Save money on train fares for cheaper, greener adventures!

When was the last time you went somewhere by train? I’m a regular user. An ex-Brighton to London commuter, I’ve also communted for work between Brighton and Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, Horsham, East Croydon and The City. Years and years of it.

I travelled from Brighton to Darlington by train last week and, as usual, had an extremely comfortable and fast journey. 270 miles-ish in about four hours with only one change. The train was spotless, the staff polite and the seats comfy with free WiFi laid on. There was a snacks trolley, a bar and a quiet carriage with no noisy kids and no mobile phones (yay!). It’s greener, cheaper, faster and more relaxing than negotiating the horrible Dartford tunnel, M11, M1/A1 and A19. And it cost me a grand total of just over £40 each way. Bargain!

In my experience the people who moan most about public transport are those who never use it. Weird but true. If you’re open minded and fancy a few adventures with a difference this summer, make a train trip part of the experience and enjoy the journey as much as the destination. Trains go to all sorts of fantastic places. The network joins up every medium-sized town and every city has at least one mainline station.

As a non-driver I’ve taken trains as far north as Fort William and as far south as Plymouth, from Brighton to Rye, Dover and Cambridge. The views are always interesting, often very beautiful, missed completely when you’re whizzing along on a motorway concentrating on safe driving. The great, flat Cambridgeshire fens and Vale of York. The gentle Sussex coastline east of Eastbourne where the train runs along the beach for miles, paralleling the lapping waves. The breathtaking views from spindly, high, wind-torn red brick viaducts…

If you tend to stiffen up if you sit too long, trains are great for wandering about. You can change seats, face backward or sit on the floor in the Guard’s van for a change if you like. And, while they’re rarely any nicer than your average public loo, there’s toilets on board.

The simplest ways to save money on rail fares:

book as far in advance as you can online. Fares drop dramatically when you plan ahead and most sites will post your tickets so you don’t have to queue in the station
ask your local station staff to find you the best value ticket – most medium and all large stations have a help desk or mini-travel centre with access to the entire network
travel off peak – it’s always more expensive travelling at commuter time and the trains are pretty crowded then too. Travel off peak and it’s usually much cheaper
use train travel discount codes to track down unbeatable special offers and cut price fares

Published July 28, 2011 & Filed in Discount Coder Chat

Tags: save money on rail fares, save money on train fares, train travel discount codes

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