a bit of sightseeing in a particular area. |
