uk.railway FAQ |
Charges are given in Section H of the National Fares Manuals. They include the following:
Luggage and accompanied animals and articles in excess of the allowances (detailed below) are charged at half the adult fare for the type of ticket held for the journey, subject to a maximum of £5 Single, £10 Return. No further discount is available for Railcard or Season Ticket holders.
One cycle only may be carried per customer at a flat-fee of £3.00 per single journey irrespective of distance on trains operated by GNER, Virgin and MML.
There is usually no charge or advance booking requirement, but there are some exceptions. Trains on the London Waterloo-Exeter St David's and some services between Reading and Brighton & London Waterloo & Southampton Central have limited space for bicycles. These services are shown in the GBPRT with a solid triangle pointing down (can't do it in this font). This indicates that a compulsory reservation is required, which cost £3.00 per single journey.
There are weekday restrictions on the carriage of bicycles in the suburban area bounded by Dorking, Reading, Woking and Guildford, where these may not be carried on services arriving in London Waterloo between 0745 and 0945 and departing London Waterloo between 1630 and 1830.
Many trains are unable to convey tandems, tricycles, trailers etc.
On Great Western and Wales & West Passenger Trains services, cycles are carried for £1.00 Single if reserved in advance (up to two hours before departure of train or day before if early morning train); otherwise a charge of £3.00 Single applies.
One tandem can be accommodated on GWR services if reserved into rack number 3 or 4 for the same price as one cycle.
On non-reservable Wales & West Passenger Trains services cycles are carried free of charge provided sufficient space is available, but there are certain peak time restrictions. Please refer to Wales & West Passenger Trains 'Cycling By Train' leaflet for full details.
On trains operated by Central Trains Limited, the flat-fare of £3.00 applies to day single OR day return journeys except on local services within the West Midlands County (Centro PTE) area, the Robin Hood Line (Nottingham-Worksop), Ivanhoe Line (Leicester-Loughborough local stopping services) which are free.
Cycles are carried free of charge on North Western Trains subject to the following:
On trains operated by NorthernSpirit, cycles are carried free of charge, but are subject to availability of space and must be reserved in advance through CRS on reserveable services.
Reservations where required are free of charge to customers in possession of a valid ticket and cycle ticket.
Please note that cycles are not carried on certain peak services.
Ticket issuing instructions appear in the Retail Manual Part 2/Rail Directory for Travel Agents.
Cycle Season Ticket: Season Ticket customers may buy a Season Ticket for their cycle at a special charge of £15.00 per week.
On ScotRail Trains (including Sleepers) cycles are carried free of charge subject to availability of space. On reserveable services a free reservation must be obtained in advance.
The charge for any item listed above (except cycles) is half the adult privilege fare for the journey being made subject to a maximum of 50% of the public maximum. Cycles are carried at a 50% discount on the charges quoted above.
Motorcycles, mopeds, motor scooters and motorised cycles. Tandems, tricycles and "Cycle" trailers on many services. Large items that cannot be carried by one person. For full details see Retail Manual Part 2/Rail Directory for Travel Agents.
Platform Tickets : £0.10
* Details of Refund arrangements for Advance Purchase Tickets (AV, SA, AX) appear in the Retail Manual Part 2/Rail Directory for Travel Agents.
Duplicates of lost or stolen Season Tickets : £10.00
Replacement of damaged or illegible Season Tickets (including encoding failure) : FREE
Replacement of non-travel Season Tickets, and of travel Season Tickets where Photocard is lost or needs replacing : £5.00
'Change-over' Season Tickets : FREE (Joint Train Company/LRT tickets will only be accepted for change-over by the issuing administration)
Replacement of damaged or illegible Railcards : £5.00 (applicable to National Railcards and Network/Railcard)
Replacement of stolen Railcards, or Railcards destroyed by fire (where confirmed by Police or Fire Service) : FREE Customer to complete 'Replacement Railcard Application Form'
Replacement of lost Railcards (applicable to Senior, Young Persons, Family and Network/Railcards only) : £5.00
Replacement on first occasion *only*, and for Railcards issued on and after 1 June 1997 subject to presentation of Railcard 'Receipt of Purchase', and completion of 'Replacement Railcard Application Form'. No further replacements permitted.
Other services for which the standard administrative charge is made : £5.00
A charge of £1.50 per item is normally made for the return of lost property. Where a receptacle (wallet, handbag, etc.) containing cash is lost, the charge is 10% of the value of the cash returned, subject to a minimum of £1.50 and a maximum of £6.00.
The charge for the return of lost birds, dogs, and other small animals is £1.50 per day plus the cost of any feeding.
See separate instructions for Lost Property charges at Virgin West Coast stations, Gatwick Airport and Gatwick Express and certain NWT stations.
Parking of Motor Vehicles: Charges are advertised locally.
Administration Charge : £10.00
Left Luggage offices : Charges for items of luggage and cycle storage are advertised locally.
Left Luggage lockers : Charges are displayed on or near Left Luggage Lockers.
A replacement fee is charged for lost luggage locker keys.
Full instructions about reservations are shown in the Retail Manual Part 2/Rail Directory for Travel Agents.
Trains on which accommodation can be reserved are shown in the Great Britain Passenger Railway Timetable.
Reservations are available only to passengers buying or presenting a valid travel ticket. Only one seat reservation (plus connecting reservations where appropriate) can be made for each journey.
There is no discount on reservation charges for staff or Railcard holders.
First Class Seat Reservations (South West Trains Services): The normal charge is £1.00 per seat, although reservations are free to groups of 10 or more travelling together on one ticket.
Applicable on the following South West Trains services:
London Waterloo to Salisbury/Exeter/Paignton
London Waterloo to Bournemouth/Weymouth
London Waterloo to Portsmouth (via Guildford)
London Waterloo to Southampton (SWT Shuttle)
Portsmouth to Reading [1]
Brighton to Reading [1]
Brighton to Portsmouth [1]
Brighton to Salisbury [1]
[1] Only selected services reservable.
Note that the 'small group' single reservation fee of £1.00 does not apply to First Class Seat Reservations.
First Class Seat Reservations (except South West Trains Services):
Free for full fare First Class Single, Return and First Class Executive Ticket. holders. Only one seat reservation is available per single journey and only when travel tickets (First Class Single, Return and First Class Executive Ticket) are produced or purchased at the same time as reservations are made. Reservations with other categories of First Class ticket or reservations made when tickets are not produced or bought cost £2.00 per seat.
First Class tickets valid with Railcards also qualify for free seat reservations as described above.
All First Class Seat Reservations are free on Midland Mainline, ScotRail and Virgin Trains services. Also one free seat reservation per passenger on GNER upon purchase or production of a valid rail ticket. Great Western offer free seat reservations upon purchase or production of all First Class tickets with the exception of Season Tickets.
The normal charge is £1.00 per seat, although reservations are free to holders of Advance Purchase tickets and to groups of 10 or more travelling together on one ticket. Free reservations are also available on all Midland Mainline, GNER (one per ticket holder), Virgin Trains, ScotRail, NorthernSpirit and North Western Trains services.
Great Western offer free seat reservations upon purchase of all Standard tickets with the exception of Season Tickes.
Seats may be reserved on the following South West Trains services:
London Waterloo to Salisbury/Exeter/Paignton
London Waterloo to Bournemouth/Weymouth
London Waterloo to Portsmouth (via Guildford)
London Waterloo to Southampton (SWT Shuttle)
Portsmouth to Reading [1]
Brighton to Reading [1]
Brighton to Portsmouth [1]
Brighton to Salisbury [1]
[1] Only selected services reservable.
Some journeys necessitate changing trains. Connecting reservations may be made free of charge when the first reservation fee has been paid.
Where the connecting reservation is normally £2.00 per seat, this is the minimum fee that must be charged.
Small groups of up to four passengers travelling together can reserve up to four seats for the single reservation fee of £1.00. The back of the reservation ticket should be marked "small group".
All seat reservations in ScotRail are free. Appropriate travel tickets must be held.
Where separate accommodation is required for a child under 5, a child rate of flat-fare ticket must be held for the journey. The seat reservation fee is also payable.
Trains on which reservation is compulsory: see Great Britain Passneger Railway Timetable for details.
Passengers wanting exclusive use of a compartment are to be charged six times the fare for the journey being made. Requests for exclusive use should be notified in advance to the Train Operating Company responsible for the service.
Single berth cabin (First Class travel ticket required) : £39.00 per berth
Double berth cabin : £29.00 per berth
Child (Standard Class only) : £14.50 per berth
Includes the service of early morning tea or coffee complimentary light breakfast.
Charges are payable even if no advance reservation has been made.
Caledonian Solo - (exclusive use of a twin berth cabin) £49.00 - Sleeper one way
Valid with Saver/SuperSavers only.
A new Caledonian Sleeper Family ticket is now also available offering great value for a family of up to 4 travelling together.
The family group must consist of 1 adult and 3 children, 2 adults and 1 child or 2 adults and 2 children at least. One child MUST be travelling for this ticket to be valid. Some family groups may benefit from cheaper fares by using a Family Railcard.
This ticket must be booked at least 7 days in advance. There are NO further railcard discount.
Introductory fares are £109.00 single/£199.00 return on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Sleepers. £119.00 single/£209.00 return on the Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William Sleepers.
Fares are valid between any 2 points served by Caledonian Sleepers, for use on Caledonian Sleepers only, see Sleeper Retail Merchandiser for full information.
First Class supplement : £35.00 per cabin
Includes Welcome Pack, hot evening drink, breakfast and newspaper.
Standard supplement: £25.00 per berth (Single or Double berth cabin)
Includes Welcome Pack, morning tea or coffee and biscuits.
These supplements, First and Standard, are payable for each journey made by Sleeper.
Standard package prices:
Solo - (one person in a single-berth cabin)
£49.00 sleeper one way
£74.00 sleeper two way
Duo - (two people in a two-berth cabin)
£89.00 sleeper one way
£139.00 sleeper two way
Prices are inclusive of Apex travel (daytime service) one way and Sleeper berth (overnight service) the other, or sleeper berth in both directions. Where Sleeper is one way, it may be used for either the outward or return leg of the journey.
The price also includes Welcome Pack, morning tea or coffee and biscuits.
For issuing instructions please refer to the Retail Manual Part 2/Rail Directory for Travel Agents.
Child under 5 - sharing berth with adult : No fare and no sleeper charge whether a one
or two berth cabin is used (as long as the 2nd berth is occupied by a member of the same
party).
Occupying own berth : Normal Child Fare and Sleeper Charge payable
2 children under 5 - sharing berth : As for one child occupying own berth
Child 5-15 - sharing berth with adult : Child fare but no Sleeper Charge Occupying own berth : As for Child under 5
2 children 5-15 - sharing berth : Two child fares, one Sleeper Charge
Maximum occupancies and charges:
1-berth cabin
1 adult + 1 child under 5 : One Adult Fare, No Child Fare, One Sleeper Charge
1 adult + 1 child 5-15 : 1, 1, 1
2 children under 5 : 0, 1, 1
1 child under 5, 1 child 5-15 : 0, 1, 1
2 children 5-15 : 0, 2, 1
2-berth cabin
1 adult+3 children under 5 : 1, 1, 2
1 adult+3 children 5-15 : 1, 3, 2
2 adults+2 children under 5 : 2, 0, 2
2 adults+2 children 5-15 : 2, 2, 2
4 children 5-15 : 0, 4, 2
Any travel restrictions indicated by the validity code of a ticket apply.
Save/SuperSaver journeys in Sleepers, outward or return, started before 0230 will take the Saver/SuperSaver conditions of the previous day.
Holders of most Standard tickets can travel in extra comfor on certain Operators services listed below, on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays in First Class accommodation labelled "Weekend First".
When issued in advance, Weekend First *must* include a free reserved seat (except Aberdeen to Inverness and Glasgow to Edinburgh). If the customer misses the reserved train(s) however, the supplement may be transferred to other services for the same journey on the same date, subject to accommodation being available. Passengers may also purchase a supplement on the train (for that train only) subject to availability of accommodation.
Weekend First supplements are:
Anglia : £3.00 per single journey
GNER : £10.00#
Great Western : £6.00
Midland Mainline : £6.00*
Virgin : £10.00+
Scotrail : £3.00 between Aberdeen and Inverness and Aberdeen/Inverness and
Glasgow/Edinburgh
£1.50 between Glasgow and Edinburgh
* A return price of £8.00 is available if booked in advance of travel, otherwise
2xsingle should be charged. Reservation for the return portion, is compulsory.
+ Virgin First upgrade is available on all Virgin CrossCountry and Virgin West Coast
services. Please see Retail Manual Part 2 for further details of Virgin First upgrade.
# SOS/SOR (not SDS/SDR) ticket holders, also certain annual season ticket holders, may use
GNER Weekend First accommodation without payment of any supplement - see Retail Manual
Part 2 (GNER Section) for details.
Through booking is possible when travelling on services of more than one of these Operators, provided the booking generally is made by 1800 on the day before travel. N.B. Reservations may be open until later. Where the different Operators charge different amounts, the higher supplement should always be charged.
Through booking should under no circumstances be made for services run by any Operator other than those shown above.
See section E, also Retail Manual Part 2/Rail Directory for Travel Agents for further details.
Adult Apex, SuperAdvance or London Day Out ticket holders, travelling on Anglia Railways services to or from London, may take up to four children at a special flat rate fare of £2.00 per child.
Holders of Standard tickets may upgrade to First Class for a £5.00 supplement per single journey. The offer is available on trains arriving in London Marylebone at or after 0945 weekdays. There are no restrictions on services from Marylebone, or at weekends. No further discounts apply and this supplement must be purchased before boarding the train. No reservations are required.
Please note that Chiltern Railways' new Clubman trains do not convey First Class accommodation.
Please Note: This facility is ONLY available to holders of Annual Gold Cards and Annual Gold Card Travelcards, including those issued by London Underground Ltd.
Annual Gold Card and Annual Gold Card Travelcard holders may purchase special Network First supplement tickets costing £3.00 (children £1.50) for travel in First Class accommodation on trains within the Network Railcard area subject to the following:
Thanks to Barry Salter who provided this information.