![Y-P Railcard Agency Issue 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Y-P_Railcard_Agency_Issue_2.JPG)
The 16–25 Railcard is an annual card giving discounts on certain types of
railway ticket in Britain. It is available to anybody aged between 16 and 25 (inclusive), and certain
mature students
An adult learner or, more commonly, a mature student, is a person who is older and is involved in forms of learning. Adult learners fall in a specific criterion of being experienced, and do not always have a high school diploma. Many of the adult ...
aged 26 and above, and is currently priced at
£30.00 (as of 19 May 2013). There is no restriction on the number of times the Railcard can be used to purchase discounted tickets during the period of its validity, and there are no geographical restrictions on its use.
Introduced in 1974 on an experimental basis, under the name Student Card, and expanded into the Student Railcard later that year, it was the first of the many Railcards which formed part of
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
's array of
concessionary fare schemes, and which still exist on the
post-privatisation railway network. Later, it was rebranded as the Young Persons Railcard and, from 18 May 2008, the 16–25 Railcard.
History
In the 1960s and 1970s, many new universities were opened in Britain, while car ownership was relatively low, especially among young people. Furthermore, internal flights were not as cheap or prevalent as they are now. Most students either hitched or took a long-distance coach. The National Union of Students had a very large travel company at the time with charter flights all over the world. They wanted to expand their operations domestically and so went to various regional sales managers of British Railways to develop special fares for holders of NUS cards. These were usually an allocated number of seats on specified weekend trains but they were very successful and Paul Connellan, who was the Travel Company General Manager, went to the British Railways Board with a proposal to allow a general discount based on the NUS card. The railways management, led by Alan Chamberlain, were reluctant to offer a discount based just on such cards particularly as some colleges and universities were not members of the NUS. A compromise was agreed where a special card would be sold but only through student travel offices.
The first Student Card, as it was known, was launched. It exhibited some features which have remained consistent throughout the Railcard scheme's history, but also several which were later changed. It could only be purchased from
National Union of Students (NUS) offices. Costing £1.65, which included a VAT charge of 8%,
it was valid until a specific date—30 June 1974—rather than for a specific length of time. Only
second class tickets could be bought, and all types of ticket were subject to a minimum fare below which no further discount would be given. The maximum discount was 50%. A booklet containing ten "Student Travel Request Forms" was supplied with the card; one had to be filled in and presented at the ticket office when booking a ticket.
This original scheme, which was intended as a trial, was changed and relaunched in October 1974 under the new name Student Railcard. Two of the inconvenient conditions of the trial version removed: Railcards could be bought at railway station ticket offices, and Travel Request Forms were no longer required: the passenger just had to show the Railcard when buying their ticket.
During the 1970s, the range of people who could buy the Railcard was expanded in stages; having at first been restricted to students in full-time education, it was made available to nurses, part-time students and, ultimately (in 1980) anybody between 14 and 24 years old inclusive.
Since then, the age range boundaries have been altered twice. In September 1987, the lower boundary became 16 years old, as British Rail changed their age limit for child tickets from 14 to 16, while the upper age limit became 23. However, registered
mature student
An adult learner or, more commonly, a mature student, is a person who is older and is involved in forms of learning. Adult learners fall in a specific criterion of being experienced, and do not always have a high school diploma. Many of the adult ...
s older than this could now buy a Railcard. Then, on 29 May 1994, the upper age limit was increased to 25.
The use of the same expiry date for all cards issued in a given year persisted until 1982, although the fixed date was changed from 30 June to 30 September when the first version of the Student Railcard was launched in October 1974 (the original "Student Card" was the only version ever to use a 30 June expiry date). After 30 September 1982, Railcards were issued for a fixed period of 12 months from the date of issue. At the same time, the name Young Persons Railcard was adopted.
The next major changes came in 1987, with the discount structure, types of discounted tickets available and appearance of the Railcard all changing. With the introduction of the
APTIS
APTIS was the Accountancy and Passenger Ticket Issuing System used on the British Rail/National Rail network until 2007. It was originally called "Advanced Passenger Ticket Issuing System" as it was being developed at the time of the Advanced P ...
ticket issuing system happening at this time, a new set of ticket stock (with the British Rail form number BR 4599/20) was introduced. These were smaller than the erstwhile handwritten square-cornered card tickets, and had no room for a photograph to be attached; a separate Photocard, with a unique serial number was introduced instead. This was issued together with the Railcard, and had to be shown when buying subsequent Railcards and when travelling on discounted tickets.
Changes after this mostly involved the design of the APTIS ticket stock, the price of the Railcard and the minimum fare boundaries. However, two changes were also made to the method of buying the Railcard. From 9 January 2000, Telesales offices operated by the train operating companies were able to sell Railcards, although if a Photocard was not already held, one had to be issued at a station or travel agency within one month (a temporary pass, entitled Temporary Facility – Permit to Travel without Photocard was issued in lieu by the Telesales office).
In August 2006, online booking of Railcards was made available, although the card can still be bought through train stations and over the phone. Booking online includes the option of a three-year railcard for £70.
From 18 May 2008 the card was rebranded as the 16–25 Railcard in order to make it easier to understand who is eligible for the card.
The 16–25 digital Railcard was announced in September 2015 and was available for purchase in 2017. Existing customers were unable to upgrade their physical railcard to a digital version, instead having to wait for their physical railcard to expire.
The railcard was designed to reduce the number of people incurring fines for forgetting their railcard and remove the wait for obtaining a physical railcard in the post or at a station. A phone can display the railcard without an active internet connection, as long as the device had connected to the internet in the past 72 hours.
Ticket types and discounts
The first version of the Railcard, the "Student Card" of 1974, gave 50% discounts on Second Class Single and Ordinary Return fares, as they were then known. (Ordinary Returns were valid for travel at all times, and the return journey could take place on a later date. They later became "Standard Returns", and are now known as "Anytime Returns".) The higher-rate minimum fare (see
Price and minimum fare below) applied to Ordinary Returns, while the lower-rate fare was used as the baseline for other fares.
A 50% discount on Day Returns (valid at all times, for return on the same day) and Off Peak Day Returns (valid outside peak hours, again for return on the same day) was available from 30 September 1978. Other fares added later included the London Saver (1981; this type of ticket is no longer available) and Saver (12 May 1985; the discount on these was 34%). The main change, however, came on 1 March 1987, when the set of discounts was changed as follows:
* 34% off Saver, Standard Single, Standard Return, Standard Day Return and Cheap Day Return tickets
* 34% off Rail Rovers of all types
* 34% off
One Day Capitalcards from stations outside the Capitalcard zonal area, subject to a £2.00 minimum fare
* £2.00 flat charge for One Day Capitalcards from stations within the zonal area
The One Day Capitalcard became the One Day Travelcard in 1989, and as from April 1993 only all-zone tickets (Zones 1–6) could be purchased at a discount, again subject to a minimum fare restriction.
As of 2010, this is £5.00.
Although other minor changes have been made since, mainly to the names of ticket types, this range of discounts is very similar to that which applies as of 2007:
* 34% off Cheap Day Singles and Cheap Day Returns
* 34% off Standard Day Singles and Standard Day Returns ''(subject to minimum fare)''
* 34% off Standard Open Singles and Standard Open Returns'' (subject to minimum fare)''
* 34% off Saver and Supersaver Singles and Returns
* 34% off many types of Advance Purchase ticket, both generic (SuperAdvance) and
train operating company
A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating Passenger Trains, passenger trains on the Rail transport in Great Britain, railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the Privatisation ...
-specific
* 34% off Network AwayBreaks
As of 2 January 2008, for people using public transport in London, the discount can be loaded on to an
Oyster Card
The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...
at any
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
ticket machine (with help from a member of staff), providing the 34% discount off the cost of a
One Day Travelcard and the Oyster automatic daily cap. From 2010 discounted paper tickets have been suspended in the
Transport for London zoned area. An Oyster card loaded with the railcard can be used to obtain 34% reduction on Off Peak single National Rail fares in the area or the Off Peak Cap rate. From January 2011, this discount also applies to off-peak single fares on the Tube, DLR and London Overground.
Avanti West Coast
Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise.
During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...
waives peak time restrictions on certain services where a railcard has been used to discount the ticket.
Price and minimum fare
The Railcard has undergone regular price increases since its introduction, and as of 19 May 2013 has cost £30.00. A
VAT
A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...
charge was included until 1976. Railcards for mature students have always cost the same as those for people within the standard age range.
From the beginning, discounted tickets bought with the Railcard were subject to a "minimum fare", although its level and the circumstances in which it was applied have varied considerably over time. For the first 4½ years, until 15 September 1978,
minimum fares applied at all times; if the price of the ticket including the full discount was lower than the relevant minimum fare level, the latter would be charged and the full discount would not be given. For example, if the date was June 1974, the journey in question was a "Higher rate" Ordinary Return and its published full fare was £1.30, the passenger would be charged the £1.00 minimum fare, because the discounted fare would be lower than this (50% discount = £1.30 ÷ 2 = £0.65). If the £1.30 fare was on a "Lower Rate" ticket, however, the full discount would be applied, as the minimum fare for lower-rate tickets (£0.50) was less than the discounted fare (£0.65).
From 15 September 1978, minimum fares no longer applied at weekends, on
bank holiday
A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...
s or at any time during July and August; at these times, the full 50% discount was applied to all available ticket types, no matter how low the resulting discounted fare became. On 1 September 1980, minimum fares no longer applied after 6.00pm on weekdays; and in 1986, this was changed to 10.00am. The latter condition remains in force today, meaning that the full discount is available at all times except in the morning peak (before 10.00am). Weekends, bank holidays, July and August are still unrestricted.
From 17 May 2009, minimum fares were standardised at £12 for both single and return journeys before 10.00am. Cards were also entitled to discount on First Class advance fares and Anytime Day Travelcards.
This section of the 16–25 Railcard websiteexplains the current (as of 2008) minimum fare regulations.
The three-year online only railcard was introduced in 2008, and cost £65. The price was raised to £70 on 19 May 2013.
Tickets issued with a Railcard
![APTIS Status Code Y-P (Current)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/APTIS_Status_Code_Y-P_%28Current%29.JPG)
On the
APTIS
APTIS was the Accountancy and Passenger Ticket Issuing System used on the British Rail/National Rail network until 2007. It was originally called "Advanced Passenger Ticket Issuing System" as it was being developed at the time of the Advanced P ...
,
PORTIS/SPORTIS
PORTIS (Portable Operated Ticket Issuing System) and latterly SPORTIS were portable ticket issuing systems used on Rail transport in Great Britain from 1982 until 2006. The system was also formerly used by Northern Ireland Railways for the issue ...
and other computerised ticket issuing systems, a "status code" field is provided on each ticket issued. This is left blank if an adult is travelling at full (undiscounted) fare; but if any discount or other special condition applies, a code of up to five letters appears.
The change of name from "Student Railcard" to "Young Persons Railcard" preceded the introduction of these systems by four years, so the status code used has always taken the form Y-P. However, in the earliest days of APTIS and PORTIS, this code was rendered Y - P, with spaces between the letters and the dash. Since 1988, Y-P has always been used — both on the now defunct APTIS and SPORTIS (the successor to PORTIS) and on the various New Generation systems introduced since privatisation. In late 2014, the status code 16-25 started to be used, 26 years after its introduction.
Railcards as an incentive to open a bank account
![Y-P Railcard HSBC 4-Year](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Y-P_Railcard_HSBC_4-Year.JPG)
In recent years, as a marketing initiative, British banks
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
,
NatWest
National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...
and
Santander
Santander may refer to:
Places
* Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain
* Santander Department, a department of Colombia
* Santander State, former state of Colombia
* Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
have offered free multi-year Railcards to students opening new bank accounts. HSBC held the exclusive contract from 1997 to 2004, between 2004 and 2013 it was held by NatWest,
and Santander won the contract in 2013.
Midland Bank
Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It ...
, a part of HSBC since 1992, introduced a free four-year Railcard on 7 July 1997.
It was available to any first-year undergraduate who opened a new account with the bank. The card had a red colour scheme, bore the holder's photograph and a handwritten expiry date, and was made of thin plastic rather than card. Minor layout changes were made when Midland Bank was rebranded as HSBC in 1999. A generic seven-digit serial number was shown on the front.
NatWest signed a deal on 7 June 2004 for the exclusive right to offer Railcards as parts of its own incentive package. A five-year version was offered (which was effectively worth £100, given that a one-year Railcard bought in the normal way cost £20.00)
as from 21 June 2004. For a short period, until 1 September 2004, both NatWest five-year and HSBC four-year Railcards were available; but from that date, NatWest gained the exclusive rights and the HSBC version ceased to be available.
NatWest ceased to offer the railcard to new accounts in 2011,
however existing account holders continued to be reissued with renewed cards until 2013.
Santander has issued railcards to new student current account holders since summer 2013
The overall appearance and layout of the NatWest Railcard was similar to that of the HSBC version.
A six-digit serial number prefixed by NWB was used, however; and the card has a standard form number in the "4599" series (RSP 4599/294), whereas the Midland Bank (RSP 24881/5)
and HSBC (RSP 24881/7)
versions were allocated non-standard codes.
The bank Railcards are used in the same way as standard, paid-for Railcards: the same range of tickets is available at the same discounts, and subject to the same terms and conditions.
26–30 Railcards
The 26–30 Railcard went on sale nationwide on 2 January 2019 and provides customers 1/3 off leisure journeys, by train, across Britain. It broke sales records when it was launched, with two Railcards being sold per second.
In its first month, 125k people were able to save over £3.4m on their rail journeys, with the 26–30 Railcard being used for an average of 13,777 journeys per day. This amounted to customers covering 29,717,793 miles with their 26–30 Railcard, the equivalent of travelling 62 times to the moon and back. By the end of the second month after the launch, customers had saved over £10.5m on their rail journeys.
Whilst the majority of 26–30 Railcard holders live in the London area and South East of England, some of the most popular locations travelled to include: London – Manchester, London – Cambridge, London – Birmingham, Milton Keynes – London and London – Bristol.
The 26–30 Railcard is the first digital-only Railcard and is available to buy online. Once bought it can be downloaded to the Railcard app on a smartphone, so customers can start travelling and saving with it straight away. If their phone gets lost, or the battery dies, then customers can swap their Railcard onto another smartphone device.
References
Footnotes
: Form numbers are codes introduced by British Rail to classify and catalogue all printed material: documents, tickets, wage slips, notepaper, parcels labels and hundreds of other items. Form numbers consist of a primary code and, often, a sub-code, separated by /. APTIS tickets used primary code 4599 in British Rail days; this changed to 7599 on
post-privatisation "RSP" tickets. Other primary codes have since been introduced on
Rail Settlement Plan
Rail Settlement Plan (RSP) is a division of the Rail Delivery Group in the United Kingdom. It provides a wide range of common services to the UK's train operating companies and third-party providers of information and retail services.
The green ...
ticket stock for New Generation (post-APTIS) ticket issuing systems.
Notes
Bibliography
*
External links
*
*
''Railcard''on
Google Play Store
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sys ...
''Railcard''on
App Store
An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the co ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:16-25 Railcard
British Rail fares and ticketing
Fare collection systems in the United Kingdom
Youth in the United Kingdom
Train-related introductions in 1974