Young Persons Railcard - Not just for students (Other railways...)

Member Name: paule23

Product:	Other railways...
Date:	14/10/00 (142 review reads)
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Advantages: 1/3 off most rail fares

Disadvantages: Minimum fare before 10.00am

Contrary to popular belief, a Young Persons Railcard is NOT just for students, and you anyone can purchase one as long as they are under 26.

For those of you that are not familiar with a Young Persons Railcard, I'll explain. For an annual fee of £18.00 it entitles you to 1/3 discount of most rail fares, meaning if you are travelling a long distance it can pay for itself in one journey.

They are very easy to get hold of, just fill in a form that you can obtain from most railway stations, and as long as you have a passport photo and some proof of age id (driving licence, passport etc.) it can be issued on the spot. You can also get hold of a railcard if you are 26 or over, as long as you are in full-time education. All you need to do is get you University to stamp the applicatoin form to prove you are a mature student.

IThere are some occassions when you cannot use your railcard. The two that I find occur most are for Apex fares (no discount is available) and there is a minimum fare you have to pay to be entitled for discount before 10.00am, I believe this is about £9.00. After 10.00am you can get 1/3 discount off all fares. This means if you only use the train to get to and from work at peak times a railcard will not be of much benefit to you, but if you make at least two long-distance rail journeys a year (ie over 100 miles) the railcard will pay for itself. I regularly travel from Reading to Manchester, and on a saver fare I save £14.00 every journey, and over the course of a full year I think I have saved around £150.00, all for being under 26!

I am just disappointed that this is the last year I'll be able to get a Young Persons Railcard, unless I become a student again, but I think it would be a bit extreme to go back into full time education just to get a railcard!

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