Huge choice
UK and European rail? Turns out you can have it all.
Great value fares
Our clever tech scans thousands of routes – and reveals your options at great prices.
Loyalty and Railcards
Reap rewards in points and money off.
How to buy tickets with us
1. Say where and when you're travelling
This small and mighty search widget is your portal to all the trains, routes and fares in the UK. It’s easy to use, so let’s quickly cover the essentials and we’ll show you a couple of lesser-known tricks as well.
Firstly, say where and when you’re travelling and the type of ticket you want. The choices are one-way for a single journey, a return if you know when you’re heading back, or open return for extra flexibility.
If you have a Railcard, add it and take advantage of any savings. Taking a team trip? You can buy up to nine tickets at once, so say how many people are travelling.
Now, we know a thing or two about planning a journey. But if there’s a particular route you want to take, choose to do so by clicking via / avoid.
That’s everything. Time to hit the purple search button.
2. Select your tickets
Trains galore! But not any trains. Only the best ones for your journey.
On the search results page, you’ll see the fastest available routes, the fewest changes and the cheapest fares, making it super easy to travel within a budget. If you want to treat yourself to luxuries including more space and extra comfy seats, choose First Class.
Look out for the SplitSave icon, too. When you see this money-saving feature, it will automatically break your trip into two cheaper tickets, giving you the same journey for a better price.
If you’re ready to zoom straight to your shopping basket, click quick buy ticket and skip the next two steps.
3. Choose a seat that suits
Planning to relax en route? Get a window seat and admire the passing landscapes.
Or you might need to polish off some work. Then set yourself up on a table with a power socket in the quiet carriage.
You can also request seats near luggage racks or toilets, and say if you prefer to travel facing forwards or backwards or sit in an airline-style seat with a little added legroom.
Once you’ve chosen your seat, opt for any extras such as taking a bike on board or increasing your luggage allowance.
4. Digital or paper tickets
For most journeys, you’ll have the choice of digital or paper tickets.
There’s a reason 94% of our customers go digital. Store them neatly in the Trainline app and skip the queue for collection at the ticket machines.
Digital tickets let you glide through the platform gates without missing a beat. Just tap, scan and go.
If you prefer paper tickets, your options include collecting them at the station or receiving them by post (if your journey is booked far enough in advance).
For station collection, we’ll give you a reference code to enter at the machine or counter, and you’ll also need to present the card you used to buy them.
5. Checkout and payment options
Buy your tickets with your preferred payment method – and save your details for an even speedier and smoother booking experience next time.
To pay by debit or credit card, click add new card and fill out the form with your details. You can choose to give it a nickname and save it to your account for future use. All teammates on your company account can save their own personal cards.
To use PayPal, click the button below and simply follow the prompts.
If you’re using Trainline Business on your mobile, you can also pay with Apple and Google Pay .
Buying multiple tickets? You can choose to send a booking confirmation to any teammates you’re travelling with. Click add email address, put theirs in and we’ll send the details to them.
6. Purchase confirmed
Success! We’ll email over your booking confirmation.