Pretty sure most of us have heard of a Railcard, but if you haven’t, it’s basically a discount card that can save you up to a third on train travel.
If you’ve booked a train ticket online before, you’ll probably have seen the option to add one when searching for tickets.
Whether a Railcard is worth buying depends on things like your age, who you travel with and how often you use the train. And you definitely don’t need to be commuting every day to make one worthwhile. A few decent journeys can soon make back what you paid for it.
With more of us choosing UK breaks over heading abroad, according to a recent article by The Star, it could be worth looking at one if you’ve got a city break or a few weekends away planned.
So, which Railcard can you get, how much could you save, and is it actually worth buying one?
Let's have a look.
What is a Railcard?
First things first, skip this section if you already know what a Railcard is.
As covered in the intro, it’s a travel discount card that gives you up to a third off eligible train travel in Great Britain. Railcards are available as physical cards or digitally.
TrainSplit only sells digital Railcards, which is convenient as you can add yours to the TrainSplit app and have it with you whenever you travel. Together with e-tickets, where available, you’ve got everything you need within the app. You just need to make sure you’ve got enough juice in your phone when travelling!
How much do they cost?
As of writing, most Railcards cost £35 for one year. Some Railcards, including the 16-25, Senior and Family & Friends Railcards, are also available for three years for £80, which can work out better value if you know you’ll be using one for a while.
There are some Railcards we aren’t permitted to sell though, including the Veterans Railcard and Disabled Persons Railcard. These need to be purchased elsewhere.
So what Railcards do we sell?
Here’s the list of Railcards currently available through TrainSplit:
16-17 Saver
As the name suggests, this is for anyone aged 16 or 17.
16-25 Railcard
For anyone aged 16-25 inclusive, as well as eligible full-time mature students.
26-30 Railcard
For anyone aged 26-30 inclusive.
Senior Railcard
For anyone aged 60+.
Network Railcard
For anyone aged 16+ travelling in London and the South East. There are some restrictions on when and where you can use it, so it’s worth checking these before buying one.
Family & Friends Railcard
For up to four adults and four children travelling together. You can have two named cardholders, although they don’t both need to travel. At least one named cardholder must be travelling with a child.
Two Together Railcard
For two named cardholders who regularly travel together. You’ll both need to be travelling together to use the Railcard.
How much can you actually save?
This one is easy. Most of the Railcards we’ve listed give you a third off eligible fares as of writing, but do bear in mind the restrictions etc, so have a read when buying the Railcard.
Let me give you an example for a return journey from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh for, say, 25th September, returning 27th September for a weekend break.
£147.80 without a Railcard for 1 adult, or £98.40 with a Railcard (26-30 used in this example).
That’s a £49.40 saving, so that’s your Railcard paid back and more in one trip.
Image credit: Jonathan Borba | Pexels
How do I use my Railcard?
I think some of you will have questions, and that’s what this blog post is for.
When booking train tickets, if you have a Railcard that’s valid and covers the period you’re travelling, add it to your search in the journey planner.
If a Railcard is added, then throughout the booking process, and if you look at the list of tickets you’re about to buy, it’ll say that the Railcard has been added, i.e. discounts applied.
For example:
26-30 Railcard
(must travel with 1× 26-30 Railcard)
Goes without saying to check that you’re happy with everything before paying.
On the day of travel, you should have your tickets and Railcard ready. If you’ve booked e-tickets, then everything will be on your phone. Your e-tickets will be available within the TrainSplit app and your Railcard will be there as well.
Railcards + split tickets, how do they work?
Before you start asking if you can combine Railcard discounts with split tickets, yes, we absolutely can stack the discounts.
Split ticketing, if you aren’t aware, finds a cheaper combination of tickets compared to a through fare. So combine that with your Railcard discount and you could save even more.
Now let’s look at the same London to Edinburgh journey from earlier.
Split tickets + Railcard discount: £98.40
Without split tickets and using only the Railcard discount, you’d be paying £118.85.
Just to add, the fare examples in this blog were correct at the time of search on 8th September 2026. Train fares can change, so the prices you see when searching may be different.
A few things to remember / look out for
Railcards have their own restrictions. It is your responsibility to check and know them before buying. Some have minimum fares or time restrictions.
We get emails saying that a Railcard discount didn’t apply even though the Railcard was added to the search. Most of the time, it’s because there’s a restriction on when the Railcard can be used, a minimum fare applies or the ticket isn’t eligible for the discount. So make sure you check the conditions for your particular Railcard.
Another thing is to make sure your Railcard is valid on the date you’re travelling. If your Railcard expires today and you travel tomorrow, for example, you can’t use it for Railcard discounted travel tomorrow unless you’ve renewed it. If you’re booking tickets in advance, make sure your Railcard will still be valid on the actual date of travel.
Another common thing we get asked is whether we can retrospectively apply a Railcard discount after you’ve booked. The simple answer is no. You need to add your Railcard during the search and make sure you’re happy before booking. Waiting a few days, weeks or months to say you forgot to add your Railcard would unfortunately be too late.
Image credit: Gilley Aguilar | Unsplash
When a Railcard might not be worth it
A Railcard may not do you much good and you may not see much benefit if you:
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Only make one or two cheap train journeys a year. Although as we’ve shown above, one longer or more expensive journey could potentially pay for the Railcard itself.
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Have most of your travel already covered by a season ticket.
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Have your rail travel paid for by your employer. Although it’s worth checking your company’s expenses policy, as they may cover the cost of a Railcard too, particularly if it’ll save them money on your travel.
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Regularly make journeys that fall outside your Railcard’s validity conditions.
If you’re not sure whether it’s worth buying one, have a look on TrainSplit at some of the journeys you’re likely to make, search with and without the Railcard added and work out roughly how much you could save.
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And that’s pretty much it from me on Railcards!
Whether one is worth getting really depends on how often you travel, where you’re going and who you’re travelling with. Have a play around on TrainSplit with and without a Railcard added and see what the difference is for the journeys you’re likely to make.
You might be surprised that it pays for itself quicker than you think.
Happy travels!
FAQs
Right, now to the FAQs, because I’m sure you’ll have some lingering questions.
Can I use my Railcard with split tickets?
Absolutely, as proven in the example above.
Can I use a Railcard at peak times?
There isn’t a blanket answer for this as it depends on the Railcard. Check the conditions of your particular Railcard, as some have time restrictions and/or minimum fares.
Do I need my Railcard with me when I travel?
Do you need a ticket when you travel? Same goes for your Railcard. If you’re travelling with a Railcard discounted ticket, your ticket and Railcard stay with you at all times.
Can I have more than one Railcard?
There’s no limit as to how many Railcards you can hold. If you travel a lot and with different groups of people, you can have multiple Railcards and use the applicable one when you travel.
Here’s an example. Maybe you want to use a Family & Friends Railcard when travelling with the family. Then you and your mate go to footie matches together, or maybe you and your partner want some alone time without the kids, so you use a Two Together Railcard for those trips. Then you might travel alone for work around London and the South East, where a Network Railcard could come in handy.
So you own 3 different types of Railcards suitable for different occasions, each one saving you money in its own way, and that’s perfectly alright.
Can I buy a Railcard through TrainSplit?
Yes you can, but not every type. Check out the digital Railcards we sell here: https://rail.cards/.
And before you ask, we unfortunately don’t do physical Railcards, because why carry another plastic card around when you can have it all in the app?
Does my digital Railcard work offline?
Oh absolutely! Your TrainSplit digital Railcard works offline, so lack of signal shouldn’t stop you from showing it, especially when you need to show your Railcard while going through a tunnel with no connection.
What if my Railcard expires before my journey?
I’m sorry to say that your Railcard needs to be valid when you actually travel. If you’re booking for travel weeks ahead and know that your Railcard expires before then, make sure you renew it for the travel date. And no, we definitely don’t advise trying to travel with an expired Railcard.
Take your journeys with you
