If you are aged between 16-25 or a mature student, and in full time education, travel by train a lot, or make more than just one or two big trips a year it is quite simply madness not to get one of these. It is possible to save more then the £26 annual cost in one trip.
For example I travel by train very regularly and a return bought on the day for the trip I make most often without railcard would be in the region of £90. When purchased with the young persons railcard it is £60. You can make much bigger savings than this, as I often do, by buying several weeks in advance, either on the internet or in person at a manned station. What is good about this is that you still receive 1/3 off an already heavily discounted price.
There are a couple of problems with this card. For starters if you want to use the card before 10am monday to fridays then a £12 minimum charge applies, so if you want to use it to commute short distances to work for example, this card will be of no use, and an annual season ticket would be the best option. As a positive however there is no minimum charge at weekends or during july and august. It is also good that you can still save on first class advance fares and advanced fares in general so it is possible to pick up some real bargins.!
Another piece of advice i would offer is to make sure you renew before your 26th birthday, even if it is 1 day as long as you are still 25 you can still get one, and then save all that money even though you are 26 :-). It does not matter even if your current card has not expired.
There are other railcards for people over the age of 26 but these carry far more restrictions and can only be used on specific networks, the young persons railcard is valid on all train companies. Get one while you can. Yes you sometimes have to put up with shocking delays when travelling by train and packed trains which is obviously far from ideal, but if you have no choice but to travel by train as so many students and young people do, then this card is definitely worth buying! I can also only comment on my own experiences which despite some very heavy and frustrating delays have been good. This is why for example many of the specific criteria for this review are fairly favourable, with this railcard, rail travel is good value for money, but I obviously appreciate that without this card and when buying on the day of travel, trains can be a very expensive way to get around indeed.
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Advantages: Upto a third off train fares per person. Anyone can buy it. Lasts 12 months Disadvantages: None! - But note this is limited to travel in a designated are in England.
Oct 24th, 2009
very helpful by (100%):
