Straight answers: Buying a train ticket

• What’s the difference between travelling during peak and off-peak? 
• Why do prices change depending on when I book my trip? 
• Can I get a flexible part-time season ticket?
• Will Oyster cards be rolled out nationwide?
• Why are you replacing paper tickets for ‘smart’ tickets? 

Train companies have peak and off-peak fares to help reduce overcrowding on the busiest trains - lower off-peak fares encourage people to travel at quieter times of the day. The exact times vary to reflect different passenger demand on different routes. 

We know that on some long-distance routes the sharp drop in price from peak to off-peak can create crowding as people wait for the first off-peak services. That’s why we’re pushing government for changes to the rules that underpin the fares system.  

This would mean a smoother variation in prices across the day instead of the existing cliff-edge price drop which leads to overcrowding. 

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Some train companies offer ‘carnet’ tickets – discounts for people who pay for a set number of journeys up front – and others have smartcard incentives. The rules that underpin the fares system make it hard for train companies to offer flexible part-time season tickets, however. This is because the existing fares structure is baked in by government regulations.  

We want to see these rules changed and have put forward proposals to government to do this. Read the proposals.

In January this year, government announced a trial of a part-time season ticket on the Southern network. We hope this is just the start. 

Paper tickets aren’t going anywhere soon and we want to ensure everyone can buy their ticket with confidence. We are just using technology to give people more choice about how and when to buy their ticket.

The business traveller rushing for a train can buy a ticket on their smartphone while travelling to the station. The regular commuter can tap-in and tap-out with a smartcard instead of an increasingly tatty piece of paper. And someone without a smartphone or smartcard can turn up at a station can get a paper ticket.

The advantage of digital ticket types is that we can offer people more deals on fares because we know who they are, but we’re committed to a railway that is accessible to everyone.

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