Title: Cheap Train Tickets: Find hidden fares, split tickets & more - MSE
Headings: 
Cheap Train Tickets
Find hidden fares & split tickets
You need to wear a face covering on public transport in the UK – or face a fine
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It's normally cheapest to book tickets up to 12 weeks ahead
Get a free alert when tickets go on sale
Find out when cheap tickets are likely to jump in price and sell out
Split your tickets, not your journey, to save big
Try these tools to find split tickets
You can dodge the fees split-ticket tools charge – but should you?
Split-ticketing quick questions
Book early, late
Always check if advance tickets are still available before you travel
Spend over £90/year? Consider a railcard
16-17 Saver Railcard
Read more about the 16-17 Saver, 16-25, 26-30, Family & Friends', Two Together, Senior, Disabled, Network and HM Forces' Railcards
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Got a season ticket for London or south east England? Get a free gold card
Trick to get a 16-25 Railcard until you're almost 27, and the 26-30 Railcard until you're almost 32
What about the 26-30 Railcard?
Regular traveller? Grab a season ticket
Singles can beat returns
Save £283 on a London to Manchester return
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Use the top UK train-booking sites
The main UK-wide booking sites
Only pay peak for the bit that is
How much you can save... £45 off a London-Manchester peak train return
Grab cheap Megatrain fares
Grab ultra-cheap train deals
Get cashback on all train tickets
Set up a direct debit to repay the card in full each month, so you never pay interest, which would outstrip any gain.
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Know your train refund rights
Find cheap first-class tickets
Warning! 'Travelling short' is cheap... but banned
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Content: Beware when you book . While Trainline's Price Prediction tool is handy, DON'T use Trainline to buy your tickets, as you could end up paying from £2.75 extra in booking and delivery fees. See below for which sites don't charge. Split your tickets, not your journey, to save big
This is the big trick everyone should know. Instead of buying tickets for the whole journey, buying tickets for its constituent parts can slash the price, even though you're on exactly the same train. For example, if you're travelling from London to Durham, but the train stops at York in between, you could potentially save money by buying a ticket from London to York and then another from York to Durham. You could even be sat in the same seat for the entire journey – you'll just have two tickets rather than one. It's perfectly legit according to the National Rail Conditions of Travel – the only rule is that the train MUST call at all the stations you buy tickets for. Try these tools to find split tickets
While split ticketing gives massive savings, the problem's always been finding where and when it works. We've been campaigning on this for years and were the first to launch a split-ticketing tool in 2012 – now we think others have developed better specialist sites, so we link to them instead.