All aboard for summer

24 Jul 2026 10:50 AM

Alongside government’s Great British Summer Savings campaign, more people can travel for less this summer with discounts available across all publicly owned railway services.

• publicly owned train operators are offering major discounts on rail tickets to help families enjoy days out together this summer
• kids fares have been slashed to as low as £1 by some operators following the first freeze to rail fares for 30 years
• discounts come alongside the government’s Great British Summer Savings campaign offering free bus travel for kids this August and ahead of £2 bus fare cap, so families can enjoy more for less

Publicly owned train operators across Britain are offering significant discounts this summer, helping families to create memories together. The offers come alongside the government’s campaign, so everyone can enjoy a day out for less.

The holidays can put an extra strain on cost of living pressures for many households and these summer discounts are designed to help make planning days out a little bit easier. Available on operators running services across the country, discounts include fares for as little as £1, cut price family tickets and on-board activities to keep everyone entertained.

Building a new economy where we make life’s essentials affordable again is central to the government’s mission to deliver the greatest rail reform in a generation. By bringing rail companies back into public ownership and ahead of Great British Railways (GBR) being established next year, passengers are already seeing the benefits.

Fares have been frozen until March next year to save passengers £600 million, contactless ticketing has rolled out at over 100 more stations and performance has improved across the country.

Alongside discounted rail travel, kids can now travel free on buses this August and from January, the government will cap single bus fares at £2 in England outside the capital. Together, these offers could significantly cut the cost of family days out, allowing parents to combine cheaper train fares with free bus travel for children to get where they need to go for less.

Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, yesterday said:

We know that the cost of living and weighing up whether you can have a day out is a real worry for families across the country, especially over summer. That’s why we’re cutting the cost of making memories with deals on train journeys across all services in public ownership, helping more families make the most of time off together.

Great British Summer Savings means more people can get out and about this summer for less, whether it’s seeing a discounted trip to the seaside, one of our historic castles, the Natural History Museum, or falling asleep on the train home after a day riding rollercoasters at Legoland, there are options for everyone.

It’s all part of our plan to create a fairer Britain starting with a publicly owned railway that truly works for people – a simpler, more reliable and affordable network that puts passengers first.

Offers available this summer on railways include:

• under 16s can travel on Southeastern services off-peak for £1
• c2c and GTR (who operate Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express services) are continuing their popular ‘Kids for £2’ deal, so children can travel on off-peak services for just £2 return at weekends and during school holidays.
• Greater Anglia is also offering selected £2 tickets for children
• LNER and Northern are offering family tickets at discounted prices for up to two adults and four children across its network, with average savings of 77%
• families can travel from Birmingham to London for as little as £22 in a summer deal offered by WM Trains
• on TransPennine Express services, younger passengers will be kept entertained with a free ‘All Aboard’ educational activity book, packed with puzzles, games, colouring activities and rail-themed learning content – the operator has also teamed up with attractions across the network to offer rail customers deals including 2-4-1 tickets to Scarborough Castle and 1/3-off entry to Edinburgh Dungeon and Legoland (Manchester)
• the deals aren’t only available for families: c2c has introduced flat £15 adult off-peak return fares from any c2c station in the London Travelcard area to Southend between 21 July and 31 August, helping make those scorching trips to the beach more affordable

VisitEngland CEO, Patricia Yates, yesterday said:

It is great to see these rail savings as the summer holidays get underway, supporting families to get out and explore the outstanding attractions and destinations across England. Travelling by rail opens up iconic locations as well as less explored destinations, with stunning scenery along the way. The ease and convenience of rail travel also broadens travel itineraries, encouraging visitors to travel further and stay longer and in a stress-free and environmentally friendly way.

Great British Summer Savings is a targeted scheme from the government to reduce the costs of children’s meals in restaurants, children’s tickets for theatres and cinemas as well as tickets for everyone for theme parks and adventure centres.

The scheme is targeted to help families enjoy a day out for less, see the full list of available summer savings offers.

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