Train travel app for UK

I use the apps for each of the train operating companies that I buy tickets from. My purchases tends to be from LNER, Avanti West Coast, GWR, Southern, & West Midlands.

Reveccabrooklyn is a multispammer all over the forum

Start with the National Rail app (or website)for researching routes. It covers the various train operating companies:
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Many of the different operating companies (e.g., LNER) also have apps.

Trainline is a reselller so they charge you an additional fee.

I would avoid Trainline - as noted, it's a reseller. Just use one of the train operating company apps. It's worth noting you can buy tickets on any route on any of the train operating company apps (ie they sell tickets on each other's services).

I’ve been successfully using National Rail for planning purposes for several years. The site will send you to the carrier for purchases if you want to book with the carrier.

I’m
For purchases, LNER has worked well for me no matter the rail carrier. I’ve also been using the LNER app in the UK when I want to buy “day of” tickets - even while standing on the platform. Works with ApplePay, so no need to input a card number.

Trainline is not always accurate when going out several months. The schedules for track works may not be known or considered. I, personally like many others, avoid agent sites.

Do monitor your routes and sell dates. Advance tickets for distance trains can be cheaper the earlier purchased. You might also check the National Rail website to see if there are any rail cards that might save you money. You will be asked to display those when the on-train ticket checkers come by. https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/railcards/national-railcards/

Man in Seat 61 is a good resource if you haven’t studied it yet. https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-britain.htm

https://www.scotrail.co.uk will come up with the same prices as Trainline but without the commission and they sometimes offer a single split to reduce the price(s). National Rail and the train company sites do not offer you reduced prices by doing ‘splits’. You don’t have to travel with Scotrail to book tickets for anywhere in Britain.

Other sites that can offer splits but charge a commission on the amount saved include:>
https://www.traintickets.com/?/
https://trainsplit.com

Suggest you play around with these and try journeys for different dates.

and they sometimes offer a single split

ALWAYS offer a single split where one exists.

There are some real experts on UK trains and ticketing who frequent this forum, some on this chat, who give great advice. I’m not that but here’s my perspective as someone who’s tackled this rather complex subject a couple times recently, most recently to buy tickets for an upcoming trip from Manchester to Llandudno (Wales) and from there to London. Avanti West is a direct seller and I find their website very user friendly, but for the trip to London I saved quite a bit with a “split ticket” from Trainline. Yes, they are a reseller and charge a commission, but I thought it was reasonable compared to the savings and they are reliable (I had used them before in Central Europe). You do have to look at the routings pretty carefully to get one that isn’t too complicated and sometimes the absolute cheapest is not the best. In general it seemed that the worthwhile split ticket savings were on longer trips where the origin or destination station isn’t a major hub.

Manchester to Llandudno is a case in point- that can be done for under £10 before railcard discount, leaving from Manchester Victoria- split ticketed with a train change at Chester.
But why would you do that when there is an hourly fast direct train from Piccadilly for only £3 or so more, unless you were wanting to see Chester on the way.
Or Llandudno to London is half the cost of the through fast Avanti train if you split ticket/train change at Crewe onto the LNWR semi fast service. But it will take a lot longer, especially as you need to build in a buffer at Crewe onto the hourly semi fast.

And some of the routings the split tickets offer are just crazy.

Another prime example is Inverness to London- you can either take the direct train to Kings Cross (sometimes as low as £60), or often save money by split ticketing on Stirling and Crewe, arriving at Euston. But it will take you a lot longer. On the other hand that would be a good excuse to visit Stirling while you change onto the cheap train from there. Are the savings worth the extra time, and aggravation? Maybe so, maybe not.

I do find Trainline very good for trains on the European mainland as some of the countries have sites that can be difficult to use.

Foreigners not familiar with the rail network in Britain should find it useful to download maps from the following site - even if it just the first one as it will help you find your way about. https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/maps-of-the-national-rail-network/

Usually, for short local journeys, people pay on the day. Longer distance trips can work out cheaper by pre-booking ‘Advance’ tickets for a specific train(s). Purchasing a Railcard can reduce fares by a third.

PS. If you are awake during the British daytime - when most passenger trains are running, you can click this link which will show you where they are. Click on any train and it will show you the route. Clic & drag map to show other areas.
https://www.map.signalbox.io/[email protected],-1.92689,6.773Z

In which area are you looking to travel? I have the Northern and Avanti apps on my phone because I live in the North West. But I can use these to choose and buy digital tickets for anywhere in the country.
The best website as opposed to an app is www.nationrail.co.uk