Travel by railway is big news today, with an a rise of 3.1% for all commuters heading to work.
However, Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling has also announced that a brand new rail card will extend half-price child fares for children aged 16 and 17 year olds.
The rail card, isn’t expected to be available until September 2019, however once available it will help up to 1.2 million young people save 50% on all rail travel, just in time for the new academic year.
The announcement has also coincided with the launch of the 26-30 Rail card benefiting up to 4.5 million people with a third off their travel.
This now means that commuters aged between 16 and 30 can benefit from cut-price fares across the country.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:
“The new 16 & 17 and 26-30 Railcard will cut fares for a generation of travellers, ensuring more young people than ever will be able to travel on our railways for less.
Today’s announcement of a new 16 & 17 Railcard could cut the cost of travel by hundreds of pounds a year for young people and their parents, making it cheaper to get to school, college and work.
This builds on the roll-out of the new 26-30 Railcard and our record investment into our railways, ensuring people get the frequent, affordable and reliable journeys they deserve.“
The new rail card will guarantee discounted travel on all train journeys until the cardholder reaches their 18th birthday. Further details about the new rail card will be released ahead of the card’s launch in the Summer.
Previously, in September 2018, the Government announced a ‘root and branch’ approach to the review of the railways which is focusing on fares.
Reforms from the proposed report are not expected until 2020.
