Finding cheaper train tickets

Finding cheaper train tickets for all UK destinations is easy with Railsmartr. We do all of the hard work for you, but how do we do it? Buying in advance through us means you can save up to 80% (sometimes even more).

How do we find cheaper train tickets?

So, what do we do to work our magic and get you those cheaper train tickets? It sounds simple, but we start by looking at all of the journey options. Most websites will just want to give the fastest options, but sometimes you can save a packet if you don’t mind it taking a little longer.

Let’s take an example. You can travel from London to Manchester on a direct Avanti West Coast train. It’ll probably take you around 2 hours and 10 minutes, maybe a little quicker. Let’s take a look at the price if we want to travel at 24 hours’ notice. There aren’t any Advance train tickets left at the time we want to travel, so what can we do?

It’d cost £184.70 to get the usual direct train. But if we don’t mind taking an extra hour or so and changing at Crewe, we can save over 75%. Suddenly, a short-notice trip doesn’t seem so painful on your wallet!

What else should I know?

Of course, there are ways that you can find cheaper train tickets, too. Some of them might seem obvious, but it’s always good to give them a go if you’re able to.

We’d recommend avoiding busy times if you can. That doesn’t mean the traditional ‘peak’, either! If you want to travel in the morning to London, you could find that Mondays and Fridays are cheaper compared to the middle of the week. Saturday mornings and evenings as well as Sunday afternoon onwards can be a very busy time to travel.

Booking in advance can help you to save a packet. If you know you want to travel at a busy time, it’s worth getting your train booked as soon as you’re able to buy Advance train tickets. No matter which kind of ticket is the cheapest one for your journey, we’ll show you it.

Looking for more cheaper train tickets? Take a look at a guide to our favourites.