ChatterBank1 min ago
Senior Rail Card
Does anyone know if a Senior Rail Card gets you any discount on the Tube please ?
Answers
this may help http://
16:51 Fri 30th Oct 2015
this may help http://
Thanks everybody. I have bought mine on line this afternoon. The only reason that I need one is that I have to attend a meeting up in Town on Monday 16th on November, and this will save my company quite a lot of cash. They are also paying the £30 for the Railcard !
I never travel by train these days if I can avoid it. I will get the 06:00 train from Swansea but by the time it gets to Bristol Parkway, about 20 million people will try to board it !
“L’enfer, c’est les autres” as J P Sartre once said.
I never travel by train these days if I can avoid it. I will get the 06:00 train from Swansea but by the time it gets to Bristol Parkway, about 20 million people will try to board it !
“L’enfer, c’est les autres” as J P Sartre once said.
I've no idea where Eddie is getting his information from but it seems to be extremely unreliable!
A Senior Railcard costs £30 per year (either online or from a rail station) or £70 for three years (online only). However some local authorities offer it at a discounted price when purchased from their offices. (I assume that's where Eddie's figure of £20 comes from).
The qualifying age for a Senior Railcard is 60 and, since it's offered by the Association of Train Operating Companies (rather than by any governmental body), that age is unlikely to change. It gets the holder 34% off almost all National Rail fares (including those that involve travel on London Underground services although it can't be used just for single Underground journeys).
A National Bus Pass gets the holder free travel after 0930 (or any time at weekends) in his home nation only (i.e. England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland). Some local authorities also permit free travel within the holder's local council area before 0930 but the number of councils offering that concession is now far lower than it used to be, owing to cutbacks.
Further, some local authorities also have separate arrangements with local train operators, giving the holder either free or reduced rate travel on LOCAL trains only (NOT nationally) but, again, there are now far fewer local authorities with such arrangements than there used to be.
The qualifying age for a National Bus Pass in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is fixed at 60 but in England it's rising in line with the State Pension Age for women (so I won't get my bus pass until I'm 63-and-a-bit and others will have to wait until they're 65, 66, 67 or 68, dependant upon when they were born).
For those of us who're currently old enough to qualify for a Senior Railcard but not for a National Bus Pass, it's worth noting that 'Plus Bus' tickets (which give unlimited travel within a specified area when you've arrived there by train) attract the same 34% discount as rail travel does. For example, if I travel to Cambridge by train I can buy a Dayrider ticket on a bus there for £4.10 but it's cheaper to get a Plus Bass ticket from the conductor on the train. It would normally cost £3.30 but my Senior Railcard takes that down to just £2.20.
A Senior Railcard costs £30 per year (either online or from a rail station) or £70 for three years (online only). However some local authorities offer it at a discounted price when purchased from their offices. (I assume that's where Eddie's figure of £20 comes from).
The qualifying age for a Senior Railcard is 60 and, since it's offered by the Association of Train Operating Companies (rather than by any governmental body), that age is unlikely to change. It gets the holder 34% off almost all National Rail fares (including those that involve travel on London Underground services although it can't be used just for single Underground journeys).
A National Bus Pass gets the holder free travel after 0930 (or any time at weekends) in his home nation only (i.e. England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland). Some local authorities also permit free travel within the holder's local council area before 0930 but the number of councils offering that concession is now far lower than it used to be, owing to cutbacks.
Further, some local authorities also have separate arrangements with local train operators, giving the holder either free or reduced rate travel on LOCAL trains only (NOT nationally) but, again, there are now far fewer local authorities with such arrangements than there used to be.
The qualifying age for a National Bus Pass in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is fixed at 60 but in England it's rising in line with the State Pension Age for women (so I won't get my bus pass until I'm 63-and-a-bit and others will have to wait until they're 65, 66, 67 or 68, dependant upon when they were born).
For those of us who're currently old enough to qualify for a Senior Railcard but not for a National Bus Pass, it's worth noting that 'Plus Bus' tickets (which give unlimited travel within a specified area when you've arrived there by train) attract the same 34% discount as rail travel does. For example, if I travel to Cambridge by train I can buy a Dayrider ticket on a bus there for £4.10 but it's cheaper to get a Plus Bass ticket from the conductor on the train. It would normally cost £3.30 but my Senior Railcard takes that down to just £2.20.
if a swansea to "london zone 1 central" doesn't attract the discount for the underground portion, just use your contactless credit or debit card, which will get you the same fare as an oystercard user.
also, if you buy a ticket other than an "anytime" senior ticket, you need to check the travel restrictions as there are some pretty annoying exclusions on some trains leaving london in the afternoon/evening peak.
also, if you buy a ticket other than an "anytime" senior ticket, you need to check the travel restrictions as there are some pretty annoying exclusions on some trains leaving london in the afternoon/evening peak.
^^^Mikey should probably get a Travelcard ticket anyway, Mushroom25 (especially if he wants to look around London while he's there).
An Anytime Return (which is what he'll need on the 0558 service, unless he's prepared to fix his return time and buy two single Advance tickets) to Paddington, with a Senior Railcard, will cost him £164.35. Adding on a Travelcard, for unlimited travel around London, takes that fare to £168.70, so it's only £4.35 extra to get that unlimited travel, which is less than the £4.60 he'd have to pay for two Zone 1 Underground journeys using a contactless debit card.
An Anytime Return (which is what he'll need on the 0558 service, unless he's prepared to fix his return time and buy two single Advance tickets) to Paddington, with a Senior Railcard, will cost him £164.35. Adding on a Travelcard, for unlimited travel around London, takes that fare to £168.70, so it's only £4.35 extra to get that unlimited travel, which is less than the £4.60 he'd have to pay for two Zone 1 Underground journeys using a contactless debit card.
I think our office staff normally book through tickets to the Tube destination for us, so I shouldn't have any further problems at Paddington. My seat will be booked on the way up, but not back home, as our meeting may over-run, and its hard to say which train I will take. Its going to be a long, rather boring day, and I shall be glad to be home !
Eddie:
You can only travel into Kings Cross under that scheme, Eddie, if you buy a discounted ticket for the local section of your journey (with 50% off, not 34% as a Senior Railcard would get you) and add on a normal non-discounted ticket for the rest of your journey:
http://
Mikey:
I love train travel. Indeed, I'm often at my most relaxed (for reading a book) or productive (for writing a book) on a train. Enjoy your journey!
You can only travel into Kings Cross under that scheme, Eddie, if you buy a discounted ticket for the local section of your journey (with 50% off, not 34% as a Senior Railcard would get you) and add on a normal non-discounted ticket for the rest of your journey:
http://
Mikey:
I love train travel. Indeed, I'm often at my most relaxed (for reading a book) or productive (for writing a book) on a train. Enjoy your journey!
Buenchico...from 1988 until just before Xmas 1990, I was seconded by BT from Swansea, up to a telephone exchange in South Kensington. It was only supposed to be for 3-4 weeks but it dragged on !
I enjoyed my time up in Town very much, but the train journeys back and forth every weekend were not enjoyable. It was always a mad scramble at Paddington every Friday. I couldn't book many seats because I ever knew exactly when I would be able to leave work. Paddington is a lot better now than it was 25 years ago but it can get very crowded on a late Friday afternoon. The train was always packed until we reached Wales and sometimes full of pretty rowdy, drunken people.
The journey back on a Sunday evening was really quite nice. BR at the time had a scheme called Weekend Firsts, when you could upgrade to First Class for just £5, As BT was paying the main fares, I didn't mind forking out for an extra £5 !
But everything that could go wrong with those train journeys did. I can't tell how many times the train was late due to "leaves on the line" or some other excuse. The Severn Tunnel was a favourite place for delays as well.
Another thing that was a real annoyance was the smoking arrangements. Its all changed now of course, but then BR allocated a carriage as "Smoking" but you had to walk through it to get to the Buffet Car ! It absolutely stunk, an experience that younger people probably haven't faced.
I enjoyed my time up in Town very much, but the train journeys back and forth every weekend were not enjoyable. It was always a mad scramble at Paddington every Friday. I couldn't book many seats because I ever knew exactly when I would be able to leave work. Paddington is a lot better now than it was 25 years ago but it can get very crowded on a late Friday afternoon. The train was always packed until we reached Wales and sometimes full of pretty rowdy, drunken people.
The journey back on a Sunday evening was really quite nice. BR at the time had a scheme called Weekend Firsts, when you could upgrade to First Class for just £5, As BT was paying the main fares, I didn't mind forking out for an extra £5 !
But everything that could go wrong with those train journeys did. I can't tell how many times the train was late due to "leaves on the line" or some other excuse. The Severn Tunnel was a favourite place for delays as well.
Another thing that was a real annoyance was the smoking arrangements. Its all changed now of course, but then BR allocated a carriage as "Smoking" but you had to walk through it to get to the Buffet Car ! It absolutely stunk, an experience that younger people probably haven't faced.
Weekend First is still available but it now costs £20 each way between Swansea & Paddington:
https:/
I was working on the railways just before the end of 'smoking' carriages. I hated having to put the reservation slips on the backs of seats in those carriages, ready for the first departures of the day, during my night shifts!
I know all about crowded trains on a Friday. I got a call on a Friday afternoon asking me if I could work in Exeter (300 miles away from me) at 7am on Saturday morning. The only hotel I could find with a vacancy required me to check in by 10pm, so I ended up with no choice other than to catch the 1900 train from London on a Friday evening (which is NEVER a good time to travel!). Did you know that you can fit over twenty people into the lobby area at the end of a single carriage? Having stood all the way to Exeter, for 2½ hours, I can assure you that it's possible!
https:/
I was working on the railways just before the end of 'smoking' carriages. I hated having to put the reservation slips on the backs of seats in those carriages, ready for the first departures of the day, during my night shifts!
I know all about crowded trains on a Friday. I got a call on a Friday afternoon asking me if I could work in Exeter (300 miles away from me) at 7am on Saturday morning. The only hotel I could find with a vacancy required me to check in by 10pm, so I ended up with no choice other than to catch the 1900 train from London on a Friday evening (which is NEVER a good time to travel!). Did you know that you can fit over twenty people into the lobby area at the end of a single carriage? Having stood all the way to Exeter, for 2½ hours, I can assure you that it's possible!
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