Railcards and cheaper fares
26-30 Railcard: a third off until you turn 31
Type the fare of a typical trip and how many you make a year: the tool shows whether the card pays for itself and by how much.
Does a railcard pay for itself?
Pays for itself after
3 trips
| Railcard (1 year) | £35 |
| Saving per trip | £15.33 |
| Net over a year | £56.98 |
Minimum fare £12 before 10am Monday to Friday, except Advance tickets and public holidays.
The 26-30 Railcard takes a third off Standard Anytime, Off-Peak and Advance fares, and some First Class Advance fares, for anyone aged 26 to 30, for £35 a year. It is sold only online and lives in the Railcard app on your phone; there is no 3-year version and no paper card. It can be bought right up to the eve of your 31st birthday and used for the whole year, and you can renew it if it expires within 30 days, as long as the new card would not run past your 31st birthday. Like the 16-25 card, it has a minimum fare of £12 on journeys before 10am Monday to Friday, which Advance tickets and public holidays escape; unlike the 16-25 card, the summer exemption of July and August does not apply. On a usual fare of £46, each trip saves £15.33, so the card pays for itself on the 3rd trip. The tool above checks your own fare and number of trips.
Split ticket saving
You save
£13
| Whole journey | £92 |
| Sum of the legs | £79 |
| Saving | 14.1% |
Valid only if your train calls at each station where the tickets change (National Rail Conditions of Travel, condition 14).
Schemes and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Same discount, different rules from the 16-25 card
| 16-25 Railcard | 26-30 Railcard | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £35 (3 years £80) | £35, 1 year only |
| Format | digital or plastic | digital only |
| Minimum fare before 10am on weekdays | £12 | £12 |
| Minimum fare waived | Advance, public holidays, July and August | Advance, public holidays |
| Last day to buy | day before 26th birthday | day before 31st birthday |
When the minimum fare bites
On a weekday morning trip of £15, a third off would give £10, but the card charges £12: the saving drops from £5 to £3. On a trip of £18 or more, the minimum no longer matters. For people who commute short distances on weekday mornings, the card brings little; for weekend trips and longer journeys, the full third applies.
Combining the card with a split
A railcard applies to each ticket of a split journey, and its minimum fare applies to each ticket separately. Splitting a short morning trip into two small tickets can therefore cost more with the card than one through ticket. On longer journeys, a split with the railcard on each part can still beat the through fare: check with the calculator below the citable block, using the discounted prices of each part.
Fare with the railcard
You pay
£26.67
| Discount | 33.3% |
| Saving | £13.33 |
| Minimum fare | £12 |
1-year card can be bought until the day before the 26th birthday, 3-year card until the day before the 24th.
What it does not cover
Season tickets are not discounted, nor are most London Underground and DLR tickets other than pay as you go, some promotions of individual operators, and excursion or charter trains. Caledonian Sleeper tickets routed on the sleeper only, seated or in a room, are excluded too. The card belongs to one person and is valid only with the holder travelling.
A late train on a railcard fare
Compensation follows the price you paid. A £30 railcard single that arrives 35 minutes late with East Midlands Railway pays £15; an hour late, the whole £30. The compensation page explains the bands.
Buying and renewing
The card is bought online with proof of age, a passport, a UK driving licence or an EEA identity card, and it is usable at once in the Railcard app: there is no wait for the post. A renewal can be bought when the current card expires within 30 days, provided the new one would not run past your 31st birthday. Tickets must be bought while the card is valid, and the card shown on board with them.
Who gains most
People in their late twenties who visit family a few times a year, take weekend trips or travel for leisure gain the most, because these trips fall outside the weekday morning minimum. Someone making four long-distance returns a year at £80 saves £106.67 for £35. Daily commuters on short weekday morning trips, on the other hand, gain little, since the minimum fare eats the discount and season tickets are excluded.
For them, a season or a Flexi season is usually a better route to cheaper travel than a railcard, which suits occasional and leisure journeys.