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Railcard Generates Travel

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Butts

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Since I became a mature student last year and obtained a 16-25 railcard there has been no holding me back.

I have travelled to Newcastle, Durham , York , Berwick Upon Tweed and for my latest venture I have just booked a trip to Darlington from Falkirk.

1st Class £12.55 each way - you couldn't make it up the normal fare to Edinburgh is about £9...plus all the East Coast freebies :lol:

I always travel First Class at the cheapest possible fare which is easily obtainable with a bit of planning.

I would not have made any of these journeys without a Railcard or spent any of the money in the local economy on arrival.

The best £28 I have ever spent :p
 
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causton

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I agree, I make so many journeys with my Railcard! A trip to London using a Travelcard is barely more than £5 rather than almost £9 so it feels so much cheaper in my mind - and Advances are dirt cheap!

However I think the BiTE Card does the same - I buy food at Upper Crust just to show my card and hope one day they forget to give me my receipt :( haha!
 

General Zod

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I had returned to University to start a postgraduate degree as a mature student at just about the time I joined the forums. To be honest I didn't use my 16-25 card that often but since finishing my studies I am finding that I am using the rail network more frequently. Easily more than at any previous time of my life. Probably due to the fact that if you plan shrewdly you can always pick up bargains on the network. Once my studies had finished I wasn't prepared to pay such exorbitant fares but this was counterbalanced by cheap advances being more readily available ( on certain routes). Have cheap ticket will travel.
 

Butts

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Great news for Mature Students - Their Railcards are shortly to become available online according to a report in "The Independent" at the weekend.

Still just for the one year , but a lot less hassle than having to go to the station .
 

wintonian

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My railcard has saved me hundreds if not a thousand or two pounds over the years.

In fact I think since I got my first Network card (it was cheaper than a Young Persons and suited my travel needs at the time just as well) the only time I have paid full fare has been the rare occasion forgotten it, a couple of 7 day seasons and fares paid by travel warrants.

Pretty sure I have never even paid a non railcard price for first class and certainly not on my occasional first class jaunt on morning trains to London.

Oh I tell a lie I have never used a railcard to get discount on railsail tickets to Dublin or Belfast - mainly due to the fact the such discounts are not available for me.
 

D2022

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My girlfriend lives in Westbury and I in Swindon, that's £20.10 for an open return to spend the night at each others. We've been together 9 months now and I make the trip virtually every day (it's easier for me to get to work from hers than her to get to college from mine as I live in the middle of no where)

That's not including the fact we always go out for a meal 2 or 3 times a week in Bath, that's £9.90 each for a return. Then she travels every day to Trowbridge for college, thats £4.10 a day.

Do the math on that little number and see why railcards are a must for both of us.
 

bb21

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Surely a high would be an All Line Rover, albeit not in First.
 

dggar

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Slightly off topic:

My daughter currently has a rail card. From next Septmber she will be studying Medicine at Queens in Belfast. She will need to renew her card next July.
Is it worth renewing the card as she will probably be spending the majority of her time in Northern Ireland for the next five years?
 

34D

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Slightly off topic:

My daughter currently has a rail card. From next Septmber she will be studying Medicine at Queens in Belfast. She will need to renew her card next July.
Is it worth renewing the card as she will probably be spending the majority of her time in Northern Ireland for the next five years?

That question can only be answered with knowledge of her personal circumstances. Many university students, especially ladies, seem to send most of their weekends visiting friends at other universities, for example. Is a long distance boyfriend (perhaps in your home town, or at another university, likely to feature? Also, what things does she typically do in vacations?

Don't forget railcard discount for rail-sea-rail england to Belfast.
 

Goatboy

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Don't forget railcard discount for rail-sea-rail england to Belfast.

Didn't think there was a Railcard discount on Sailrail?

I used to think the 16-25 railcard was great but since I lost mine last year I have become bitter and twisted about them :p
 

reb0118

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Didn't think there was a Railcard discount on Sailrail?

If you travel via Cairnryan (i.e. stay in the UK) then you can get a railcard discount on railsail fares.

I used to think the 16-25 railcard was great but since I lost mine last year I have become bitter and twisted about them :p

Too true. You could follow my example: join RN for forces railcard (not much access to the rail network from the middle of the North Sea though or confined to base for that matter!); join a TOC for free & reduced travel throughout the UK & Europe. (If you don't get sick of trains by working with them!)

:lol:
 

LexyBoy

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I don't think there's any question that Railcards generate more travel, but do they generate more revenue? Hmm. Didn't enjoy my brief period of not having a national (i.e. not just NSE) Railcard though!

My girlfriend lives in Westbury and I in Swindon, that's £20.10 for an open return to spend the night at each others. We've been together 9 months now and I make the trip virtually every day (it's easier for me to get to work from hers than her to get to college from mine as I live in the middle of no where)

A Season ticket would be the same price as 5 x Off Peak Returns with Y-P discount, so a Railcard's not the only way of saving (and the Season has no time restrictions of course).

That's not including the fact we always go out for a meal 2 or 3 times a week in Bath, that's £9.90 each for a return. Then she travels every day to Trowbridge for college, thats £4.10 a day.
£3.90 actually, and she'd be better off with a Season (£17.30 for a weekly) if she's travelling before 1000 (except during July and August when the minimum fare does not apply).

Do the math on that little number and see why railcards are a must for both of us.
What is a math? ;)

Too true. You could follow my example: join RN for forces railcard (not much access to the rail network from the middle of the North Sea though or confined to base for that matter!); join a TOC for free & reduced travel throughout the UK & Europe. (If you don't get sick of trains by working with them!)

Option 3: Aquire a child (help of a member of the opposite sex advisable, other methods could lead to trouble) = qualify for FAM.

Option 4: 6-pack of Special Brew + Black & Decker = qualify for DSB.

Option 5: become RJ and travel anywhere you like for a £3.25 fare, but spend all your free time writing letters to customer services explaining why your UPFN/PF was incorrectly issued :D
 

paulypaul

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Option 3: Aquire a child (help of a member of the opposite sex advisable, other methods could lead to trouble) = qualify for FAM.

Option 4: 6-pack of Special Brew + Black & Decker = qualify for DSB.

Option 5: become RJ and travel anywhere you like for a £3.25 fare, but spend all your free time writing letters to customer services explaining why your UPFN/PF was incorrectly issued :D

I did giggle at Option 5
 

RJ

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Option 5: become RJ and travel anywhere you like for a £3.25 fare, but spend all your free time writing letters to customer services explaining why your UPFN/PF was incorrectly issued :D

I did that for £4.20 once and there were consequences. I was quite unhappy about being kicked out of FC and told the guard that if I wanted to travel in Standard, I would have paid £2.80 for the STD ticket. That time, I didn't even need to get in touch with them - they emailed me to tell me they were aware of what I did and were closing the loophole, by which time it was already widely known about and in the process of being shut :p. It only takes 5 minutes to put my points into a letter. I do have plenty of spare time on my hands so it's a minor.

As for the subject matter, when I had the Priv, it used to generate travel but it didn't generate much extra revenue for the railways. After finding a legitimate way to circumvent the ban on using a Priv for commuting, I used to use the EM 3 in 7 Rover, plus SORs from Bedford to London which cost around £27 a week. A Priv SOR plus a season ticket was around £21 a week. Which meant one day a week, I had a spare box which I used to explore the network. For an extra £6, quite a large area to explore!
 
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bnm

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My acquisition of a railcard came about due to illness and medical conditions.

Having one has certainly enabled me to travel far more extensively around the UK than was the case before someone told me I would be eligible for a Disabled Persons Railcard.

The ability to travel has helped me cope with my medical conditions, has opened up greater job opportunities and it reignited my passion for all things rail related. I've made many new friends as a direct consequence of being able to afford to travel more extensively and more frequently by rail.

So, I suppose I owe some thanks to the person(s) in government who ensured national Railcard products were protected after privatisation.
 

island

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A horrible Americanism. I daresay arithmetic would be more correct?
"Maths" would also be fine.
Slightly off topic:

My daughter currently has a rail card. From next Septmber she will be studying Medicine at Queens in Belfast. She will need to renew her card next July.
Is it worth renewing the card as she will probably be spending the majority of her time in Northern Ireland for the next five years?
Probably, although she should also get a Translink student card for use in NI and ROI.
 

D2022

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A horrible Americanism. I daresay arithmetic would be more correct?

I dare say that's my schooling failing me there. I went to a school with a majority population of American children, being next to RAF Fairford.
 

DeeGee

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I'm currently trying to do the maths to ascertain whether I can justify a Network Railcard. I live in Great Grimsby, but travel once a month to run marathons. I have a brother who lives in Walthamstow and parents who live in Aylesford.

Starting on Saturday between then and Easter, I have a single trip to Luton, one to Milton Keynes, a return to Brighton. Starting these journeys in London I've worked out a £24.10 saving. I don't think I can tart my railcard to save money from Grimsvby to London (perhaps advance to Stevenage and NEW to Walthamstow, or One Day Travelcard)

I'm asking myself at the moment if I'll manage to find another trip. Certainly, if I travel with my wife and son to London while visiting my parents, I will. Then it will have paid for itself!
 

Robsignals

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I'm currently trying to do the maths to ascertain whether I can justify a Network Railcard. I live in Great Grimsby, but travel once a month to run marathons. I have a brother who lives in Walthamstow and parents who live in Aylesford.

Starting on Saturday between then and Easter, I have a single trip to Luton, one to Milton Keynes, a return to Brighton. Starting these journeys in London I've worked out a £24.10 saving.

In case you weren't aware the 'Outward' coupon of a 2 coupon Return Ticket is only valid when presented with the 'Return' coupon - usually checked.
 

island

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Been trying to find information for NI. without much sucess until I googled "Translink Student Card."

This product seems to have replaced it

http://www.translink.co.uk/yLink

Doesn't seem to cover ROI but seems wonderful value for £8

The old version of the card was accepted by Irish Rail (on a reciprocal unpublished concessionary basis), but they don't seem to be accepting the yLink, as you say.
 
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