First ever Great British Rail Sale offers over a million cut price rail tickets

If you’ve got a speedy staycation in mind for this May, you’re in luck as the government has teamed up with the rail industry to get more of us to come and join you. Their plan is called ‘The Great British Rail Sale’ and it is offering over a million cut price tickets with discounts up to 50 per cent off off-peak journeys purchased in advance.

There’s one important catch though – not all rail operators are participating in the London area so it’s pot luck as to whether you’ll be able to make it door-to-door dirt cheap. The tickets, which go on sale today (April 19) are for journeys between April 25 and May 27, meaning they are not valid during the May half term period, in the later than usual week commencing May 30 due to the late Easter break.

Here in London, it’s the long distance rail operators who are taking part including Great Western Railway and LNER, so cheap tickets will be available to Cardiff (down from £50 to £25) and Edinburgh (down from £44 to £22). Unusually for a commercial sale (as rail operators have not been brought closer to direct public ownership as planned for ‘Great British Railways’ yet), the marketing campaign is being fronted by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps who appears in an advert from today, urging us all to “get real, and visit our beautiful country.”

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The government says it has backed the rail sale in order to respond to the cost of living crisis and encourage us to use the train as a green alternative method of travel. Critics argue the rail sale would have happened anyway under each individual operator and that this is merely a re-branding exercise. Discount ‘Advance’ tickets for participating operators such as LNER are on sale around five to six months prior to travel anyway.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “For the first time ever, operators across the rail industry are coming together to help passengers facing rising costs of living by offering up to 50% off more than a million tickets on journeys across Britain. There’s no better time to visit friends, family or just explore our great country, so book your tickets today.”

Jacqueline Starr, CEO of the Rail Delivery Group (which runs the National Rail brand), said: “We want everyone to be able to benefit from travelling by train because it’s more than just a journey, it’s a way to connect everyone to the people, places and things they love. As part of the Great British Rail Sale customers will enjoy over 1 million discounted tickets, so they can explore some of the fantastic locations that are accessible by rail”.

The sale follows a marketing campaign by National Rail to get Britain ‘back on track’, which has used TV adverts, digital posters and billboards to entice people back onto the rail network as passenger numbers have still not returned to pre-pandemic levels on many routes. There’s even a 24 hour National Rail streaming channel which shows footage from the country’s most picturesque railway journeys now available.

In London, many routes are still running reduced timetables, with fewer services than off-peak levels prior to the pandemic. The operators taking part in this rail sale in the London area have returned to most, or all of their initial timetables. LNER, which is already publicly owned and offering thousands of discounted tickets, are now operating 100 per cent of pre-pandemic services again.

Tickets can be purchased here.

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