Rail Tourism Pass To Be Explored
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the August 2021 Edition of Modern Railways.
This is the first paragraph.
The government is to pursue plans for a new domestic rail tourism product, building on the success of products such as the BritRail pass, only available to visitors to the UK from abroad.
I am basically in agreement with the proposal, but before anything too drastic is brought forward, it might be a good idea to build on what we already have.
These are a few thoughts.
Railcards
I am surprised at the number of people I talk to, who don’t have a railcard, despite the fact, that it would save them money.
So make sure, you have the right railcard.
Rangers And Rovers
Rovers and Rangers are tickets that allow you to wander about an area on the trains for a given period.
You may often find there is a ticket that will be ideal for exploring the area, where you are staying.
Breaking Journeys
This is a rule, that many travellers don’t know about and it can be very useful.
Suppose you are going between Ipswich and Cambridge and you want to break the journey at Newmarket to have lunch with a friend.
You can buy a ticket between Ipswich and Cambridge and break your journey at Newmarket and after lunch continue your journey.
This is allowed on most trains, but I would ask someone, in case there is a problem.
London Terminals Tickets
Often tickets will be labelled something like London Terminals or Manchester Stations.
A simple example would be a return to Cambridge from London, which might be labelled London Terminals.
This means that you can use the ticket to go out from Kings Cross and come back to Liverpool Street.
The London Zone 6 Extension Ticket
Often on a trip to London travellers will buy a Travelcard for London’s local transport.
Supposing on your trip to London, you needed to make a trip outside Zone 6 to visit someone.
Not everybody knows, you can buy a ticket from the Zone 6 boundary to a station outside the zone.
Conclusion
A Rail Tourism Pass may be a good idea, but I think it’s also important, that travellers learn to use what ticketing options are already in place.
The Anonymous Widower 
I use rovers quite often (not recently of course, with travel restrictions), but they are poorly marketed, and the whole system needs dragging into the 21st century. You should be able to buy them online, and have a digital ticket that can be loaded onto your phone, which all ticket inspections should be able to recognise. Many ticket barriers don’t recognise the current paper versions, so you have to go and find a person to let you through. They are basically a left-over little changed from the old BR system. Perhaps Great British Railways will improve this, but I’m sceptical.
Comment by Peter Robins | August 15, 2021 |
For myself, I have a problem with systems based on mobile phones. I can’t use a camera or read a QR code on my phone, as my left arm was damaged by the school bully and the positions my left hand goes into causes pain in my arm. I can use contactless payments with my phone as that is a one-handed operation. But for most mobile phone operations, I usually need to sit down and lay the phone flat in front of me.
I also actually only type everything with my just right hand. Hence sometimes my bad spelling.
Comment by AnonW | August 15, 2021 |
GBR needs have a fare structure that doesnt require a break of journey to make it cheaper irs ludicrous.
Comment by Nicholas Lewis | August 15, 2021 |
But then I’ve used the break of journey to give myself time for a meal whilst changing trains under instructions from train staff.
It’s all very complicated. Perhaps, Oyster for the whole UK would work.
Comment by AnonW | August 15, 2021 |
Unfortunately, you cannot break your journey on every type of ticket. You should have been explicit about that. That makes this article very misleading. Additionally, not all railcards offer additional discounts on every ticket type.
I’m sure your intentions to inform were good, but sadly ill-conceived in execution.
Comment by Andrew Bruton | August 15, 2021 |
I did advise people to check. I have actually been suggested some surprising tickets and routing by booking office staff!
Comment by AnonW | August 15, 2021 |