Railcards and cheaper fares
Two Together Railcard: a third off for pairs
Type the combined fare for the two of you and how often you travel together: the tool gives the payback and the yearly saving.
Does a railcard pay for itself?
Pays for itself after
3 trips
| Railcard (1 year) | £35 |
| Saving per trip | £17.33 |
| Net over a year | £34.32 |
Not valid before 9:30am Monday to Friday, except public holidays.
The Two Together Railcard costs £35 a year for two people, £17.50 each, and takes a third off both adult tickets when the two named holders travel together. Any two people aged 16 or over can share it: partners, friends, a parent and an adult child. There is no age condition and no proof needed beyond a photo of each holder. It works on Standard and First Class Anytime, Off-Peak, Super Off-Peak and Advance fares, and on the airport express trains, but not before 09:30 on weekdays, except on public holidays; at weekends it works all day. There is no minimum fare. Because it discounts two tickets at once, it pays back quickly: on a trip where each ticket costs £26, the two of you save £17.33, so the card is repaid on the 3rd trip. Each holder can also have a personal railcard for trips made alone.
Cheapest way to pay for this trip
Cheapest: Advance
£26
| Advance | £26 |
| Off-Peak | £50 |
| Anytime | £80 |
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
Two tickets, one card
| Each ticket | Both full fare | Both with the card | Saving per trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| £12 | £24 | £16 | £8 |
| £20 | £40 | £26.67 | £13.33 |
| £26 | £52 | £34.67 | £17.33 |
| £40 | £80 | £53.33 | £26.67 |
| £65 | £130 | £86.67 | £43.33 |
The 09:30 rule
The only real limit is the time. From Monday to Friday, the discount applies on trains from 09:30; before that, the full fare is due. Public holidays are treated like weekends. For couples who commute together, the card helps only on the return leg and weekend trips; for days out and holidays, it fits perfectly. Check the departure time of the first train of your journey, not the time you buy.
Does a railcard pay for itself?
Pays for itself after
4 trips
| Railcard (1 year) | £35 |
| Saving per trip | £10 |
| Net over a year | £25 |
Minimum fare £12 before 10am Monday to Friday, except Advance tickets, public holidays and July and August.
Two Together or Family & Friends?
The two cards cost the same. Two Together suits two adults travelling as a pair. Family & Friends needs at least one child aged 5 to 15 on each trip, but discounts up to four adults and four children, and is not limited at 09:30, only in the London and South East morning peak. A couple with children on most trips gains more from Family & Friends; without children, Two Together is the only one of the two that works.
What is not discounted
Season tickets, most London Underground and DLR tickets, some promotions of individual operators, excursion and charter trains, and combined rail and sea journeys to Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and Calais are outside the card. Caledonian Sleeper tickets are discounted only for seats.
Delays with a Two Together fare
Each discounted ticket is compensated on its own price. If both of you were on a train that arrived 40 minutes late with Chiltern Railways, each £17.33 single pays £8.66; the claim can usually list both tickets.
Buying it
The card is sold online, as a digital card or a physical one, or at a staffed ticket office with an application form. Both holders are named, with a passport-style photo of each; there are no other conditions. It costs the same as a personal railcard but covers two people, so for a couple who travel together it is half the price of two individual cards.
A year of weekends away
Take a couple who make five weekend trips a year, each with two returns of £48. Without the card they pay £480; with it, £320. After the card's price, the saving is £125. Add Advance fares on long trips and the saving grows, because the card applies to Standard and First Class Advance tickets too.
Practical points
- Buy both tickets on the same booking with the card selected, so the discount applies to both.
- Carry the card on each journey; if one holder has it on their phone, travel together.
- If you split up during a trip, the tickets bought with the card are only valid when you travel together.
Each holder may also hold a personal railcard; for any one ticket, only one railcard discount applies, so pick the card that matches the trip.