Rail passengers tell train companies to ‘let me book’ longer in advance  

1 May 2024

The transport charity wants to see the ‘official booking window’ – currently 12 weeks ahead of travel but could be less depending on where you purchase your ticket – changed to 16 weeks to encourage more people to take the train rather than fly or drive.

To enable this to happen, Campaign for Better Transport is calling for Network Rail’s deadline for publishing timetables to be extended from 12 to 16 weeks, and for all train companies and ticket retailers to start selling all tickets at least 16 weeks in advance.

Michael Solomon Williams from charity Campaign for Better Transport said: “With less than three months until the summer break begin, holidays, hotels and event tickets can be booked, but many train tickets simply aren’t available yet. Having such a small booking window makes planning train journeys harder than it needs to be and is reducing rail’s competitiveness with other modes of transport like flying and driving. It’s time all train companies and retailers offered passengers a bigger booking window so that people can plan their travel further in advance knowing they are getting the cheapest ticket available.”

Booking windows vary widely by train company, ticket type and time of travel, with open tickets available further in advance from certain retailers, in some cases with the proviso of the booking being subject to change once the timetable is confirmed. Out of 20 train companies that offer advance tickets, Campaign for Better Transport found that only eight facilitate booking advance tickets more than 12 weeks ahead (Caledonian Sleeper, Grand Central, GWR, LNER, Lumo, and Hull Trains, Northern and TransPennine Express). However, on some of these, this is only available on weekday services.

Campaign for Better Transport argues that this inconsistency is creating confusion for passengers, damaging trust in the railways and making rail less competitive with flying and driving at a time when it is vitally important that sustainable travel is made as simple as possible for all.

David Murray from Falkirk, Scotland, is planning a train journey to Norwich in September with two bicycles. He said: “Tickets for the Peterborough to Norwich leg of our journey are not available until 12 weeks before departure and trains only carry two cycles. At the moment we don’t know if we can travel on our intended dates, yet in order to obtain accommodation at the best places it may be necessary to book months in advance. This makes a mockery of environmentally friendly travel and low impact tourism. It is little wonder people drive.”

John LeGrove from Glossop, Derbyshire, said: “The narrow booking window is frustrating and off-putting for folk intending to go on long-distance trips, especially where air travel is a practical alternative.”

Only a handful of train companies and booking websites are currently selling cheaper advance tickets for journeys beyond the middle of July. This means that people planning to attend major tourist events this summer, including the Edinburgh Festival, the Great North Run, Leeds and Reading Music Festivals, England’s cricket matches with Sir Lanka and Australia, horse racing’s St Leger Festival and the Tour of Britain cycling race, could find themselves unable to book their train tickets or having to buy more expensive open tickets.

Jane from Brighton said: “I can’t make my plans or budget for my holiday, which makes it very difficult for me as I’m a pensioner and I need to save.”

Jeremy Bartlett from Norwich said: ” Every year I book a holiday cottage early in the year but can’t book a train until much nearer the time. I book the Caledonian Sleeper in advance but can’t book tickets to London to connect with the sleeper train yet. It’s ridiculous. It puts people off travelling by train.”

Whilst domestic rail passengers are restricted by the current narrow booking window, Eurostar and European trains are bookable much further in advance meaning that those planning to travel by train to Europe from the UK, or vice versa, are unable to book their entire journey in one go.

Julia from Scotland said: “I have already booked the Eurostar and my onward trains to Germany, but I cannot book the trains to and from London, so I have to hope that I get a good and cheap ticket. It’s fairly ridiculous – in Germany you can book trains up to 15 months in advance.”

Janet from Worcestershire said: “My family and I have been able to make reservations for Eurostar trains, and trains on the continent, well in advance. But we still can’t book the UK leg of our journey. It’s frustrating.”

Campaign for Better Transport is calling on train companies to end this inconsistency and make things simpler for passengers. To help extend the booking window and ensure that journeys can be booked up to 16 weeks ahead of travel, the transport charity is calling on Network Rail to better manage repairs and upgrades and set its engineering works timetable at least 16 weeks in advance to enable passengers to plan their journeys and train companies to sell tickets without the need to worry about possible changes.

ENDS

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Notes to Editors

1. Advance tickets offer better value for money when travelling long distances. All Advance tickets are for single journeys, but you can combine tickets to create your whole journey, including your return. They are sold in limited numbers, subject to availability and on a first come, first served basis. As they are reserved to specific train services, advance tickets are only released after the final timetable is confirmed, but this varies between six and 12 weeks ahead of travel, depending on the train company.
2. A small number of trains companies such as LNER and Lumo and independent booking websites such as Trainline already allow passengers to buy some weekday advance tickets up to 22 weeks in advance, on the proviso of the tickets being subject to change once the timetable is confirmed.

   Train Operating Company*	National Rail website	Train company website
   Avanti West Coast	Weekend: 6 weeks Weekday: 11 weeks	Weekend: 7 weeks Weekday: 12 weeks
   Caledonian Sleeper	12 months	12 months
   Chiltern Railways	Weekend: Saturday service 9 weeks, Sunday service 8 weeks Weekday: 11 weeks	12 weeks
   CrossCountry	Weekend: 9 weeks Weekday: 10 weeks	12 weeks
   East Midlands Railway	Weekend: 11 weeks Weekday: 12 weeks	12 weeks
   Grand Central	Weekend: 21 weeks Weekday: 24 weeks	24 weeks
   Great Western Railway	Weekend: 11 weeks Weekday: 15 weeks	Weekend: 12 weeks Weekday: 24 weeks on certain routes
   Greater Anglia / Stansted Express	Weekend: 8 weeks Weekday: 9 weeks	12 weeks
   Hull Trains	Weekend: 24 weeks Weekday: 26 weeks	Weekend: 24 weeks Weekday: 26 weeks
   LNER	Weekend: 11 weeks Weekday: 12 weeks	Weekend: 12 weeks Weekday: 22 weeks available on some routes
   Lumo	Weekend: 21 weeks Weekday: 26 weeks	Weekend: 21 weeks Weekday: 26 weeks
   Northern	Weekend: Saturday service 7 weeks, Sunday service 6 weeks Weekday: 7 weeks	12 weeks for advance tickets, 27 weeks for other types
   ScotRail	Weekend: 14 weeks Weekday: 15 weeks	8 weeks for advance tickets, 12 weeks for other types
   South Western Railway	Weekend: 11 weeks Weekday: 12 weeks	12 weeks
   Southeastern	Weekend: 11 weeks Weekday: 12 weeks	12 weeks
   Southern	Weekend: 7 weeks Weekday: 12 weeks	12 weeks
   Thameslink	Weekend: 7 weeks Weekday: 12 weeks	12 weeks (reduced availability on some routes 4 weeks before travel)
   TransPennine Express	Weekend: 13 weeks Weekday: 14 weeks	24 weeks
   Transport for Wales	6 weeks	6 weeks for advance tickets, 12 weeks for other types
   West Midlands Trains	7 weeks	12 weeks

   *Not all train companies offer Advance tickets or seat reservations. The list of train operating companies in the table is from National Rail for those that do. c2c for example is not included as it's a commuter line and does not offer advance tickets.
   Source: Advance fares availability checked on National Rail and individual train company websites
3. For more information on what dates you can buy advance tickets up to with each train company see National Rail website.
4. For more recommendations on how to make rail travel simpler, easier and fairer, see Campaign for Better Transport’s 2023 report: A fare future for rail: a blueprint for fares and ticketing reform.
5. Campaign for Better Transport operates in England and Wales. Campaign for Better Transport’s vision is for all communities to have access to high quality, sustainable transport that meets their needs, improves quality of life and protects the environment. Campaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust is a registered charity (1101929).