Family & Friends Railcard

Up to four adults and four children can enjoy cheaper train tickets using a single Family & Friends Railcard.

You can nominate two adults to be named as cardholders. Both adults don’t need to travel together, but you do need to travel with at least one child aged between five and 15 to get the discount.

Because up to eight people can travel together, it’s great for groups of friends or extended family to enjoy big days out together.

Children under five can travel for free by train – including on routes in the TransPennine Express network. Each adult can have up to two under fives with them. If you only have one child in the group and they’re under five, you’ll have to buy them a child train ticket to get the Family & Friends Railcard discount.

If your child turns 16 before your one-year Family & Friends Railcard expires, they can still travel at the discounted child fare for as long as the card is still valid. Or, if you have a three-year Family & Friends Railcard, they can still get the discount until the day before their 17th birthday.

You can use your Family & Friends Railcard to save 1/3 off standard anytime, off-peak and advanced adult fares, and 60% off kids’ fares too.

Although your train ticket discount won’t apply during peak morning times, these restrictions don’t apply during public or bank holidays. So, if you’re going away for a bank holiday weekend you can still save money on your journey. Please note discounts are not available on tickets for travel on morning peak services for journeys that start and end within the London & South East area, apart from Bank Holidays.

And remember – there’s no limit to the number of times you can use your Family & Friends Railcard, so you can take as many trips and fun days out as you want all year round.

A Family & Friends Railcard costs £35 for one year, or you can buy a three-year Railcard for £80. 

At such a good price, you could well find you pay back the cost of your Railcard in only a couple of trips.

Where paper Railcards are physical cards that go alongside your ticket (whether paper, Key or eTicket), Digital Railcards exist within the TPExpress app, and can be displayed to support your ticket when a ticket inspection takes place. Because Digital Railcards are always kept within the app alongside your digital tickets, they'll always be there and available.

You can buy Digital Railcards through the TransPennine Express website or app and they'll be applied to your TransPennine Express account.

Yes, you need to apply for a Family & Friends Railcard.

You can apply online through the TransPennine Express website or app and they'll be applied to your TransPennine Express account.

We will send you an email or app message before your railcard is due to expire.

You can renew your Digital Railcard through the Southeastern website or app, within 30 days of the expiry date.

Simply login to your account, select the type of railcard you want to renew, then follow the easy steps.

Once your payment has been confirmed, your renewed Digital Railcard will be available to use straight away.

If you’ve lost your Family & Friends Railcard, or it’s damaged, you can apply for a replacement one.

You can either do this online, or if you bought your Railcard from a ticket office and have your stamped receipt, you can get a replacement Railcard from a train station.

Whether you get your replacement Family & Friends Railcard online or from a staffed ticket office, you’ll have to pay a £10 administration fee.

If your Railcard was stolen and you have a crime reference number, you can get a free replacement by either logging into your online account or going to a train station and speaking to a member of staff in the ticket office.