26-30 Railcard to go on sale nationwide on 2 January

The railcard, which is the first digital-only railcard, will cost £30 and will get holders a third off most rail fares across Great Britain.

MoneySavingExpert.com first revealed the launch of the 26-30 Railcard in October last year, and since then 20,000 railcards were released as part of two trials. Following the success of the trials, the railcard is now being fully rolled out.

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train firms, originally announced last month that it would be available by the end of the year, but they've now said that this has been delayed slightly, and as a result, thousands could miss out on getting one – see our 'I'll lose £450': Thousands miss out on 26-30 Railcard after delay MSE News story for more info.

If you have a 26-30 Railcard already as part of the trial run in the Greater Anglia region, which began in December last year, your existing railcard has been extended until the end of the year – at no extra cost.

How does the 26-30 Railcard work?

The 26-30 Railcard will cost £30 and will give you a third off most rail fares for one year – though a £12 minimum fare applies between 4.30am and 10am from Monday to Friday.

You also get a discount on London travel – a third off off-peak fares and off-peak daily caps on Oyster cards.

You can buy the 26-30 Railcard up to the day before your 31st birthday and keep using it until its expiry date – so if you renew it at the right time, you can use it until just before you turn 32.

While it's generally marketed towards giving discounts on leisure tickets, it can also give hefty discounts for commuters too. See our Trick to use the 16-25 Railcard to save £100s on your commute MSE News story for more.

My 26-30 Railcard expires soon – what should I do?

Anyone who has a 26-30 Railcard from last year's Greater Anglia trial that's due to expire at any point in December will be able to continue using it until the end of December.

The Rail Delivery Group says that if you're in this position, you won't have to do anything, as the Railcard app will update to give your card the extra validity.

What does the Rail Delivery Group say?

A spokesperson said: "We promised our customers that when we had an on-sale date that they would too.

"The 26-30 Railcard will go on sale at midday on 2 January. We intended to launch the 26-30 Railcard by the end of the year, [but] given how timings have worked out this would mean launching it over a bank holiday.

"When the 26-30 Railcard goes on sale we want to be able to provide the best possible experience to our customers, which is why it will go on sale at midday on 2 January."