BritRail pass for British national residing Overseas

[matthewa]

Hi all,

Firstly I'd like to appologise, if a thread like this has been made before.

Anyway I am a Australian residence but have got british residency. (Since I was born over there). I live in Aus for a 99% of the time, but travel over to England for 3-5 weeks every 2-3 years which in this case I travel back this year. I am usually based in Oxford, but this time I would like to travel around a bit.

My question is can I take advantage of one of these passes and if I do are there likely to be any problems using them

Many thanks, and hope it makes sense.

Matt

 

[yorkie]

I have done a search for 'Britrail' and come up with some results that may be of interest:

BritRail pass, and the EU

Just out of curiosity, when on train staff or ticket barrier staff check these Britrail tickets, do they also ever ask for proof that the holder is not a UK resident?

The reason I ask is that I am a British Citizen but I have lived in Hong Kong for the last 16 years and have permanent residency in HK. Therefore I meet the criteria for the issue and use of a Britrail ticket, i.e. not a UK resident, but still talking in a Geordie accent would the on train staff think I'm trying it on so to speak. I am able to prove I am a HK permanent resident as I carry identification to that effect but I just wonder if the train crews on here would comment as to how the Britrail ticket is checked, simply a date check or something more?

Ta.

I have a similar situation with the Inter-Rail pass, which I legitimately buy in the European country where I am resident (minimum residency requirement is 6 months), but often use in the UK.

The pass shows: name, country of residence and passport number (in my case, UK passport). I have never had a problem in the UK - indeed I have never been asked to show my passport, let alone "prove" my residence, despite conversing quite freely with ticket inspectors .

Britrail pass

...
As for passport checks, I have used Britrail passes regularly for many years and have never once been asked to show a passport, lucky that seeing as I never carry one in the UK. Earlier this year my father was asked for his by a Virgin Trains conductor.

Not that I would suggest to anyone to break the rules but the savings of Britrail and Interrail passes over ALRs are huge and the flexi-passes are a much better value product.

I don't know about inter-rail as i've never used them but the only requirement when buying britrail passes is that they aren't sold in Britain and obviously the on-line sales won't ship them to British addresses (or I would guess sell them to credit cards with British addresses).

Britrail passes are discussed in other topics but I can't find any others that answer this particular question.

 

[flymo]

I'm a British Citizen living overseas and a while back I wrote to Britrail and asked pretty much the same question. Their reply was short but succinct

,Hi,

The BritRail pass is available to non residents and so you would be eligible.

Best regards,

ACPRail Intl

So provided you buy it overseas, I think you have to anyway, there should be no problem. I would however bring proof of your overseas address to be sure.

 

[Railjet]

Yes, the BritRail pass is available to non-United Kingdom residents of any nationality. If you order it on the BritRail website, it will be sent to your overseas address. You can't buy it in the UK.

If you have a friend/relative in the UK who would want to trip around with you, you can order the BritRail Guest Pass, and each get 25% discount off the normal price. This is outstanding value, especially for the British resident (compared with the ALR prices).

I agree with flymo: I would have some proof of residence overseas, if you're a UK passport holder. For the Guest Pass, this is essential for both of you.

 

[matthewa]

Cheers all for your answers, cleared alot of blanks that I had over this.

I'll carry my aussie drivers license around then, since that has my address in Aus printed on the front of it and I guess this counts as proof? Now I can't wait for my hop on and off unlimated travel when I am in the UK.

 

[DJ737]

G'day

A couple of Britrail pass questions.

1... Can you buy an extension of a Britrail pass in the UK. ie: extend a 15 day pass to a 22 day pass?

2... What is the procedure for using a Standard class pass in First class on the odd journey, can you pay a supplement before boarding?

Cheers
DJ737
Melbourne, Australia

 

[island]

1. I don't think so.

2. You can, but the calculation of the supplement is a dark art and could be anything between "oh, don't worry about it" and the full first open single for the journey. If there is no open ticket office at a station when you're boarding, you can pay on train.

 

[John @ home]

calculation of the supplement is a dark art

Not so dark any more. Attached are East Coast's excess fare procedures, which have been disclosed following a request under UK's Freedom of Information Act.

 

[Railjet]

Not so dark any more. Attached are East Coast's excess fare procedures, which have been disclosed following a request under UK's Freedom of Information Act.

That doesn't say much about passes, though. I know that with an Inter-Rail pass you should be charged the difference between a full 1st and 2nd class single fare, if travelling in 1st with a 2nd class pass.

I would expect the same to apply for BritRail passes, but no guarantees, since this is not covered in the FAQs.