Start Saving Money Today! (Young Persons Railcard)

Member Name: GraWar

Product:	Young Persons Railcard
Date:	03/08/04 (1705 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Discounted Fares, Cheap Initial Cost, Ease of use

Disadvantages: There will be people who dont fit into any railcard category

The Young Persons Railcard is a superb way of saving money if you are a regular or even infrequent traveller on Britains Rail Network. From the name you may think that it is restricted to younger people but in fact anyone upto their 26th birthday can apply. Thats a significant part of the population and theres some absolutely superb savings to be made.

So what does it cost and what do you get for your money? Well to get one you need to take a recent passport sized photo of yourself down to your local train station and fill in the form. Simply hand over the form and £20-00 and for that you will get a wallet, phot identification card and your actual railcard. This will then entitle you to a third, yes 33% off all of your rail journeys. I think this offers a superb opportunity for people to participate in rail travel and get some very good savings. The good news is for those Virgin Valueaholic (that cant be a word!) addicts can still benefit from a Railcard on top of the massive savings to be made on Virgins Value fares. To give you a typical example with a Railcard you could get a 3 day advance Virgin Value ticket from Derby all the way to Edinburgh for just £13-20 single! I think thats superb value and a real reason to entice people off the roads and onto rail. For people who dont live on the Virgin network, you will be pleased to hear that all train operators cheap discount tickets will give you a discount with a Railcard although obviously you dont get the full 1/3rd off else the train companies would end up paying us to travel! However it's when your buying full fare tickets that you really notice the difference. I used to travel from Burton to Pontefract with a Y-P Railcard and a return which would normally cost me £24-00 would cost me just £16-00. Now thats paid for nearly half the railcard already in one trip.

The only restriction that I am aware of and its never been triggered by me, is that for travel on a Monday to Friday before 10:00a
m (except during July and August) there is a minimum fare of £8-00 discounted, this is to deter the profitable commuter market from taking big chunks of income from the train operators I should imagine. I do however like the fact that July and August is excempted from this as this allows large amounts of holiday travellers to take advantage of the savings to be made.

For those of you who cant be bothered to get down to your local station can apply online for a railcard and there is a website at http://www.youngpersons-railcard.co.uk/ You can also buy train tickets online with a railcard so theres no excuse not to go out and start saving today. However it is worth pointing out that if you purchase a ticket online with a railcard discount you must carry your railcard with you when you travel. In fact when travelling with any railcard discounted ticket you must have a railcard and photo card with you or face being charged the full fare.

For those of you that don't fit into the upto 26 yo age group dont despair! There are a wide range of railcards all offering the same 33% off rail fares for different groups.

Senior Railcard - All the benefits above for people aged 60 and above
http://www.senior-railcard.co.uk/

Family Railcard - Available when a minimum of 1 adult and 1 child travels, upto a maximum of 2 named railcard holders + 2 other adults + 4 kids aged upto 16 (worth noting that chidren get a whopping 60& off their fares with this card and it still only costs 20-00!)
http://www.family-railcard.co.uk/

Network Railcard - All the benefits for people who travel around the South East (I believe in the old Network South East region)
http://www.railcard.co.uk/network/network.htm

Disabled persons railcard - Costs just 14-00 and enables both the disabled person and another travelling adult the discount. Worth checking the website on which disabilities qualify and the terms and conditions.
http://www.
disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/

Overall whichever of the groups you may fit in then I can only urge you to get yourself a railcard and start saving now! Theres nothing more fascinating for children in particular than a trip on a train and a trip out can provide the kids with a real day to remember.

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