Tag: rail

Over 25? Student? You can still get a railcard!

Young Persons Railcard
Not just for young persons

Can’t believe I only just found this out – after booking some rail tickets. Although they may be canned with the upcoming strikes. CHecking for rail passes in England gives the option of 16-25, Family & Friends, Senior, Disabled and Network (SE/London). Checking in Scotland gave me the same options with Network replaced with Highland.

No obvious option for the mature student, which I thought a little unfair. After all, a 23 year old could be a graduate on £40k. I’m 36 and on £4k, all of which I have to pay back.

But, lo! Dig into the “Are you eligible?” section at the 16-25 Railcard web page and it includes mature students! As long as you’re attending 15+ hours a week for 20+ weeks per year, you qualify for the card. You require an ISIC (international student ID) card or a signature/stamp from the college and one passport-style photo. The pass can then be obtained from any manned railway station. You cannot apply online if you’re a mature student.

As it happens, this would only have saved me a smidgen over £6 on my London trip which doesn’t offset the £26 fee a great deal but these things mount up quickly over a year. It would definitely encourage me to use the train more.

Another point to note is that if you get the card on the last day of uni, it is still valid for the following 12 months – the same as if you get one on the day before you turn 26. So if you get a card partway through your final year and get your £26-worth, then just fork out for another one the day you leave!

So, bad advertising? Or a deliberate attempt to hide the fact that some people could be saving money? Either way, spread the word!

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Bizarre rail pricing

I’m trying to sort a ticket out on thetrainline.com. Simple enough, I have a choice of two “start” stations – both on the same route – and the same destination. Basically, I need to get from Bristol to Newport tomorrow morning to sort my passport out.

Bristol has quite a few stations, so I checked Temple Meads first as it’s the nearest to the city centre. Journey just over an hour, including one transfer at Bristol Parkway. Fair enough. £4. Fair enough. The journey from Parkway on seems to be a bus, not a train. OK, maybe it’s a replacement service. Whatever.

Now, I wonder how much the same journey is from Parkway if I happened to start there instead?

Eight quid.

Eh? A shorter journey, and it costs more? It makes more sense, even if you are only travelling from Parkway, to buy a ticket from Temple Meads and reserve a seat you’ll never use on the train. Bonkers.