Railcards and cheaper fares
Split ticketing: buying one journey as several tickets
Type the fare for the whole journey and the fares of each part: the tool gives the saving, if there is one.
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).
Split ticketing means covering one train journey with two or more tickets, each valid for part of the route, because together they cost less than a single ticket for the whole trip. It is allowed by the National Rail Conditions of Travel: condition 14.2 says you may use a combination of tickets for a journey provided the trains you use call at the stations where you change from one ticket to the next. You do not have to get off; the train only needs a scheduled stop where passengers can board or alight. Condition 14.4 adds that each ticket's own conditions apply, so an Off-Peak ticket on one part must be used at an Off-Peak time on that part, and some tickets exclude combinations. Savings come from the way fares are set: a long-distance fare is not always the sum of its parts, and a peak fare may cover only the busy end of a journey. The tool above compares the fares you find; this site holds no fare database and never guesses a price.
Cheapest way to pay for this trip
Cheapest: Advance
£39
| Advance | £39 |
| Off-Peak | £75 |
| Anytime | £120 |
Advance fares are tied to one train; Off-Peak hours are set by the operator for each route.
Schemes and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The rule in one line
The train must be scheduled to stop at every station where your tickets change. That is the whole of condition 14.2 of the Conditions of Travel. An information note under it adds that the stop must allow passengers to board or alight, as the ticket terms permit, and that you do not need to leave the train. Season tickets, zonal and area tickets are treated a little more simply under condition 14.3: if one ticket's last valid station is the next one's first, the train does not need to call there.
Where the savings come from
- Peak restrictions that cover only part of the route. An Off-Peak fare may be valid from an intermediate station earlier than from your starting point.
- Fares set by different operators. Each part of a route can be priced by a different company or under different rules.
- Railcard minimum fares. A short part may fall under a minimum fare while a longer one does not.
- Advance fares on one part only. A cheap Advance ticket on a long leg combined with a flexible ticket on a short one.
None of this can be predicted from the outside: compare real fares for real times, then let the tool do the arithmetic.
A worked example
Suppose a single for the whole journey costs £92, and three tickets covering it cost £38, £29 and £12. Together they cost £79, a saving of £13 on one journey. Over a return trip made twice a month, that is £624 a year. If the train you plan to take does not stop at the second change station, the split is invalid and the saving disappears; choose another train or another split.
Cheapest way to pay for this trip
Cheapest: Advance
£39
| Advance | £39 |
| Off-Peak | £75 |
| Anytime | £120 |
Advance fares are tied to one train; Off-Peak hours are set by the operator for each route.
Checks before you buy
- Open the timetable of the train you will take and confirm it stops at each change station.
- Read each ticket's restrictions: Off-Peak times, route, the train for Advance tickets.
- Apply your railcard to each ticket and check its minimum fare.
- Carry all the tickets, or have them in one app, for inspection on board.
Delays on split tickets
Split tickets do not reduce your rights. The delay is counted at your destination, against the timetable of the day, and the claim is made with all the tickets. For Advance tickets on separate parts, condition 9.4 lets you take the next train of the company your ticket is valid with when a connecting train was delayed or cancelled. Our Advance and split ticket page covers the compensation side.
Split tickets and railcards together
A railcard can be used on every ticket of a split, and its discount often widens the saving. The minimum fares of some cards apply per ticket, however, so short morning parts may lose the discount. Run the calculator twice, with and without the railcard prices of each part, and keep the cheaper combination that respects every ticket's conditions.