Train fares have become yet another thing that will cost us more in 2022 as the price of living continues to rise.
From Tuesday (March 1), the price of train tickets rose by 3.8% in the largest increase since January 2013.
Thankfully, there are a number of ways you can save money on train tickets - including buying them at the right time, and season tickets.
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Experts at Ocean Finance have listed some tricks you can use to cut costs when travelling by rail.
Split your tickets to save up to 40%
Split ticketing is cheap train travel’s best kept secret. Instead of buying one ticket to cover your whole journey. you’ll buy multiple tickets for different parts of the journey to save money.
Say for example, that you’re travelling from Cardiff to Newcastle, and the train stops in Birmingham along the way.
Instead of buying one ticket from Cardiff to Newcastle, you’d buy a ticket from Cardiff to Birmingham, and another ticket from Birmingham to Newcastle.
You’ll stay on the same train, in the same seat, but could save a significant chunk of money.
Despite sounding complicated, it’s super easy as a service like Split My Fare will do the legwork for you.
You could save around a third.
Buy in advance to save up to 61%
Whilst buying your tickets in advance to save money isn’t a new concept, it’s still effective as it can save up to 61% according to Trainline.
Train tickets tend to go on sale 8-12 weeks ahead of time, with prices starting relatively low and gradually increasing in price the closer to the date of travel we get.
Buying your tickets in the station on the day can often be the most expensive option. If you know your plans are fixed plenty ahead of time, then buying your tickets in advance can save you a tidy sum.
And, even if things change, most train operators will let you move your tickets to another service or refund you at least a portion of what you paid to put towards re-booking.
Always opt for e-tickets to save up to £5
Opting for print-at-home or e-tickets can also save you the postage on getting your tickets mailed to you. At the least, it’ll save you the pound or two that ticket operators charge for regular postage.
But if you’ve left buying your tickets until the last minute and need special delivery postage to make sure they arrive on time, opting to print your tickets at home or keep them on your phone could save you upwards of £5.
Shop around for better deals
Many of us will go straight to websites like The Trainline to buy our train tickets. And for good reason – they’re brilliant at helping you find the lowest cost of travel and have some excellent cheap deals on train tickets.
However, it’s worth remembering that most train operators also sell tickets through their own websites, and it can sometimes be cheaper to go direct.
Consider going first class
When you shop around, it’s also a good idea to compare standard class and first-class tickets. Normally, first class will be quite a bit more expensive.
But occasionally, if you look carefully, you can spot one that’s cheaper than a standard class seat.
Plus, in first class you tend to get more extras like free Wi-Fi, drinks and food included in the cost of your ticket.
So, if you’d normally travel standard class but spend £10 on a sandwich and drink in the buffet car plus a fee for Wi-Fi for your journey, the slightly more expensive first-class ticket with food and Wi-Fi included could actually work out cheaper.
Commute often for work? Consider buying a season ticket
If you travel the same route a few times a week or more for your commute, then a season ticket may be your cheapest ticket option.
National Rail have a season ticket calculator which shows you how much you can save depending on your route.
Longer season tickets come with even greater savings.
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