Rail passengers who book their travel in advance, use a Railcard or buy split fares can save up to 69% on the price of their ticket, according to figures from Trainline.
It has analysed 40 popular rail routes across Britain, comparing the average price travellers actually paid for their journey with the price charged for a walk-up ticket and peak and off-peak times.
For each of the eight cities surveyed, it claims passengers are saving more than half the cost of an upfront ticket on at least one major intercity route.
Champa Magesh, President for Trainline Partner Solutions, said: “Our findings are important for businesses in highlighting the clear benefits of using the technology that is ready and available for them to plan their business travel needs.
“As well as the savings that can be made by booking in advance, booking tools and platforms can support business travellers in choosing the best routes and journey times, as well as providing access to multi-modal journey planning so that every step of a business traveller’s journey is covered.”
The biggest savers are on trains between Glasgow and Leeds, where travellers save more than two-thirds (69%) on the cost of an off-peak single ticket, saving £83.03 on the £120 price of an off-peak single.
Other top off-peak savings are made on journeys between Newcastle and Glasgow (57% saving, paying £32.81 on average when an off-peak single is £77.10), and between Birmingham and Bristol (53% saving, with just £29.78 paid on average when an off-peak single costs £63.10).
At peak times, the biggest savings are made travelling between Leeds and Nottingham, with travellers paying on average 68% less than the cost of a peak single – saving £35.73 against the £52.90 ticket price.
The biggest saving found for each of the eight analysed cities was:
| Origin | Destination | Peak or Off-Peak | Walk-up single price | Average price paid | Saving (£) | Saving (%) |
| Glasgow | Leeds | Off-peak | £120 | £36.97 | £83.03 | 69% |
| Leeds | Nottingham | Peak | £52.90 | £17.17 | £35.73 | 68% |
| Newcastle | Edinburgh | Peak | £65 | £21.56 | £43.44 | 67% |
| Manchester | Nottingham | Peak | £49.60 | £20.61 | £28.99 | 58% |
| Cardiff | Leeds | Peak | £151.40 | £62.88 | £88.52 | 58% |
| Bristol | Manchester | Peak | £105.50 | £48.04 | £57.46 | 54% |
| Birmingham | Bristol | Peak | £66.60 | £30.80 | £35.80 | 54% |
| London | Newcastle | Peak | £175 | £85.70 | £89.30 | 51% |
