Traveling by train can be costly, and with passengers in the United Kingdom already facing the largest fare increase in nearly a decade this year, it’s critical to cut costs wherever possible. This guide includes 19 money-saving tips, such as how to get cheap Christmas train tickets, when flexible season tickets win, how to split tickets, and much more.
What exactly is split-ticketing?
Split ticketing means that instead of purchasing a single rail ticket for your journey, we calculate and assist you in booking two or more tickets that cover the same route. It may appear complicated, but it’s a clever way to save money on train tickets.
What is the process of splitting tickets?
Because UK rail fares are so complicated, split ticketing works. Rail services are provided across the country by a variety of different companies, each of which sets its own prices and operates in accordance with local as well as national regulations.
When you buy a train ticket, especially if it covers a long journey that includes some peak-hour travel, you are effectively paying a premium for simplifying the complex collection of fees and charges that apply to various parts of your journey.
Consider the following example of peak-hour travel. You want to travel from Bristol Temple Meads to Leamington Spa, departing Bristol around 6 p.m. and arriving in Leamington Spa around 8.20 p.m. If you buy a single ticket to cover your entire journey, you will be charged a peak time fare. Even though peak hours on most train lines end at 7 p.m., this only applies to about half of the time you will be on the train. You’d end up with more pieces of paper in your pocket if you bought split tickets for the same journey, but you’d only pay peak-hour prices for the first part of your journey.
When it is more likely that split tickets will be issued
Yes, it’s strange, and there’s no obvious logic behind when you can and cannot get split fares. However, there are some factors that may assist you in locating one of these lower-cost flights.
When a portion of your journey is peak and the remainder is off-peak
Peak trains are almost always more expensive, but if you can split the journey so that you have a different ticket once rush hour is over, you could save money.
When you are travelling a long distance
Again, if you go through more stations, you have more opportunities for change, which may result in a few splits.
When you use different train companies
If you change trains halfway and the second train is operated by a different train company, it’s definitely worth investigating whether splitting the fare is possible. Look out for promotions that are only available on one route. Though not strictly a split fare, I recently got 10p returns to Leeds from Manchester in a flash sale, but I’m still paying the standard return price from where I live to Leeds.
How to Locate a Split Ticket
You will almost certainly need to go online, though that’s not to say station employees won’t know a few deals – it’s just unlikely.
You can, of course, figure it out for yourself by checking the stations along the way and seeing if splitting the journey, whether on the same or a different train, results in cheaper tickets.
However, using a split ticket website is the most convenient way to find the fares. These take your route and calculate the cheapest and quickest split (or splits), if any exist.
Trainline (app only)
If you have to make any changes on your journey, this could cause a problem. If you have a standard ticket that takes you from station A to station C via a change of trains at station B, you can get on a later service if the first leg is delayed.
However, with split tickets covering stations A to B and then B to C, you’d almost certainly have to pay for a new ticket from B to C if you missed the pre-booked train, though you’d be able to get a refund on the first train if it was more than 15 minutes late.