Train travel in the Uk with 2 under 5s - do they need tickets?

[thanksamillion]

Hi, I usually live overseas but am coming back for a visit with my two youngest DCs (ages 4 and 2). I've got quite a bit of train travel to do and am wondering about tickets.

From the websites I've looked at it seems like children under 5 don't need a ticket, but can I travel with two DCs without tickets ie one adult, 2 DCs, only one adult ticket?

It's free forchildren under 5.

My 2 are 3.6 and 22 months and I have never bought a ticket for them, and we travel to and from town a lot by train.

How much travelling will you be doing? You might find it cheaper to buy a family railcard (£28) which gives you up to a third off adult tickets and 2/3 (I think) off child tickets. You have to have at least 1 child with you with a ticket but as I say that can be cheaper than 2 full price adult tickets.

Also if you are doing long journeys that you'd want to book seats on it's a good idea to pay for at least 1 of the children in case there's no spare seats for them. And on a long journey the railcard often pays for itself in 1 journey.

I've done plenty of train travel with my 2 under-5s and have never bought them a ticket. I try and avoid really busy times anyway, so haven't had a problem with there not being spare seats.

When they are both over 5 I will be getting a family railcard.

Thanks for the replies. I was wondering about the seats - I think I might need to buy one child ticket for some of the longer journeys as obviously they can't both sit on my lap .

Does anyone know if you can collect a Family railcard from a train station? I may need to get a train from the airport to my first destination so would need it before I arrived at anyone's house.

I think you can buy them at a train station but it's worth checking. There is a website for them.

If you are on a long train journey where booking seats is the norm, you may find it difficult with two little ones.

I know when I took an intercity trip with my DD, it was quite hard having her on my lap in a narrow seat with a table digging into us (and this was first class).

You can get a Family & Friends railcard at the station. You don't need a photo or anything complicated.

If you are using a railcard, you need to pay for a child ticket, even if your DC is under 5.

You can travel with x1 adult and x2 non fare paying children under 5 but you can also get a friends & family railcard even if your children are under 5, all it means is you have to buy a ticket for one of the children. We found even with buying an 'extra' ticket the price was cheaper than if we'd bought 2 adult fares without the F&F discount (1/3 off). We were travelling to and from London and were very relieved to have a seat booked for one of the children as both trains were absolutely packed.

You can buy a railcard from the station, but you may also be able to order it online and have it mailed to you overseas (not 100% sure about that, but worth a look if you've got the time before you leave.)

what debitthescot said they are free but if you by a railcard you can get good deals and it may even work out cheaper, i am going to manchester in the new year (to visit my sister and newborn baby!) and i have used a family railcard to buy a ticket for myself nad 12mth dd and that is cheaper than not using a railcard and just buying a ticket for myself! plus is means dd has a seat and i dont have 5 hours of her sat on my lap!

Thanks again for all the replies. If I can get a railcard at the station that's very helpful. I just need to finalise my plans and get buying some tickets!