Cheap National Express tickets ease rail fare pain

National Express is offering single coach journey tickets for £5 or less until 1 May 2019, if booked through their website.

Three million coach tickets are available, alleviating cost pressures on travellers and commuters who have been hit by the 3.1% increase in rail fares that came into force at the start of the year.

There is a £1 booking fee for tickets, of which more than 350,000 costing £5 or less are available for journeys from London, and more than 230,000 for those from Manchester.

The cost savings could be substantial for travellers, with a return journey from London (Victoria Coach Station to Birmingham) booked for 1.30pm on 14 January, returning the following day at 6.15am, costing £10.20, plus a £1 booking fee.

Although the same journey on 14 January 2019 by train is much quicker (leaving London Euston at 1.49pm to Birmingham New Street return), when booked on the Trainline website tickets cost £27 plus a 75p booking fee.

National Express Director, Chris Hardy said: “We’re offering great value and convenient travel across our network of more than 750 cities and towns so people can still keep moving this year.”

National Rail has launched a digital-only ‘millennial’ railcard for travellers aged 26 and 30, providing a third off fares for a year, which costs £30.

Currently, 16-to-25-year-olds can get equivalent savings, but from September 16 and 17-year-olds can get half-price travel with a new, likely digital, annual railcard.