The quick & easy way to book train tickets across Europe
Do you want to know how to make the most of your Trainline cashback? Read on to get inspired on how you can start saving!
When buying train tickets, it can be difficult to know if you’re paying more than you need to.
As an independent ticket seller, when you search for tickets with Trainline, they’ll show results and prices from different operators to show you how much you should be paying, what time it’s cheapest to travel at, and which ticket type offers the best value.
As a result, when you book your ticket ahead using Trainline, you could end up saving 43% on what you’d pay at the station on your day of travel. Wherever you’re going to or from in the UK, Trainline is an unbeatable way of finding cheap rail fares and, with cashback from Quidco, there’s even more reason to book your journey with them.
The Trainline Journey Planner makes organising your next journey simple. When you input your travel details, the tool gives you a breakdown of different journey times and costs on your chosen dates, so you can find a ticket to suit you.
You can even add railcards to your search and specify any stations you’d like to travel via. If you’re travelling the same day you can also view live times to check departures and platform numbers.
If you’ve left it late, Trainline’s handy mobile app also means you can save time by searching for and buying your tickets on the go – although you’ll need to follow our links to the Trainline website to earn cashback on your purchases.
Travelling by rail is a speedy way of getting from one city to another, but, as we all know, it can be pricey.
When you use Trainline to plan and book journeys between towns and cities in England, Scotland, or Wales, they’ll show you a choice of Peak, Off-Peak, and Super Off-Peak tickets, so you can opt for the lowest fare. You can also make sure you pay less for intercity journeys by booking in advance
If there isn’t a direct train, Trainline’s journey planner will work out what changes you need to make, so you can know exactly what your journey will involve and how long it should take.
The Trainline website is full of advice and tools geared towards helping you pay less for your train journeys. Try the Best Fare Finder search tool, which helps customers with flexible travel dates to maximise their savings.
Input a rough travel date and the tool will show you the lowest rail fares in the morning, afternoon and evening on each of the surrounding days, so you can spot potential bargains and plan your travel to make the most of them.
Or sign up to ticket alerts and have Trainline contact you as soon as your operator releases advance tickets for your journey – meaning you can snap up the best deals before prices start to rise.
If you commute by train or travel regularly for business, you can use Trainline's Season Ticket Finder to discover better-value ticket options.
Input your start and end stations and select from annual, weekly, or monthly ticket options to get a selection of season tickets and travel cards, with the choice to pay more or less depending on how much flexibility you want over which route you take.
You can also save regular journeys on Trainline’s Journey Planner so that you can go back and look them up whenever you need to. Remember to check Quidco’s terms and conditions to see which ticket types are compatible with our cashback offers.
Trainline has a whole host of other features to help you plan your rail journeys. The ticket type explainer tells you the difference between Off-Peak and Anytime ticket options, so you can work out which is best for you.
Go to the tools section of the Trainline website to view other features, including the ticket alerts and the handy price prediction tool, which lets you see when tickets prices are about to rise.
As well as that, there's a station finder that pinpoints your nearest stations on a map, and a carbon calculator that lets you see how much your carbon footprint shrinks when you make your journey by train rather than car or plane. iPhone users can now even sync live travel updates with iMessage.
Trainline isn’t just there to sort out your train tickets. Head to the Trainline blog for inspiration on places to visit and things to see and do when you arrive.
You'll find posts about attractions, bars, and restaurants in cities in the UK and further afield, as well as travel tips that can help you save money and plan your journey better.
Elsewhere, the deals section has great offers on hotel stays and theatre packages, which include accommodation and tickets to a West End show. Check the terms and conditions to see which purchases you can earn cashback on.
Once you’ve bought your ticket through the Trainline website or app, you’ll have the chance to choose from a number of collection options. Collect your ticket from a station ticket machine on the day of travel, or save time by having it delivered to you by post, so you can skip the station queues.
Nowadays almost half of the tickets bought with Trainline are available as mobile tickets, as train companies move towards more modern, environmentally friendly paperless ticketing methods. Trainline will let you choose the most convenient collection method for you out of whichever options your operator provides.
There's a whole country to explore out there, and rail is the perfect way to get around. Here are a few ideas to help you earn your cashback when with Trainline…
Although you can now use Trainline to book rail tickets all over Europe, this doesn’t mean you need to go abroad to discover exciting new travel destinations.
Rather than jumping on a plane, why not save money by booking a return ticket to Scotland for a weekend break in Edinburgh or by going on a family seaside holiday to Wales?
With Trainline, you can earn cashback on journeys to major UK cities, from Manchester to Cardiff, and even book theatre packages when you’re visiting London. See our terms and conditions to check whether your purchases are eligible for cashback.
If you need to travel to another city for an upcoming event, whether it’s a business conference or a family get together, Trainline can help you get there as cheaply as possible – and you can earn cashback at the same time.
Get organised by signing up for a ticket alert as soon as advance tickets go on sale, so you can bag the lowest price. When you use Trainline’s journey planner they’ll also show you whether tickets are selling out, so you can make sure you get in there before the best fares are gone.
With Trainline, when you travel as part of a group, you can look forward to even bigger discounts.
Their Group Save option allows parties of three to nine people to get money off their booking when they travel together, so you’ll be left with a little extra spending money when you’re heading off on a stag do, sports tour, or any other kind of group trip.
Simply select Group Save from the railcard menu to see if you’re eligible for a discount.
Since you're earning cashback on your bookings with Trainline, you’ve got the perfect excuse to splash out on a first-class ticket next time you travel by train.
For a little more cash you could be enjoying a far more comfortable journey from A to B, with extra legroom, reclining seats, and even complimentary snacks, depending on your operator.
You’ll be able to compare standard and first-class seat prices when you search for tickets using Trainline’s Journey Planner to help you decide whether you want to opt for a little extra luxury.
Just because your train has reached its destination doesn’t mean Trainline can’t help you with the rest of your journey. You can save time and money by adding on the cost of onward travel to your booking, with the option to include unlimited bus travel in your destination city for as little as two pounds with PLUSBUS.
If you’re going to London, you can also include unlimited tube travel in the price of your booking by purchasing a London Underground travelcard as an add-on. Onward travel purchases will automatically be subject to any railcard discounts applied to your rail ticket.
Anything else you’d like to know about buying your train journeys through Trainline? Here are the answers to a few common questions…
Most of the time, yes. Because train tickets usually increase in price the longer they are on sale, if you purchase your ticket online in advance, you could pay an average of 43% less than you would if you bought your ticket from the station on the day.
It depends on the type of ticket you’ve bought. You can pay to cancel Anytime, Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak tickets, but if you have an Advance Single you’ll have to exchange it for a different ticket.
Additionally, while you have until 18:00 the day before departure to change the day, time, or route of an Advance Single ticket, other ticket types cannot be changed. Note that booking changes might affect your cashback, so check the terms and conditions before you proceed.
Different train operating companies have different policies, and not all of them offer seat reservations, especially on shorter journeys. However, if your operator allows you to reserve a seat, you will be able to do so during your booking with Trainline.
If you’ve been allocated a seat on an Anytime, Off-Peak or Super Off-Peak ticket, you can also usually change your seat number by phoning up Trainline before 17:00 the day before you travel.
If you decide to cancel a ticket and have not yet collected it from the station, you can expect a refund to reach your account within five working days.
If you’ve already collected your tickets, just put them in an envelope and mail them back to Trainline to receive a refund.
You’ll find postage details on their website’s help page. You have twenty-eight days from your ticket’s expiry date to ask for your money back.
Depending on your ticket, you will have different collection options. You can collect your tickets from a self-service machine at any station (even if it’s not the station you’re travelling from), using the card you used to pay and the reference code in your confirmation email.
You can print some tickets yourself, and some bookings have a “mobile ticket” option that lets you activate your ticket on your phone.
Many train companies have a “Print your own ticket” option. When you select this, Trainline will send you a separate email containing your ticket, which you can download and print at home like a normal file.
Take your printed ticket with you when you board the train and bring an accepted form of ID, such as a passport or driver’s license.
You can earn cashback with Quidco on purchases with many other travel companies too. We’ve got offers on UK train tickets with specific operators, like ScotRail and First Transpennine Express, as well as on European travel passes with My InterRail.
You can also shop for other transport options and book accommodation with major travel sites such as Expedia and Booking.com.
Even though we do our best to keep the information on this page up-to-date, it may be out of date from time to time.
