The Great British Rail Sale 2024: Millions of half price train tickets up for sale this week - how long does the promotion last?

The Great British Rail Sale has returned seeing more than a million train tickets discounted by up to 50%. The Department for Transport (DfT) announced that the seven-day promotion will begin today (Tuesday 23 January) and will end on 29 January. 

Cheaper Advance and Off-Peak tickets will be available to buy in the sale. Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he hopes passengers “make the most of this sale and choose to travel by rail.”

They will be sold for travel across England and Wales – and cross-border trips into Scotland – for travel between 30 January and 15 March. Examples of price reductions on typical Advance fares – which are the cheapest tickets and must be used on specific trains – provided by the DfT include:

• From Birmingham to Bristol down from £30.60 to £15.30.

• From Manchester to Leeds down from £8.60 to £4.30.

• From Leicester to Sheffield down from £7.30 to £3.60.

The DfT said tickets will be sold by online retailers and many station ticket offices. No more will be offered once they are sold out. The Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) estimate that the first Great British Rail Sale in 2022 saw passengers save around £7 million on rail tickets and encouraged around 70,000 adults who had not travelled by train since the Covid-19 pandemic to take a trip.

Industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) will host a page on its website aimed at helping customers find the best deals. Operators are not offering sale tickets on days when their services might be impacted by the strikes announced by train drivers' union Aslef on 15 and 18 January 2024.

RDG chief executive Jacqueline Starr said: “Following the success of the Great British Rail Sale in 2022, we are really excited that it’s coming back.” Mr Harper added: “The return of the Great British Rail Sale is good news for passengers, following the success of the previous sale which saw passengers benefit from around £7m in savings on their travel costs. With discounts on more than a million tickets, there’ll be plenty of opportunity to connect with friends and family, and explore great destinations across the country.”