Rail Sale is now on

These terms and conditions apply to the Great British Rail Sale, a promotion coordinated by ATOC Ltd on behalf of participating Train Companies for the Promotional Period. 

• Over 3 million promotional Great British Rail Sale Tickets will be available on selected journeys across the National Rail network (in England, Wales & Scotland) for the Promotional Period. 
• The Promotional Period will start on 6 January 2026 and will end when all Great British Rail Sale Tickets have been sold or on 12 January 2026, whichever is sooner, for travel between 13 January 2026 and 25 March 2026. The number of Great British Rail Sale Tickets available during the Promotional Period is limited and subject to availability.
• Great British Rail Sale Tickets are selected Advance or Off-Peak tickets with fares discounted by individual participating Train Companies, up to 50% off the equivalent full price Advance ticket fare. Where a participating Train Company does not offer Advance tickets, selected Off-Peak ticket fares may be offered as an alternative. Great British Rail Sale Tickets are not available on all routes or all journeys and may not represent the lowest available fare for a particular journey.
• Great British Rail Sale tickets must be purchased at least 3-7 days in advance of the date of travel. This varies per operator.
• The Great British Rail Sale is promoted via the Great British Rail Sale website and Great British Rail Sale Tickets are available to purchase via participating Train Companies and ticket retailers for the Promotional Period. This is an online sale, please contact the relevant participating Train companies if you require assistance or have specific accessibility requirements.

Selected Routes, Limited Availability and Exclusions

• The number of Great British Rail Sale tickets offered by each participating Train Company will vary and are limited in number
• Tickets are not available on all routes and at some peak times and are not offered by all Train Companies.
• Availability is subject to specific travel exclusions across some routes due to engineering improvement works. For more details of engineering works please refer to participating Train Company websites.
• Railcard discounts do not apply to Great British Rail Sale Tickets, and no other discounts can be used in conjunction with Great British Rail Sale Tickets. 
• Child tickets can be purchased in the Great British Rail Sale from participating Train Companies and ticket retailers.

General

• ATOC Ltd reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions without notice and to take appropriate action to close the offer or withdraw the Great British Rail Sale Tickets from sale at any time.
• Usual Train Company terms and conditions of purchase, National Rail Conditions of Travel, Advance and Off-Peak ticket terms and conditions apply.
• The promoter of the The Great British Rail Sale is ATOC Ltd on behalf of participating Train Companies. ATOC Limited is a company registered in England and Wales under company no. 03069033, whose registered office is at First Floor North, 1 Puddle Dock, London, England, EC4V 3DS

Privacy Policy  

Who we are 

ATOC Ltd manages the Great British Rail Sale website on behalf of National Rail Enquiries (NRE) and Britain's train companies. National Rail Enquiries is a trademark of Train Information Services Limited (TISL). 

To contact us you can write to us at

ATOC Ltd
First Floor North
1 Puddle Dock
London
England, EC4V 3DS. 

The data we collect

We do not collect, store or share any personal data on the Great British Rail Sale website. 

We do request a postcode to help find your nearest station in the ticket search, but this is only used to enable you to search for available tickets. Once your search is completed, the postcode is immediately discarded and is not recorded or stored in any way. 

We use cookies across our website to improve your experience and our website's performance. To find out more about our cookies, read our Cookie Policy. 

How to contact us 

You can contact us using the details provided below: 

Data Protection Lead for NRE ATOC Limited
First Floor North
1 Puddle Dock
London
England, EC4V 3DS  

Tel: 0207 841 8000 

Please include your name and email address, so that we can deal with your request. 

Complaints 

You have the right to complain about our processing to the Information Commissioner if you believe we are not processing your data in a proper manner. See https://ico.org.uk/concerns/handling/ for more information. 

You must buy them in advance.

Great British Rail Sale tickets must be purchased at least seven days prior to travel on Thameslink, Great Northern Railway and Southern Railway.

For travel on other train company services, Great British Rail Sale tickets must be purchased three to seven days in advance, which will vary depending on which train operator service you buy your tickets from.

On some train operators you may be able to pay for a First Class upgrade. Please check the terms and conditions on your train company's website for more information.

For Southern services you may be able to upgrade to First Class by visiting the ticket office in the station. It’s important to remember you must do this before you board one of our trains as the staff on the train cannot upgrade your ticket.

If you can't find any discounted tickets, it could be that the journey you're looking for is either already sold out or not included in the sale.

Great British Rail Sale tickets are not available on all routes and are limited and subject to availability and exclusions.

Visit National Rail to find out which routes are included in the Great British Rail Sale.

No, there are no additional discounts available with Railcards.

Yes. Child tickets are available with the Great British Rail Sale, please visit the train operating company where you purchase your tickets.

If the train you purchased a ticket for is cancelled or delayed and you still decide to travel, special arrangements will be made to accommodate you on another train (although a seat cannot be guaranteed).

If you choose not to travel, normal refund policy applies.

Please contact the train company or where the ticket was purchased for more information.

Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern train services do not offer seat reservations with Great British Rail Sale tickets.

Your ticket will specify the date and time of travel, and you may sit in any available seat on the specified train, appropriate to the class of your ticket.

For other train operators, Great British Rail Sale tickets may be issued with reservation tickets which must be carried when travelling.

Great British Rail Sale tickets are valid only for the date and train shown on your ticket or for the journey you booked and are non-refundable unless you are unable to travel due to a delay or cancellation.

You can, however, change the time or date of your journey any time before your first reserved train departs via the train operating company or ticket retailer you purchased your ticket from. Any difference in fare and an administration fee will be payable prior to travel.

Great British Rail Sale tickets on Thameslink, Southern, and Great Northern are offered as single Advance tickets only. If you wish to make a return journey, you may need to buy a single Advance ticket for each leg of your journey.

There are some Return tickets available on other train operators, but most Great British Rail Sale tickets are Single tickets. Visit National Rail to find out which routes are available.

Yes, you can apply for Delay Repay in times of disruption. You can find information on Delay Repay here. 

If you purchased your ticket before strikes were announced, you may be able to use your ticket on an alternative day (although a seat cannot be guaranteed). If the ticket is for a train that is scheduled for a strike day, and that service is not cancelled, delayed or rescheduled, but you prefer not to travel, you should contact your ticket retailer. Please contact the train company you are travelling with for more information.