Railcard deals

Get a 16-25, Family & Friends, Senior or Two Together Railcard via Tesco Clubcard* for £15 in Clubcard vouchers instead of the usual £30. You'll be sent a code that can be used on the Railcard* site.

What discounts do the railcards get you?

16-25: A third off fares if you're aged 16 and over and under 26.
Family & Friends': A third off adult and 60% off child fares, a minimum of one adult and one child, and a maximum of up to four adults and four children (age 5-15) can travel using one card.
Senior: Those aged 60 and over get a third off rail fares.
Two Together: A third off rail fares for two named adults when they travel together.

If your train season ticket is an annual gold card (or comes with one), you can get extra discounts you don’t get with a standard season ticket. One of the biggest perks is being able to buy a railcard for just £10 (up to 66% off the normal price) for yourself or someone else.

This discount only works for those in parts of the UK where gold cards are issued (most of the south of England and West Midlands). But if that’s you, it can be a winner. Railcards usually give a third off most fares – see full info on what each railcard gets you.

How do I get a gold card?

To do this, you'll need to have an annual gold card – this will either be your actual season ticket or come with it. You should have been given one automatically if you’ve bought a year's season ticket or Travelcard (not weekly or monthly) from one of 600+ stations on this annual gold card area map, and at least one of the stations on your ticket falls within the same area.

This won’t work in much of the UK, but the gold card area includes a large part of the south of England and West Midlands – including Bournemouth, Brighton, Coventry, Norwich and London stations. 

Which railcards can I get for £10?

You can choose from most of the major national railcards – 16-25, Family & Friends, Two Together, Senior, Network Railcard for London and the south of England (all normally £30) and Disabled Person's Railcard (normally £20). These cards get you a third off most journeys – see all railcard types.

You can get one annual railcard for £10 at any time during the validity of your annual gold card.

Don't have a gold card? You can still get a £10 railcard

The person buying the railcard doesn’t have to be the person who ends up using it.

So if a friend or family member who commutes has a gold card, just ask them to buy the £10 railcard for you if they don't need it, and they can follow the steps below. Check the Railcard* website to make sure you're eligible beforehand, and provide the gold card holder with any photos or evidence of eligibility required.

You can only buy the £10 railcard from a station

If you bought your annual season ticket from a train station, you'll need to purchase your railcard from that particular station. If you bought it online, then you can go to your nearest station. The only exception is if you're getting a Disabled Person's Railcard – see 'More info' below.

Let the staff member know you want to purchase a £10 railcard with your gold card and fill in the application they give you. Some railcards such as 16-25 and Senior require photos and evidence of eligibility so have that with you, and you'll need to show your gold card.

If you're buying a railcard for someone else, Railcard says the person you're buying the railcard for doesn't need to be present.

Another way to get a discount on railcards

• If you have a Tesco Clubcard with enough points, you could use your Clubcard vouchers to get a one-year railcard for £10 in vouchers (£7 for the Disabled Person's Railcard). See National Railcards for £10 in Tesco points.

If you have a disability that makes travelling by train difficult, you may qualify for a Disabled Person's Railcard (see 'Are you eligible?' below).

It costs £20 for one year, or £54 for three years (equivalent to £18 per year), and gets you one-third off most train travel. That means if you spend over £60 on eligible rail fares in a year (or £55 if you have a three year card), then it's worth getting one as the savings beat the cost of the card.

Unlike most other railcards, there are no time restrictions for when the Disabled Person's Railcard can be used, although it won't work on season tickets. What's more, if you travel with another adult, they'll also get one-third off. The accompanying adult does not have to have a disability, but does need to travel the whole duration of the journey with the card holder to qualify.  

Are you eligible?

You should qualify for a Disabled Person's Railcard if...

• You are registered as deaf or use a hearing aid.
• You are registered as having a visual impairment.
• You receive personal independence payments (PIP) or adult disability payments (ADP).
• You receive disability living allowance (DLA) at either the higher or lower rate for the mobility component, or the higher or middle rate for the care component.
• You have epilepsy and have repeated attacks, even though you receive drug treatment, or are currently prohibited from driving because of epilepsy.
• You receive attendance allowance, severe disablement allowance, or pension age disability payment.
• You receive war pensioner's mobility supplement.
• You receive war or service disablement pension for 80% or more disability.
• You buy or lease a vehicle through the motability scheme.

You'll need to provide evidence of your eligibility when applying – see the Disabled Person's Railcard site for a list of accepted proof.

The railcard can't be bought at station ticket offices, but you can pick up an application form which you'll need to complete and post – or you can apply for either a physical or digital card online.

Can children get this railcard?

If your child (aged 5-15) has one of the eligible disabilities, you can apply for a Disabled Person's Railcard on their behalf. They won't get discounted child fares, but the card will allow one adult travelling with them to get one-third off.