Taking the train is one of the most enjoyable and quickest ways to travel across the UK. But it can also be one of the most expensive, with confusing ticket types and restrictions.
The good news is there are tons of ways to find cheap train tickets if you know where to look and how to be flexible.
In this guide, I will explain the bare basics of how to get cheap train tickets in a super duper easy way, and most importantly, I will compare my favourite cheap train ticket sites using a case study (in fact, there are many sites cheaper than Trainline!).
Follow this ultimate guide to get the best deals on your next British train journey!
Table of Contents
Fundamental Tips to Book Cheap Train Tickets
Timing is everything when it comes to scoring cheap train tickets. Here are some tips on when to book:
1. Book in Advance
This one may seem obvious, but the earlier you book, the better deal you’ll get.
Train operators release advance tickets 12 weeks before travel (sometimes, it can be up to 24 weeks!), so mark your calendar and book as soon as your dates are open. The cheapest fares sell out quickly, especially on popular routes.
If you know for sure when you are going to travel, buying in advance is the best way to save extra money. Cheap advance tickets usually sell out 4-8 weeks before, so make sure you don’t miss those!
2. Be Flexible on Days/Times
Traveling on off-peak days and times (imagine when you are less likely to take a train – during early morning and late afternoon in the weekdays when everyone is going to or leaving school or work) is generally cheaper.
Peak tickets are largest in demand, so prices are higher. In general, Weekends (which start from Friday afternoon till Sunday) are the ones that you want to avoid if possible.
Though often impossible to avoid these, but bank holidays, Christmas, New Year, Easter, Half-term and summer holidays of school children, and popular events are often the major causes of sudden price spike. Try to avoid these or make sure you buy the tickets well in advance.
3. Choose the Cheap Train Ticket Types
UK trains have a dizzying array of ticket options, each with different rules and restrictions. Here’s a breakdown with tips on finding cheap train ticket types, which you will find helpful when I start explaining the different sites available for purchasing tickets.
Advance Fares – These tend to be the most affordable tickets, but only available when booked in advance (usually a few days to months ahead). Do not book these unless you are very certain that you won’t change your mind.
Off-Peak/Super Off-Peak – Cheaper fares are available when you travel in off-peak hours, which generally starts at 9am to 9:30am (Mon to Fri), and anytime in the weekends and bank holidays. You can buy an off-peak ticket which is cheaper if you are travelling during these times.
Super off-peak has stricter time limits but offers even cheaper train tickets than off-peak. It is usually between 10am to 3:30pm and from 7:15pm onwards in the weekdays.
Railcards – Railcards are a must-have if you travel by train regularly. It offers 1/3 off most tickets for youth, seniors, group travelling, etc, and only costs £30/year (or less if you get discounts and cashbacks) and savings add up quickly.
Ranger and Rover Tickets – These special tickets provide unlimited travel passes in certain regions over a set number of days. It is great for exploring areas like Scotland, which you will need to travel by train for multiple times.
Split Ticketing – Buying multiple tickets for one-way journey can sometimes be cheaper, and this explains why some ticket purchasing sites are cheaper than the other.
Season Tickets – It offers unlimited travel between two stations weekly, monthly, or annually, and make sense for regular commutes. A Flexi Season Ticket is suitable for you if you travel less regularly, as it provides 8 days of unlimited travels in 28 days.
Sites for Finding Cheap Train Tickets
Now, I’m going to explain the most important factor that impacts the final ticket price – finding the right site for your cheap train tickets purchase.
Many of my friends make the same mistake that they assume Trainline to be the cheapest site and never do a price comparison search, therefore they are ending up paying more than they should!
In reality, there are often sites that are cheaper than Trainline just by quick googling, and most of these work by splitting tickets of one journey.
1. Trainline
Trainline is one of the most reputable online site for train tickets purchasing.
Trainline, like any other ticket comparison sites, allows you to enter your departure station, destination, date of travel, and other preferences and will scour all the train operating companies to find the best deals.
This removes the guesswork of having to check each provider separately. They also often highlight cheap advance fares and make it easy to find off-peak and flexible tickets.
Comparison sites sometimes have exclusives promos too. I used this site for the first few months in the UK simply because TopCashBack offers a massive 21% cashback when I purchase Railcard from them (which I later realised that buying a Railcard from Trainline doesn’t mean that I have to stick to it when buying tickets).
However, I soon realised that I’m paying more than I have to when I started to wonder if there are sites other than Trainline.
2. Ticket “hacker” Sites
These specialist sites take it a step farther by looking at all the possible ticket combinations for your trip. It often involves splitting up your journey into multiple tickets can actually be cheaper than buying one ticket directly between the stations.
There are several ones that I have used before and I found them quite reliable though suspicious at first.
TrainPal
My favourite one is TrainPal. By downloading its app, I often get random vouchers from time to time and save £1-3 for my journeys. Its tickets are sometimes cheaper than that of Trainline.
If you are not a fan of using app, you can also use its online website through Topcashback, which will earn you an extra 2.1% cashback when you purchase.
Nationalrail.com
Another one that I often find cheap train tickets is nationalrail.com. Despite its site looking more primitive (which happens with most cheaper sites), it is a trustable website as I had successfully used it before without an issue.
Similar to TrainPal, it uses a split saving method to cut down its cost.
Other Ticket Splitting Sites
Though I have not personally used them before, there are some other sites that use the same mechanism to offer cheap train tickets. These include SplitSaving, SplitTicketing, and TrainSplit etc.
As train tickets can vary a lot depending on which site you use, I would definitely google through all the possible options before I make the final decision.
3. Train Company Official Sites
Surprisingly, the official sites like London North Eastern Railway (LNER) and Grand Central do not always sell the most expensive tickets. In fact, sometimes after a thorough search, these come out to be one of the cheapest ones…
Though unbelievable, I would recommend you to do a rapid search on its official site just to make sure that this doesn’t happen before you buy your tickets from other sites. Purchasing tickets directly from the train company may offer extra security compared to other cheap train tickets sites.
Case Study
If you still have suspicion towards whether you can really save chunks by doing a quick comparison before your purchase, here is a case study just for you!
Assuming that I am travelling a single trip from Manchester Piccadilly to London Kings Cross Station on 1st May 2024, and aiming to depart between 10am to 11am, I did a quick search from Trainline, TrainPal, National Rail and the train company official site Avanti West Coast.
Trainline
This is the result from Trainline, the cheapest train ticket I can find is at 10:55am with £35, it is run by Avanti West Coast, it involves one change which I need to take the tube after reaching London Euston to reach London Kings Cross.
TrainPal
The cheapest train ticket I can find is £28.7 (already significantly cheaper than £35 offered by Trainline!) at 10:25.
It involves two changes. I will first have to take the train from Manchester to Stoke-On-Tent, then wait for an hour, and take a train to London Euston. Similar to the Trainline one, I then have to take a tube from Euston to Kings Cross in London.
NationalRail.com
The cheapest I can find is £33.03 at 10:35 and involves 1 change only which similarly requires me to take tube from London Euston to Kings Cross, still slightly cheaper than Trainline.
Avanti West Coast (The Official Site)
Unsurprisingly, the official site displays £35 as the cheapest ticket available at 10:55am, which is the exact same train as the one Trainline provided.
Considering that you can earn cashback by purchasing through TopCashBack if you purchase from Trainline (which is 1.05% for existing customers at the time of writing = 37p), Trainline is still slightly cheaper.
Results of Case Study
| Price | Duration of Journey | Number of Changes | |
| Trainline | £35 | 2h 34m | 1 Change |
| TrainPal | £28.7 | 3h 36m | 2 Changes |
| Nationalrail.com | £33.03 | 2h 26m | 1 Change |
| Avanti West Coast | £35 | 2h 34m | 1 Change |
It is clear that despite all of them are trains by Avanti West Coast, apart from TrainPal which uses Cross Country for its first part from Manchester to Stoke-on-Tent (then Avanti for the second part), their prices can differ greatly.
TrainPal undoubtedly wins the game of cheap train tickets by a huge 18% difference.
However, a big downfall to that is the significantly longer duration of journey, as you need to wait for an hour in Stoke-on-Tent during the first change.
I would take up this if I am not concerned of time, but otherwise, I would choose Nationalrail.com which is the second cheapest but has the shortest duration of journey.
Travel in the UK with Cheap Train Tickets
Hopefully these tips and case study give you all the tools you need to affordably travel cross the UK by train – one of the fastest transport in the UK.
With the right planning and some flexibility, you can see everything from the Scottish Highlands to the Cornish coast for much less than you might expect.
Comment below and let me know your favourite UK train ticket purchasing website!
