If you are coming to LSE in September, you should consider taking some time to travel and visit the UK. I believe that taking the train is a good option to travel from London towards other destinations. Indeed, from King’s Cross Station there are trains going almost everywhere in the UK. If you are looking for ways on how to save money on train tickets in the UK, here is some advice!

Student Railcard

If you are planning to travel across the UK by train, I highly recommend subscribing to the Student Railcard. There are different Railcard options, one of which is for students aged between 16–25. The Student Railcard costs about 30£ per year and allows you to save 1/3 on rail fares! If you make different journeys during the same year, then the Railcard is definitely worth it. The discount of the Railcard also applies on trains from London to the different London airports. So, if you are an international student and you are going to travel back home several times during the year, you should look into that! Also, you will be able to link your railcard to your Oyster Card. This will give you access to discounts on the London tube during off-peak times!

Trainline

Another way to save money on train tickets is to book through the app Trainline. This app allows you to have a look at all the different trains and times to a specific destination. You will be able to compare the different prices of the tickets and the length of the journeys. Then you can decide which option suits you better!

Book in advance

It might sound obvious but booking in advance is another good way to save money on train fares. During your time at LSE, you are going to be busy with university but you should remember not to book last minute if you want to avoid high prices. In my case, it worked well as once I found a ticket from London to Edinburgh for only £13!

Look out for sales

Finally, if you are passionate about travelling and you want to make the most of your time in the UK, you should also look for train ticket sales. Sometimes there might be high discounts for many different reasons! For example, recently there has been the Great British Rail Sale to incentivise travel in the UK. Rail operators were offering up to 50% discount on train tickets. Things like this might happen more than once during the year and I think it is worth to have a look.