Britrail Pass

Posted by ds on 03/24/23 03:58 AM

I’m thinking of buying either a 15 day flex Britrail pass or a 22 day consecutive pass. The consecutive pass is cheaper for some reason.

If I buy a mobile consecutive 22 day pass in North America when does it become activated? Can I buy it at home and then download it or activate it the day I leave London? I won’t be using the train for the first week of my trip. Or does that only work with a paper pass?

For the mobile pass what happens if your phone is lost or stolen (or battery dies)? The coverage doesn’t mention stolen phones (and is pricey)

Posted by isn31c

Lake District, England

03/24/23 06:51 AM

5700 posts

See this video- https://www.acprail.com/rail-passes/britrail/britrail-england-pass

It is dated so does not need 'activation' as you can't use it before the first date. As it is a Pdf with barcode it can be printed off as an insurance and used that way.
The majority of UK trains now have power outlets at seats, and many have USB ports, but not all, so be prepared for needing a UK plug with integral USB. They can be readily purchased anywhere in the UK.

Posted by James

03/24/23 07:08 AM

2399 posts

The video shows a long queue of people waiting to buy tickets from a clerk. Practically nobody does that these days. I suggest you go on the England forum page and state your expected journeys. People could well come on and tell you if it would be cheaper to actually buy the tickets rather than use the pass. That said, the pass does give you the freedom to just show up and go.

For short journeys people generally pay on the day for a return ticket. For longer tips, it is usually cheaper to buy an Advance specific train ticket (no refunds) with these being loaded around 10 weeks ahead.

You can get about a third off most fares if you buy a Railcard for £30. See >https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/tickets-railcards-and-offers/railcards/national-railcards/

On some routes, it pays to split the ticket at a calling place or change trains place. This site will tell you and you can play around with it by clicking Proceed without actually making a booking:>https://trainsplit.com
Then see if using this site comes up with the same prices without splits:>https://www.nationalrail.co.uk

Posted by isn31c

Lake District, England

03/24/23 07:35 AM

5700 posts

So what, it doesn't show the user buying tickets at the ticket office. On the contrary it shows the Britrail user skipping the line, and demonstrates that there is no 'activation' process.
Whether people buy at the ticket office, or at the machines, plenty still do.
And keeping ticket offices open has been one of the key issues in the current (maybe now resolved) bitter industrial disputes.

But do not buy tickets through the split ticketing websites and pay their commission. Buy from the train operators. Ask specific questions and you will find just how bad at their proclaimed task all the various split ticketing websites are, as has been proven many times.