Northern Rail Discount Codes September 2026

3 Current Deals

21 days left

On Northern routes only. Valid for one adult and one child travelling together

Northern, one of the largest train firms in the UK, is offering free 'back to school' train tickets that are valid anywhere on its network to families who have children starting secondary school this autumn. Free tickets are valid for travel up until 30 September 2026 but must be booked BEFORE then. And go quick – as of Thursday 9 July, Northern told us there are around 1,000 remaining.

To be eligible, children must be starting Year 7 in the new school year. Those who qualify will be sent a code which can be used to claim an unlimited day travel ticket valid for one child aged 15 or under and one adult travelling together - an equivalent ticket would usually cost £53. This can be used on Northern services departing after 9.30am on weekdays and all services at weekends and on bank holidays.

The free tickets are available while stocks last, can only be used on Northern services, can't be used in conjunction with a railcard, can't be amended or exchanged and are non-refundable. For the full T&Cs, scroll down to 'Terms and Conditions' on Northern's Settling In Ticket page.

Why is Northern offering free 'back to school' train tickets?

Northern describes the offer as being for a "complimentary settling in ticket" with which parents and guardians are encouraged to travel by train to their new school for induction, transition or settling-in days. While the online form asks you to name a home train station and a school train station, Northern told us the tickets are valid for travel anywhere on its network.

How much would the ticket usually cost?

When we asked, Northern said the nearest equivalent ticket it sells is the Northern Explorer, which gives you unlimited travel across its network. A one-day Northern Explorer costs £35 for adults and £18 for children aged 5-15, so a parent and child could save £53 by taking advantage of this offer.

How to claim your free 'back to school' train ticket

Enter a parent or guardian's name and email address, the child's name, age and school, plus their home and school train stations, on Northern's Settling In Ticket page.
If you're eligible, Northern will email you a unique code, which should arrive within 48 hours.
Enter the code in the 'promotional code' box on the Northern website or in the 'Enter promo code' box on the Northern app and book your free unlimited day travel ticket for one adult and one child travelling together.

What stations does the Northern network cover?

Northern is one of the largest train operators in the UK. Its network covers more than 500 stations across the north of England, including those in Blackpool, Carlisle, Hull, Leeds, Lincoln, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and York. See every station it serves on the Northern network map.

For more ways to save, make tracks to Cheap train tickets, Cheap train deals and Railcard deals.

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Advance fares only

Via Health Service Discounts or Discounts for Teachers

NHS staff can sign up for free to Health Service Discounts, or teachers can sign up for free to Discounts for Teachers, to get 25% off Northern single advance tickets. The rail operator covers the North of England including Manchester, Blackpool, Leeds, Liverpool, York, and Windermere.

You'll need to get a code from one of the above sites and once you've applied the code at the Northern website or app, discounted advance tickets will be highlighted in yellow. If you need to alter the time of the train you're searching for, you may need to re-enter your code.

Tickets are for selected single advance purchase journeys only, but return journeys can be made by purchasing two single advance tickets.

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For Northern app newbies

On Northern train routes only. App required

Northern, the train operator that covers Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and more, is offering a 50% off advance train tickets code to those who haven't booked tickets before via the Northern app.

The offer is only available on routes offering advance tickets on the Northern network, which covers over 500 destinations. The code CANNOT be used with a railcard and is valid for one transaction only made via the Northern app. For full info, see the Northern T&Cs (scroll down to '50% Terms and Conditions').

You can search for stations offering advance tickets and see a complete list of them on the Northern website (scroll down to 'Find your Advance ticket route'). For a complete picture of the routes it covers, see the Northern network map.

How to get 50% off Northern advance fares

1. To get your 50% off code, sign up for it on the Northern website by entering your name and email address (you won't receive other emails from Northern unless you opt in).

2. If you haven't already, download the free Northern app to your smartphone or tablet (it's available for Android and iOS devices).

3. Open the app, go to the search section and enter where you want to travel from and to, whether you want a single or return, the date(s) and time(s) you want to travel, and the code (in the section that says '1 adult, no railcards or promo' – you can also change the number of adults and children travelling here).

4. Tap the 'Search live times and prices' button – if you've chosen a route the code doesn't apply to you'll see a message saying 'Promotion not applied'.

5. On the results page, choose the ticket(s) you want – you'll see the 50% off is automatically applied to the prices of eligible tickets, which are also marked with the Northern logo.

6. Once you've selected your journey, you'll be asked to log in or register if you haven't already. On the summary page you should see the code has been applied and you can pay via credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal.

How much can you save?

Here are some examples we found using the code on Tuesday 4 February (finding eligible routes via the app can be time consuming, so it's best to use the search tool on the Northern website before booking – scroll down to 'Find your Advance ticket route'):

Blackpool North to York single – £7.90 (normally £15.80)
Carlisle to Newcastle return – £8.25 (normally £16.50)
Leeds to Sheffield single – £2.40 (normally £4.80)
Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly return – £5.85 (normally £11.70)

Booking tickets for a non-Northern route?

We've 17 ways to save on train travel, including how to bag the cheapest fares and split tickets, in our Cheap train tickets guide. And for other ways to cut travel costs, see Cheap train & coach deals and Railcard deals.

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Expired

Four million advance fares available – can you find 'em?

Northern, one of the largest train firms in the UK, is offering four million advance adult single tickets for just £2 in its flash sale, which ends at 11.59pm on Friday 4 September – although they could sell out sooner, so don't hang about if you're planning a train journey in the north of England that won't derail your budget.

Sale tickets are only available for Northern services on select routes on the Northern network, which covers Blackpool, Carlisle, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, York and many more destinations. And they're only for travel between Wednesday 9 September and Friday 23 October.

If you want sale tickets for a return journey, you'll need to book two singles – if one of the legs is outside the dates covered by tickets in the sale, check that the two singles you select are cheaper than booking a return. Railcards can't be used when buying sale tickets.

Advance single tickets for children aged five to 15 years old are available at half-price in the sale, as they usually are on National Rail services, so cost just £1. Up to two children under five can travel for free with a fare-paying passenger on most journeys.

How to find the £2 tickets

Sale tickets can be bought on the Northern website, the Northern app, and at ticket office and ticket machines at train stations managed by Northern, though it's far easier to find them via the site or app.

Using either of those, search for the journey you want to make. On the site, look out for tickets marked with a 'sale' badge in the results. Annoyingly, in the app, sale tickets aren't highlighted like that, so look out for those that cost £2 (or £4 if you're booking a return journey). You can double check they're sale tickets when you make your choice – they'll appear labelled as 'sale advance' on the 'ticket options' page.

As the sale covers various routes and dates, finding tickets may require some trial and error. You're more likely to have some joy if you're able to be flexible on both destination and dates. As of Thursday 3 September, Northern said the routes where remaining sale tickets are most likely to be found are:

Blackpool to Manchester Airport
Bradford to Ilkley or Skipton
Carlisle to Barrow or Lancaster
Leeds to Bradford, Ilkley or Skipton
Leeds to Doncaster
Leeds to Harrogate or York
Liverpool to Wigan
Manchester to Buxton
Manchester to Hadfield
Sheffield to Huddersfield
York to Bridlington

Some examples of sale tickets we found on Thursday 3 September:

Blackpool to Liverpool (adult return) £4 – next cheapest non-sale Northern tickets £10.50 (62% off)
Carlisle to Newcastle (adult single) £2 – next cheapest non-sale Northern ticket £8.20 (76% off)
Lancaster to Manchester (child single) £1 – next cheapest non-sale Northern ticket £3.45 (70% off)
Leeds to York (adult single) £2 – next cheapest non-sale Northern ticket £6 (67% off)
Sheffield to Nottingham (adult return) £4 – next cheapest non-sale Northern tickets £14.90 (73% off)

And here's a few other things you need to know:

Sale tickets are only available for standard class, not first class – mainly because Northern doesn't have first class sections on any of its trains.

As is the case with normal advance tickets, sale tickets are non-refundable unless your journey is cancelled, disrupted or strike action is announced, when normal advance ticket rules will be applied. For full T&Cs, see the Northern website (scroll down to 'Essential Information').

Looking for more ways to save on trains? Then make tracks to Cheap train tickets and Train deals.

Expired

Three million cheap tickets available, mostly off-peak – can you find 'em?

There's no need to derail your budget if you're planning on taking a train journey t'up North...

Northern, which operates train services from Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, York and more, is offering three million advance single adult tickets for £2 in its flash sale, which started on Tuesday 30 September and lasts until 11.59pm on Thursday 2 October (though tickets have gone quicker in the past, so don't hang about).

The mega-cheap fares are for selected routes travelling between Monday 6 October and Friday 24 October on Northern services only. If you require a return journey, you’ll need to book two singles – be sure to check if this makes the total journey cheapest.

Tickets for children aged five to 15-years-old are half-price in this sale too, so £1, and up to two children under five can travel free with each adult.

Here's how to book:

You'll need to buy a single adult or child (five to 15-years old) ‘Standard Advance Ticket’ at the Northern website or via its app (Android/iOS) – the cheapest tickets are highlighted, so look for ones that are £2 or £1. You won't be able to get this offer at station ticket offices.

As the promotional routes cover various destinations and dates, it will be trial and error finding the cheaper seats. It helps if you can be flexible on dates and destination. From what we can see, the offer mostly applies to off-peak trains, with limited availability during weekday peak times.

Some examples we found on Tuesday 30 September:

Manchester Piccadilly to Liverpool Lime Street – £2 one-way adult ticket
Bolton to Manchester Victoria – £2 one-way adult ticket
Leeds to York – £1 one-way child ticket

Tickets are non-refundable and only valid for the date and service booked (except in cases of industrial action, when Advance ticket rules apply). Northern told us the time on these tickets can be changed via the 'Train Swap' function in the Seatfrog app for £2.50, however the ticket date must remain the same. As £2.50 to adjust your train time will cost more than your actual ticket, it may be worth seeing if you can find another seat in the sale and getting a new ticket.

To complete your grand (cheap) day out, see our Cheap days out ideas, and for other ways to save on train travel, check our Cheap train tickets guide.

Martin's Money Mantras

Use them

Before spending

If you answer 'NO' to any of the following questions, don't buy.

Are you

Not skint? Ask:

Will I use it?

Is it worth it?

Are you

Skint? Ask:

Do I need it?

Can I afford it?

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