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Millions of train tickets now up for grabs with 50% off as massive UK ‘rail sale’ returns

The 'Great British Rail Sale' is back once again.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 23rd January 2024

Millions of train tickets for journeys across the UK are now up for grabs with up to 50% off as a popular nationwide sale is back.

With the UK Government‘s ‘Great British Rail Sale’ having just made its highly-anticipated return this morning, this means that passengers will now have from today (23 January) up until 29 January to claim half-price discounts on a huge range of selected Advance and Off-Peak rail tickets.

Over a million discounted tickets are available in this week-long sale to destinations all across England and Wales, as well as on cross-border trips into Scotland too.

Tickets will be redeemable on journeys taking place between 30 January and 15 March 2024.

The price of a ticket from Manchester to Leeds, for example, would usually set you back roughly around £8.60, depending on destination stations, but with the 50% discounts on offer through the ‘Great British Rail Sale’, that very same ticket is now available for just £4.30.

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A ticket from Leicester to Sheffield is usually a standard price of £7.30, but this week, you can book your journey in advance for just £3.60.

The first Government-organised ‘Great British Rail Sale’ took place back in 2022, and apparently saw passengers save around £7 million on rail tickets, as well as having encouraged around 70,000 adults who had not travelled by train since the COVID-19 pandemic to hop on board, according to the Department for Transport.

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The Government says it’s decided to bring back the ‘Great British Rail Sale’ to kick off this new year as it’s “committed” to helping families with the cost of living, working with the rail industry to boost tourism, encouraging sustainable travel, and also to connecting friends and families across the UK.

“The return of the Great British Rail Sale is good news for passengers,” Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, said as the sale launches today.

“With discounts on more than a million tickets, there’ll be plenty of opportunity to connect with friends and family and explore great destinations across the country, and I hope passengers make the most of this sale and choose to travel by rail.”

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Manchester Piccadilly
Discounts are part of the returning ‘Great British Rail Sale’ / Credit: Network Rail

Sale tickets have now started to become available online.

If you want to get your hands on them, the Rail Delivery Group has a central webpage to help customers find the best deals here, but tickets can also be found on all ticket retailer websites for journeys taking place between 30 January and 15 March 2024.

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Only a limited number of tickets are available, and no further sale tickets will go on offer once sold out, so you’ll need to act fast.

Featured Image – gov.uk