Annual Season Tickets
Know you'll be travelling between the same two stations for work throughout the year? You can buy your yearly train ticket online with us – you’ll save money on your commute and you’ll get to enjoy unlimited train travel between your departure and arrival stations for one year, plus you’ll avoid queueing at the ticket office to buy your ticket on the day of travel.
Keep reading for more information on how Annual Season Tickets can help you make great savings on your train journey.
What is an Annual Season Ticket?
An Annual Season Ticket allows you to travel at any time of day and as much as you want for a year between the two stations shown on your ticket – that’s so much cheaper than buying monthly or weekly train tickets throughout the year!
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What are the benefits of an Annual Season Ticket?
Unlimited travel between two selected stations for one year
Use it any day, at any time
Up to 12 weeks' free travel
No need to buy a ticket every time you travel
Annual Season Ticket vs Monthly Season Ticket
Check out the price difference and savings for travelling with an Annual Season Ticket compared to 12 Monthly Season Tickets for the example commutes below.
How to buy an Annual Season Ticket online
You can buy your Annual Season Ticket online with us rather than having to queue at the station to buy it on the day of travel. Simply head to our Season ticket Calculator and follow these simple steps:
- Enter your origin and destination stations
- Select the start date for your Annual Season Ticket
- Tick 'Annual' under the Ticket Options
- Pick your type of traveller
- Choose the class you want to travel in
- Select your Railcard, if applicable*
- Buy your Annual Season Ticket
* Please note that it’s not possible to use a Railcard with Season tickets as they’re already discounted. The exceptions are the Highland Railcard, Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card, TfW 18 Saver Railcard, TfW Student Railcard, Valleys Student Railcard and Young Scot National Entitlement Card, which provide further discounts, where eligible. When asked by rail staff, you must show a valid ticket and your valid Railcard signed by you (plus your Railcard Photocard if required).
Annual Season Ticket Photocard
With an Annual Season Ticket, you need to have a Photocard to use as proof of ID. You can either request one free of charge from us by filling in this form or take a passport-sized photo to your local ticket office and they’ll make you one for free.
If you already have a Photocard, you can tell us your Photocard number at the time of purchase and we’ll match it up to your Annual Season Ticket. Just remember that you’ll always need to bring both your Photocard and Annual Season Ticket with you when travelling.
On certain routes, you may be able to get a digital Annual Season Ticket. If that’s the case, then your photo will be stored in the Trainline app with your ticket, so you won’t need a separate Photocard. Look out for the barcode icon when searching for a Season ticket in our app.
What is an Annual Gold Card?
An Annual Gold Card is a type of Annual Season Ticket you can get if you live in the South of England. When you buy an adult Annual Season Ticket or Travelcard and your origin and/or destination are within the Annual Gold Card area, you're automatically issued with an Annual Gold Card.
What is the Annual Gold Card area?
The Annual Gold Card area covers some of the main destinations in the UK:
- All of London
- East Anglia, including King’s Lynn, Norwich, Felixstowe, Southminster, Shoeburyness, Huntingdon and Cambridge
- The South West, including Portsmouth, Weymouth, Exeter, Southampton, Salisbury and Guildford
- The South East, including Margate, Folkestone, Hastings, Eastbourne, Canterbury, Maidstone and Brighton
- The Midlands, including Bedford, Birmingham, Northampton, Rugby and Milton Keynes
- West England, including Shrewsbury, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Worcester, Oxford and Kidderminster
- The Island Line.
Check out our dedicated page to the Annual Gold Card for more details.
What are the benefits of an Annual Gold Card?
As well as being a yearly train ticket, you can get up to 1/3 off other leisure rail journeys in the Annual Gold Card area for both yourself and others when you travel any time during weekends and Bank Holidays or after 9:30 am Monday to Friday.
For example, you can get 1/3 off Anytime and Off-Peak tickets for you and up to three adults travelling with you in Standard or First Class, 1/3 off Travelcards and Oyster journeys also within the Annual Gold Card area and up to 60% off child fares for up to four children aged between 5 and 15 years (subject to a £1 minimum fare).
With an Annual Gold Card, you can also buy an extra one-year Railcard for yourself or a person of your choice for only £10. Available Railcards include Family & Friends, Two Together, 16-25, Disabled Persons, Network or Senior Railcard.
We sell Annual Season Tickets for the following train companies:
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a yearly train ticket?
The price of a yearly train ticket may change based on the route you’ll be travelling on. Use our Season ticket Calculator to find out how much you could save on your commute with an Annual Season Ticket.
Is it cheaper to buy a yearly train ticket?
Yes. If you’re regularly travelling on a certain route, an Annual Season Ticket is cheaper than buying weekly or monthly train tickets throughout the year.
Is there an Annual Season Ticket for students?
Unfortunately not, but it's worth considering the 16-25 Railcard as an alternative, as it can save you 1/3 on eligible routes if you’re not travelling every day. If you’re commuting on the same route throughout the year, an Annual Season Ticket may be the right option for you.
Can I use a Railcard with an Annual Season Ticket?
No, unfortunately you can’t use a Railcard with an Annual Season Ticket, because with a Season ticket you’ll already be saving money compared to buying tickets every day. If you live in the South or East of England, your Annual Season Ticket – also known as an Annual Gold Card – will give you further discounts on Off-Peak leisure travel.
Where can I use an Annual Season Ticket?
Annual Season Tickets are available to use on most short and medium distance journeys on the National Rail network. They are valid on all train operators on the route within the zones for which the ticket is issued unless the ticket says it can only be used on a specific train company. Your ticket may only be valid on certain routes between your two chosen stations (e.g. ‘Valid only for travel via (changing trains or passing through) High Wycombe’) – this will be stated on your ticket if applicable.
Can I get a refund for my Annual Season Ticket?
You can get a refund on the remaining portion of your unused Annual Season Ticket if it has two or more months' validity remaining. Read our help guide to refunding a UK Season ticket for more information.
Is getting an Annual Season Ticket worth it?
If you’re travelling between two stations every day throughout the year, you could save money buying an Annual Season Ticket compared to buying 12 Monthly Season Tickets or buying return tickets on the day.
Find out more about Season tickets and train travel in the UK
So, now you know all about Annual Season Tickets. Whether you’re ready to buy tickets or want to find out more about train travel in the UK, we’re here to help. Start a search for train tickets in our Journey Planner or check out some of our guides to train travel around the UK in general.
Train travel in the UK
* Savings calculated on the cost difference between twelve Monthly Season Tickets and one Annual Season Ticket.