I am a frequent rail traveller considering my regular trips to see family in Nottingham from London, so I often rant about how pricey the tickets are. The return trip I booked home for this weekend? £103. I could get to Barcelona and back for that, and it’s incredibly infuriating that I’m splurging the same to sit in a cramped carriage for 90 minutes to get halfway up the UK. Urgh.
There are always people suggesting ways I could save cash on my train travel. Some say book months in advance (hardly convenient diary-wise); others say leave it until the last minute to grab a cheap deal. Then there are all the ‘hacks’ about what days to buy tickets and travel on – but the advice is so conflicting, it’s hard to know where to start.
There’s so much conflicting advice as to the best time to book train tickets
If you feel the same way, I have good news. A train driver with more than 23 years on the tracks, Alan Kemp, has teamed up with the travel experts at Ski Vertigo to compile his five top tips for getting your tickets as cheap as possible. Spoiler: you’re currently going about planning your travel all wrong…
Never book on a Friday or Sunday
Fridays and Sundays are the most popular days to book trains: people finally get around to it after work, or sit down on Sunday to plan for the week ahead, says Kemp. ‘Because of that, it’s then that demand surges and prices rise. You’re booking at peak time, even if you’re not travelling at one.’
Book at 10am on a Tuesday
Kemp says that 10am on a Tuesday is ‘without question the best time to bag cheap fares. Ticket prices tend to reset or adjust after the weekend, and by Tuesday morning, operators quietly release unclaimed lower fares.’
But he warns you only have a small window to snag the best deal. ‘By lunchtime, the best deals will be gone,’ Kemp says. ‘So 10am until noon is the sweet spot.’
Split your ticket
You might have seen this option when you use Trainline, but probably (like me) don’t know what it means. But splitting the ticket into two or three legs – say buying a ticket from Nottingham to Leicester, and then a separate ticket from Leicester to London – is perhaps the most effective way to save money.
‘You’d be surprised how much you can save by splitting up your journey,’ Kemp advises, ‘and you usually don’t even have to change trains. There are online tools for it now like Trainline, but checking manually might shave even more off.’
Know when to book in advance
It’s better to book in advance, but not more than a month before travelling
This is the real dividing question: how far in advance do you book your tickets? ‘Booking ahead isn’t always cheaper, especially for quick journeys,’ Kemp explains. ‘But for long-distance routes, you’re usually better off booking in advance.’
So when is the sweet spot: days, weeks or even months? According to Kemp: ‘The sweet spot is about three or four weeks before travel. If you book it earlier, you might in fact overpay. But leave it later and prices may start creeping up.’
Travel after 10am if you can
Okay, you can’t always be picky about when you travel. But if you do have flexibility, the cheapest time is always after 10am. ‘The 6am to 9am commuter window is the most expensive time to travel. If your schedule allows, catch a train after 10am. Off-peak fares kick in, and you’ll get a quieter carriage too.’
