Rail Staff Travel Guide for
holders of a Staff Travel Card
Rail Staff Travel is part of the Rail Delivery Group
Rail Staff Travel Guide for holders of the Staff Travel Card
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Contents
Section 1: Introduction ___________________________________ 6
Section 2: Types of Travel and the concession available ________ 7
Leisure Travel _____________________________________________ 7
Residential Travel (i.e. commuting) ____________________________ 8
Duty Travel ______________________________________________ 10
Notes ___________________________________________________ 10
Section 3 - Rail Staff Travel Products _______________________ 11
Staff Travel Card __________________________________________ 12
Photo ID card for Staff Travel Card ________________________________ 12
Help for those who have difficulty travelling ________________________ 13
Residential passes and staff discounted (priv rate) season tickets___ 13
Obtaining a Residential pass or staff discounted (priv rate) season
ticket/Flexi-Season Ticket _______________________________________ 13
Refunds of staff discounted (priv rate) season or flexi-season tickets_____ 15
Photo ID card for staff discounted (priv rate) Season Ticket ____________ 15
Status Passes _____________________________________________ 16
FIP International Reduced Rate Card __________________________ 16
International FIP coupons ___________________________________ 16
Loss & Replacement of Staff Travel Cards or Passes ______________ 16
Section 4: Mobility within, and leaving the rail industry _______ 18
Mobility _________________________________________________ 18
Leavers__________________________________________________ 18
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Returning to work after retirement/redundancy ________________ 19
Section 5: Eligibility of family members ____________________ 20
Spouse/Partners and child dependants ________________________ 20
Facilities for a couple, both employed in the rail industry _________ 22
Section 6: Travel on National Rail _________________________ 23
Active & Retired Staff and Dependants, Leisure Travel ___________ 23
Free Leisure Travel _____________________________________________ 23
Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets ________________________________ 24
Child flat fare when travelling with retired employees aged 60 or over ___ 27
Staff Travel Restrictions and complimentary refreshments ________ 27
Class of Travel _________________________________________________ 28
How to buy a staff discounted (priv rate) ticket, and what to do if this is not
possible ______________________________________________________ 29
Active Staff, Residential Travel (Commuting) ___________________ 30
Other additional facilities for more senior Active and Retired
Employees _______________________________________________ 31
Gold Status Passes _____________________________________________ 32
Silver Status Passes ____________________________________________ 32
Blue Status Passes _____________________________________________ 33
Blue Status Pass Regions ________________________________________ 33
Sleeper Services __________________________________________ 38
Caledonian Sleeper ____________________________________________ 38
Great Western Railway sleepers __________________________________ 40
Train delays and service disruption ___________________________ 42
Travel Irregularities ________________________________________ 42
Complaints ______________________________________________ 43
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Section 7: National Rail services in Great Britain _____________ 44
Section 8. Other undertakings in Great Britain _______________ 45
Rail _____________________________________________________ 45
Eurostar _____________________________________________________ 45
Grand Central _________________________________________________ 46
Heathrow Express _____________________________________________ 46
Hull Trains ____________________________________________________ 47
London Tramlink_______________________________________________ 47
LUMO _______________________________________________________ 48
Tyne and Wear Metro __________________________________________ 48
West Coast Railway Company - The Jacobite ________________________ 49
Heritage Railways (generally not on the National Rail network) _________ 49
Shipping _________________________________________________ 52
P&O Ferries (Dover-Calais & Hull-Rotterdam) _______________________ 52
Stena Line Irish Services _________________________________________ 53
Stena Line Harwich to Hook of Holland _____________________________ 55
Irish Ferries ___________________________________________________ 55
Caledonian MacBrayne _________________________________________ 56
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company _______________________________ 57
Wightlink Services _____________________________________________ 58
Windermere Lake Cruises _______________________________________ 59
Luton Airport _____________________________________________ 59
Luton DART ___________________________________________________ 60
Section 9: Travel in London ______________________________ 61
Transport for London’s (TfL) Services __________________________ 61
LUL and DLR Inter-available routes ________________________________ 62
Residential Pass London Underground limitations ____________________ 64
How to use your facilities in London __________________________ 65
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London Underground staff discounted (priv rate) Season Tickets ________ 66
National Rail Services in the Oyster area _______________________ 67
Section 10: Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland ______ 68
Section 11: Foreign Undertakings _________________________ 69
European (FIP) Arrangements _______________________________ 69
Retired Employees and Widows __________________________________ 69
General ______________________________________________________ 70
Free Travel ___________________________________________________ 71
Free Travel for active staff _______________________________________ 72
Free travel for retired staff ______________________________________ 74
Reduced rate travel - FIP Cards ___________________________________ 74
Booking reduced rate tickets or obtaining reservations for free travel ____ 75
Non-European Arrangements________________________________ 76
Staff, partners and dependant children ____________________________ 77
Active _______________________________________________________ 77
Retired ______________________________________________________ 77
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Section 1: Introduction
This is a guide to the National and International rail staff travel facilities
granted to Active and Retired Safeguarded Employees who joined the rail
industry on or before 31 March 1996 and their eligible dependents
(including Widows and Widowers), and whose eligibility to facilities is
defined in the ATOC Staff Travel Scheme.
TOC Employees who joined the rail industry after 31 March 1996 should
refer to the guide Rail Staff Travel Guide for holders of the Rail Staff Leisure
Card.
This guide will give you an overview of the benefits you might enjoy. It is
not a legally binding document.
TOC or group concessions available through specific TOC employers are
outside the scope of this Guide.
Use of travel facilities is subject at all times to the:
• Rail Staff Travel Conditions of Issue and Use
www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/conditions-of-issue-and-use.html
• National Rail Conditions of Travel www.nationalrail.co.uk/nrcot
• Travel Restrictions (updated a minimum of twice a year)
www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-i-go.html.
If you are still employed by an organisation sold-off by British Rail before it
was privatised in March 1996, the details in this guide may not apply to you
in every respect. If you retired from the service of earlier privatised railway
organisations (e.g. NFC, Travellers Fare, British Transport Hotels, BREL) you
may have slightly different benefits.
You can get further information from Rail Staff Travel by e-mail at
rst@raildeliverygroup.com
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Section 2: Types of Travel and the concession available
The purpose of your journey determines which type of rail staff travel
facility you can use.
However, there are some services on which Staff Travel facilities are not
valid. See the section on Staff Travel Restrictions later in this document.
Leisure Travel
This is classified as travelling for social/pleasure reasons (as long as it does
not fall within the Residential Travel or Duty Travel categories or involves
trading or other remunerative activity).
The use of Status Passes, Staff Travel Card Boxes and staff discounted (priv
rate) tickets for Leisure Travel is permitted.
Type of Travel
Concessions available
Notes
National:
Leisure Travel
A Staff Travel card that
includes some free
journeys. (Quantity based
on employment grade and
length of service.)
Staff discounted (priv rate)
is a 75% discount on
Anytime and Off Peak
tickets.
Discounted rate (typically
staff discounted (priv
rate)) on many Rovers
and Rangers.
International
Leisure
(discounted)
A FIP Card (International
Reduced Rate Card) for an
unlimited 50% discount.
CIE and NIR discount is
75% for active and
retired staff.
SNCB and SNCF discount
is 75% for active staff
only.
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Type of Travel
Concessions available
Notes
International
Leisure (free)
Limited free travel
1
with
one free coupon p.a. per
carrier (a few carriers offer
two p.a.)
Some carriers do not allow
coupons for partners,
dependant children and/or
retired Employees
A free coupon valid for 3
months gives 4 x 2-day
periods for unlimited free
travel.
Stena BV coupons valid
for 3 months give 2
journeys.
Other UK
Generally Staff discounted
(priv rate), but there are
differences by operator.
Leisure railways and
ferries have their own
offers and restrictions-
see the relevant section
for more information.
London (TfL)
Staff discounted (priv rate)
(unless Staff Travel Card
endorsed for National Rail
only).
Free travel on London
Tramlink for Leisure travel
without needing to date a
box.
The Elizabeth Line and
TfL Overground are part
of National Rail.
Safeguarded staff can
also travel at Priv rate on
Tube and DLR services
(unless the Staff Travel
Card is endorsed with
11).
Residential Travel (i.e. commuting)
This is classified as travelling from your permanent place of residence to
your permanent place of regular employment (i.e. your office, depot or
station) or education (i.e. a university, college or school), i.e. commuting.
1
Mandatory reservations, supplement charges or Global Fares may apply on
High-Speed and long-distance journeys
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An employee can have only one place of regular employment and a child
dependant one place of regular education.
Dependant children who earn under the weekly threshold may not use Priv
Season Tickets for commuting to work. These are only available for
commuting to a place of education. If the child is in work, you should check
whether they are still eligible for rail staff travel facilities.
Where dependant children attend an educational establishment on a full-
time basis for school or advanced education and live away from the family
home in term time accommodation, then travel between the term time
accommodation and the school/university/college is considered residential
travel. Occasional travel between the family home and the term time
accommodation (i.e. at the start and end of term, at weekends or
occasionally mid-week) is considered leisure travel.
Priv season tickets for Residential Travel are only for employees, and child
dependants. They can only be purchased once Rail Staff Travel have
authorised the application.
The use of Staff Travel Card boxes and single/return staff discounted (priv
rate) tickets for Residential Travel is not permitted for employees, partners
or child dependants.
The use of Status Passes for residential travel is only permitted where the
Status Pass explicitly states that it can be used for residential travel and this
is always for an active employee only.
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Type of
Travel
Concessions available
Notes
National:
Residential
Travel
2
Free travel for up to 40 or 8
miles (based on grade and
work location).
Priv-rate (75%) of full fare
thereafter (season ticket)
3
Where the journey is longer
than the free travel allowed,
this will be offered as a
discount off the season
ticket price.
Duty Travel
Duty Travel is travelling as required by your employment or employer
during the working day. This includes attending training events and
meetings.
The use of Status Passes, Staff Travel Card Boxes and Priv tickets for Duty
Travel is not permitted for either employees, partners or child dependants.
Notes
Dependants generally receive the same leisure-only National benefits as the
employee (not necessarily the same on international services).
There can be further differences to eligibility depending on grade, employer
and/or length of service.
2
Not available to Retired Employees (except in limited circumstances and never
for travel to a workplace).
3
Authority must be obtained from RST before each purchase at station.
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Section 3 - Rail Staff Travel Products
The Rail Staff Travel products available to safeguarded staff are:
Product
For what
Supporting ID
(see notes)
Staff Travel Card
4
Leisure (free & reduced rate)
Photocard
Residential Pass
(Active)
Residential (free element)
None
Reduced Rate Season
Ticket
5
(Active)
Residential (reduced rate
element)
Photocard or RST
Season Ticket
Smartcard
Status Pass (Active)
Leisure & Residential
(unlimited free)
None
Status Pass (Retired)
Leisure (unlimited free) only
None
International Reduced
Rate Card
Leisure (reduced rate)
Passport
International Coupons
Leisure (free element)
Passport
4
A Staff Travel Card is not valid for the purchase of Reduced Rate Season Tickets
5
Authority must be obtained from RST before each purchase at station.
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Staff Travel Card
Leisure travel is delivered via the Staff Travel Card. You can use it to
purchase unlimited staff discounted (priv rate) tickets for leisure travel.
Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets can only be used by the Staff Travel Card
holder and are not transferrable to any other person.
If you have an allocation of free travel, this is delivered through the date
boxes on the Staff Travel Card. You must date a box in permanent pen
before you travel. Each dated box is valid for that day and the following day.
Photo ID card for Staff Travel Card
Photo ID is a mandatory requirement for all active employees, their partner
and child dependants aged 16 or over to support a Staff Travel Card.
A Photo ID is not required by any retired employee, or any of their
dependants; or anyone aged 15 or under.
Valid forms of Photo ID to support the Staff Travel Card are:
• The photocard used by the general public which can be obtained
free of charge from most station booking offices, or
• A TOC specific smartcard which contains your photograph, your
forename and your surname
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Help for those who have difficulty travelling
Where the active or retired employee is no longer able to travel on their
own but would still like to travel, we may be able to offer help to allow you
to travel on National Rail services with a companion.
The facility for travel with a companion is not available to partners, widows
or widowers.
Residential passes and staff discounted (priv rate) season tickets
Residential Travel (i.e. commuting to and from work) is delivered through
a Reduced Rate Season Ticket, Reduced Rate Flexi-Season Ticket or a
Residential Pass
Obtaining a Residential pass or staff discounted (priv rate) season
ticket/Flexi-Season Ticket
Employees must apply to Rail Staff Travel for an authority to purchase a
staff discounted (priv rate) Season Ticket using the Employee Residential
Travel (XX01) form or Employee Priv-rate Flexi Season (XX32) available at
www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms.html#resi
If the journey meets the criteria for a Residential Pass, this will be issued by
Rail Staff Travel.
If the journey meets the criteria for a staff discounted (priv rate) season
ticket, Rail Staff Travel will authorise the journey. Depending on the
fulfilment method selected either:
• an authority to purchase the staff discounted (priv rate) season
ticket will be sent to the employee to hand in at the ticket office
when buying the ticket Or
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• the employees RST Online account will be updated to enable the
purchase of the requested Season Ticket. The employee will need
to already hold an RST Season Ticket Smartcard.
Employees who choose to purchase their season ticket at the station will
need to apply to RST for an authorisation form for each season ticket they
buy.
Employees who choose to purchase their season ticket from RST Online will
have continuous authority to purchase consecutive season tickets for their
journey providing their home address and work location remain unchanged.
This means there is no need to apply when you wish to purchase a season
ticket for the same journey.
You can also purchase a staff discounted (priv rate) Flexi Season ticket from
RST Online. A Flexi Season allows eight days’ worth of travel within 28 days
between two stations. You need an RST Season Ticket Smartcard to be able
to get one. There is no free mileage allowance with a Priv-rate Flexi Season.
Flexi Seasons are not available for rail journeys entirely within the Scotrail
network, the Transport for Wales network or the MerseyRail travel area.
Flexi Seasons are also not available for journeys entirely within the London
Fare Zones Area. What that means is, if your rail station falls within a
Travelcard zone then you won’t be able to get a Flexi Season. For example,
Barnes to Waterloo is not available on a Flexi Season. For that journey you
need to either pay the full fare or get a Priv-rate Season Ticket for one
month or longer. They are also not valid on London Overground and TfL Rail
services. If you live in London, you can check whether your station is in the
London Fare Zones Area at:
www.nationalrail.co.uk/London_Rail_Tube_0519.pdf
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Refunds of staff discounted (priv rate) season or flexi-season
tickets
For tickets bought at stations, the employee must submit the season ticket
to Rail Staff Travel to authorise the refund and complete Refund Form XX11.
Rail Staff Travel will accept a photo of the Season Ticket cut into four pieces
and a photo taken and emailed to Rail Staff Travel. You must also include
an image of the ticket before you cut it up so all details can be viewed.
Rail Staff Travel will then either arrange the refund if the ticket was
purchased via RST Online or send the ticket to the appropriate department
within the Train Operating Company to process the refund.
For tickets bought through RST Online, the employee can submit the
refund request in the ‘Your Account’ section of RST Online.
Photo ID card for staff discounted (priv rate) Season Ticket
Photo ID is a mandatory requirement for all employees and child
dependants (including those under age 16) to support the use of a Priv Rate
paper Season Ticket.
For employees who hold an RST Season Ticket Smartcard and have their
Season Ticket loaded onto it, no further Photo ID is required. For those with
a paper ticket, the only valid form of Photo ID to support the staff
discounted (priv rate) Season Ticket is the pink Photocard ID used by the
general public which can be obtained free of charge from most station
booking offices.
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Please note that in very limited circumstances a spouse/partner may be
eligible for a staff discounted (priv rate) Season ticket. Please contact Rail
Staff Travel for more information.
Status Passes
Status passes are issued by Rail Staff Travel based on employment criteria
and their issue must be requested by an employer.
FIP International Reduced Rate Card
See the later section in on Foreign Undertakings for more information.
International FIP coupons
See the later section in this document on Foreign Undertakings for more
information.
Loss & Replacement of Staff Travel Cards or Passes
All losses, for any reason, must be reported to RST immediately, even if you
are not going to order a replacement. If you do not and someone else is
found using it, you will be liable for the misuse. A replacement fee is
payable if cards are lost, damaged or destroyed. The fee may be waived if
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loss is the result of theft, robbery or fire, subject to evidence of this being
produced from the relevant police or fire service authorities.
Postal losses notified later than one month after the expiry date of the
previous card or pass will not be replaced free of charge but must be paid
for as if lost by the holder. There are no exceptions to this rule as this is to
support fraud prevention.
Likewise if you move and do not let RST know your new address, and are
unable to collect your cards/passes you will need to pay a replacement fee
before replacements can be issued.
The current replacement charges are £15.00 for each card/pass.
The first time in a travel year that you request a replacement Staff Travel
Card, the boxes are re-allocated on a pro-rata basis. This also applies to free
replacements as a result of postal non-delivery. The pro-rata calculation will
be explained when the loss is reported.
For a second replacement in the same travel year, no free travel is re-
allocated, i.e. all the boxes will be crossed through and the replacement
card will only allow privilege rate travel.
To request a replacement card or pass, please submit either:
• Replacement of Lost or Damaged Cards (XX35)
• Replacement of Faulty or Stolen Cards (XX34)
on the Forms page of the RST website at
www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms.html.
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Section 4: Mobility within, and leaving the rail industry
Mobility
For active employees, in some circumstances only, you can move between
employers and retain rail staff travel benefits.
You should contact RST before you move to check if there will be any
impact on your Rail Staff Travel facilities.
Please note that you can only have one set of national rail staff travel
facilities.
Leavers
Your eligibility for continued rail staff travel facilities after you leave railway
employment depends on your status when you were working, and the
reason for leaving.
Generally speaking, though, for current Active staff the following holds true:
Redundancy:
Keep but dependant on your employer meeting their
obligations to RST.
6
Retired:
Keep, provided also eligible immediately to take a rail
pension and dependant on your employer meeting their
obligations to RST.
Death in
Service:
Keep (for family members already in receipt) and
dependant on your employer meeting their obligations
to RST.
6
This is the current rule. Eligibility on earlier redundancy will vary depending on
when the redundancy took place.
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Retired by Ill-
Health:
Keep, provided also eligible immediately to take a rail
pension and dependant on your employer meeting their
obligations to RST.
Resigned:
Surrender permanently unless you transfer immediately
to another Employer who is eligible to offer rail staff
travel facilities to Safeguarded employees. If you join an
eligible Employer at a later date you may be eligible but
will need to provide proof of where you have been
working.
There can however be exceptions, owing to personal
circumstances, so feel free to ask RST about your own
situation in confidence, if you wish.
Dismissed:
Surrender permanently in all cases.
Returning to work after retirement/redundancy
For active employees, in some circumstances you can return to work in the
rail industry and receive active travel benefits again. Please contact RST if
you have any queries about this as it is dependent on who you work for.
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Section 5: Eligibility of family members
Spouse/Partners and child dependants
As a general rule you can apply for leisure travel facilities for the following:
• one spouse or partner (providing you live together)
• resident dependent children up to age 18
• resident dependent children (though they may reside at another
address in term time if they attend college or university
elsewhere) between 18 and 25 subject to declaration of continued
eligibility
• resident dependent children aged 25+ in very limited
circumstances
Children under age 5 travel for free on most National Rail services.
Therefore staff travel facilities are not normally issued until a child reaches
their 5
th
birthday. However RST will issue national staff travel facilities once
a child is over twelve months of age. FIP cards are issued to children aged 4
and over on request, providing the employee holds an active FIP card.
Once a child dependant is earning over the weekly limit (unless they are in
full time education and earning more during the holiday time only) then
they are not eligible for rail staff travel facilities.
It is up to the employee to decide whether spouse/partners and child
dependants are issued with rail staff travel facilities. No spouse/partner or
child dependant is independently eligible for anything.
Spouse/Partners and child dependants generally receive the same National
leisure-only benefits as the Active or Retired Employee.
The Employee is responsible for the correct use of rail staff travel facilities
by a spouse/partner and dependant children.
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Divorce or separation from a spouse/partner
In the event of divorce or legal separation, or no longer living together, all
cards and passes for the spouse /partner must be returned.
Once a partner is no longer eligible the employee must inform RST
immediately by completing a Dependant Card Not Required form XX24 on
the RST website. The cards and passes must be returned to RST by signed
for delivery or images of them cut up must be sent by e-mail to
rst@raildeliverygroup.com
You cannot apply for facilities for any new spouse/partner until the passes
from the first partner have been returned or have expired by date.
The Travel Irregularities section contains information on how employees
not making RST aware of any changes can impact on the employees
eligibility to rail staff travel.
Children no longer dependant on the employee
When children are no longer dependant on the employee, either by gaining
employment, leaving home or entering into a serious relationship, all cards
and passes must be returned.
The employee must inform RST immediately by completing a Dependant
Card Not Required form XX24 on the RST website. The cards and passes
must be returned to RST by signed for delivery or images of them cut up
must be sent by e-mail to rst@raildeliverygroup.com
More eligibility information
More specific details about individual circumstances, categories, variations
and eligibility is available online and employees should check this, or
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contact RST, if they are ever in doubt about eligibility of one of their
children.
Conditions of Issue and Use
www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/conditions-of-issue-and-use.html
Eligibility of Family Members
www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/eligibility.html
Facilities for a couple, both employed in the rail industry
As a general rule, upon becoming an “employed couple”, you can opt for
leisure travel in your own right, or as a partner. This must apply to both
National and International leisure travel. You can however retain residential
travel and your TOC specific travel offered by your employer separately as
an Employee, even if you take your leisure travel through your partner.
European (FIP) travel must align with your national travel facilities, as
opposed to TOC-specific, eligibility.
We recommend that you approach RST for specific guidance if you are
unsure.
Likewise children of employees who both work in the railway are only
eligible for one set of National rail staff travel facilities.
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Section 6: Travel on National Rail
Active & Retired Staff and Dependants, Leisure Travel
Free Leisure Travel
The Staff Travel Card delivers both free and discounted leisure travel. Both
the free and discounted leisure travel is subject to the Restrictions on
Travel as documented in section 2.
If you are eligible for a certain number of free journeys,
7
these are shown
by a series of boxes on your Staff Travel Card. Any boxes that are crossed
out when the card is issued cannot be used for free travel.
The annual quota of free travel granted to full-time Active and Retired
Employees for leisure purposes on National Rail is as follows:
Retired with less than 10
years' service at retirement:
10 boxes non-management
14 boxes for Management Grades
(MS1 equivalent or above)
Retired with more than 10
years' service at retirement, or
Active:
16 boxes non-management
20 boxes for Management Grades
(MS1 equivalent or above)
The same quota of free travel is granted to eligible partners and dependant
children.
7
Each dated box allows free travel on that day, and up to midnight on the
following day. During this two day period, travel does not have to be continuous:
any number of broken journeys may be undertaken. Travel is also permitted from
22h00 on the preceding day if making an overnight (i.e. sleeper) journey.
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Before commencing a free journey, you must enter the day and month of
the journey in permanent ink in the first (or next available) box (which is
divided into two sections on the card marked as “DAY” and “MTH”).
Use Arabic numerals, with a zero in front of single digits i.e. 7 August
should be written as:
07
08
Failure to use 2 digits in each box is a Travel Irregularity.
Alteration or overwriting of dates already inserted is not permitted – this
includes writing a date in pencil then going over it with pen or erasing it and
then re-entering it. This information is clearly printed on the card. Failure
to comply will be treated as a Travel Irregularity.
Staff Travel Cards are valid for 15 months from 1 April to 30 June of the
following year. New cards are sent out directly to home addresses towards
the end of March each year. If you wish to use boxes from 1 April to 30 June,
either the old or the new card can be used. Only the new card can be used
from 1 July. On a card that is expiring on the 30 June you cannot date a box
for 30 June and travel on 1 July.
Dated boxes for free travel on a Staff Travel Card must not be used for
business, trading, duty or residential (commuting to work or travel to
educational establishments).
Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets
You can also purchase staff discounted (priv rate) tickets on production of
the Staff Travel Card.
Unless your Staff Travel Card is endorsed with 11, Priv-rate travel facilities
are available also on London Underground services.
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Ticket Type
Discount available on National Rail services
Anytime
75% off the public fare
Off-Peak
75% off the public fare.
Travel is subject to the same restrictions as the public
ticket.
70 min flex
fare
75% off the public fare on a specific price point.
Only available through RST Online or at station ticket
offices. Not available on-board trains.
Advance
Generally none, but some on selected LNER routes on a
specific price point.
Only available through RST Online or at station ticket
offices. Not available on-board trains.
Rovers and
Rangers
75% off the public fare for most Rovers and Rangers.
Some Rover and Rangers have no discount available.
Plusbus Day
tickets
No discount available.
Plusbus Day tickets can be purchased at the appropriate
public rate if you present any of the following at the
ticket office:
• staff discounted (priv rate) discounted Anytime or
Off-Peak ticket
• staff discounted (priv rate) Rover or Ranger
• staff discounted (priv rate) Season Ticket
• Residential pass
• Staff Travel Card with a dated box
• Status Pass
A PlusBus ticket cannot be bought if the origin and
destination stations of the rail journey indicated on the
ticket or pass are located wholly within the same towns
PlusBus travel zone (or within the same metropolitan
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Ticket Type
Discount available on National Rail services
region: Greater Manchester; South Yorkshire; West
Midlands; West Yorkshire)
An undated Staff Travel Card is not valid for the
purchase of a Plusbus Day ticket.
Plusbus
Season tickets
No discount available.
Plusbus Season tickets can be purchased at the
appropriate public rate if you present any of the
following at the ticket office:
• Priv-rate Rover
• Priv-rate Season Ticket
• Residential pass
• Status Pass
The PlusBus season ticket may not extend beyond the
end of validity date of the Rover, Season Ticket,
Residential pass or Status Pass.
A PlusBus season ticket cannot be bought if the origin
and destination stations of the rail journey indicated on
the ticket or pass are located wholly within the same
towns PlusBus travel zone (or within the same
metropolitan region: Greater Manchester; South
Yorkshire; West Midlands; West Yorkshire)
Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets purchased with a Staff Travel Card must
not be used for business, trading, duty or residential (commuting to work
or travel to educational establishments).
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Child flat fare when travelling with retired employees aged 60 or
over
Retired staff, spouses/partners of retired staff, widow(er)s of active or
retired staff may purchase tickets for up to four children aged 5 to 15 who
are travelling with them (Standard accommodation only) at the flat rate
applicable - currently £4.00. These tickets can be obtained at National Rail
station ticket offices on presentation of a retired Staff Travel Card and proof
of age of the employee or spouse/partner, or via your RST Online account.
(The discount cannot be obtained on presentation of a Blue, Silver or Gold
Status Pass).
When travelling with children on flat fare tickets, the employee or
spouse/partner must have their retired Staff Travel Card and suitable proof
of age (to confirm you are aged 60 or over) with them at all times.
(The section on Sleeper services has more information on the applicability
of this facility).
Staff Travel Restrictions and complimentary refreshments
The use of all Staff Travel Cards, passes, staff discounted (priv rate) tickets
and staff discounted (priv rate) Season Tickets is subject to Staff Travel
Restrictions on rail services. These are updated at least twice per year on
the RST website. The restrictions may vary for active or retired employees.
They are published on the RST website at
www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-i-go.html
It is the responsibility of the employee and their family member to ensure
they do not travel in contravention of the Staff Travel Restrictions. It is not
the responsibility of RST Online or any ticket office or ticket clerk to know
whether or not the train you wish to travel on is subject to the Staff Travel
Restrictions.
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Travelling on restricted services will be treated as a Travel Irregularity.
Train operators have restrictions on the acceptance of complimentary
refreshments by holders of rail staff travel facilities.
As ticket inspection and refreshment service may be carried out by different
on-board staff, those providing complimentary refreshments may not know
that you are travelling using Rail Staff Travel facilities.
You must refuse refreshments when offered, unless the Staff Travel
Restrictions document specifically allows you to accept them.
Class of Travel
If you hold a STD class Staff Travel Card, then you may only buy Standard
Class Priv rate tickets and travel in Standard Class.
Where a TOC offers Weekend First upgrades, Staff Travel Card holders with
Standard Class staff discounted (priv rate) tickets may purchase the
Weekend First upgrade at the public rate and travel in First Class
accommodation.
A few TOCs may allow the purchase of upgrades for First Class using
smartphone apps such as Seatfrog, however, not all of them allow this. If it
is permitted, it will be documented in the Staff Travel Restrictions.
Apart from the exceptions above, you cannot pay the difference between
Standard Class and First Class fares to travel in First Class accommodation.
If you hold a 1st Class Staff Travel Card, then you may buy either Standard
or First Class staff discounted (priv rate) tickets. If you buy Standard Class
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staff discounted (priv rate) tickets, then you may only travel in Standard
Class accommodation.
Seat Reservations
When purchasing a staff discounted (priv rate) ticket it is normally possible
to make a seat reservation where available. Seat reservations are available
via RST Online either as part of a ticket purchase or separately if travelling
with a dated Staff Travel Card or Status Pass. Some TOCs restrict staff from
making seat reservations and the rules are in the Staff Travel Restrictions.
How to buy a staff discounted (priv rate) ticket, and what to do if
this is not possible
You can purchase tickets online through your RST Online account. If you
need details on how to do this contact rst@raildeliverygroup.com
Where the station has a staffed ticket office, you must purchase a valid
ticket before you start a journey, irrespective of the length of queue or wait
time.
If you are travelling from a station within a Penalty Fare area, then you must
obtain a permit to travel at the public rate in accordance with the Penalty
Fare instructions displayed at the station.
If you board a train from a station with an open ticket office and have no
ticket, or from a station in a Penalty Fare area and you haven’t obtained a
‘promise to pay’ ticket, the train operator is within their right to refuse to
sell you a Priv-rate ticket and report it as a Travel Irregularity.
Only if the ticket office is closed, and there is no local ‘promise to pay’ in
use, can you buy a Priv-rate ticket on board a train. You must actively seek
out staff on-board the train, have your fare ready and offer to pay it at the
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first available opportunity. By offering to pay there can be no question that
you are trying to travel without paying.
If you don’t actively offer to pay, then you may be accused of fare
avoidance, and risk committing a Travel Irregularity. (See the separate
section on Travel Irregularities for the consequences).
Active Staff, Residential Travel (Commuting)
Residential travel can only be granted from the station nearest to your
home address and the station nearest your permanent work location.
If your permanent work location is within the London and South East
allowance area, you are granted up to 40 miles of free residential rail travel.
If your permanent work location is outside that area, the allowance is for 8
miles of free residential rail travel. A Residential Pass between specific
stations is issued for this purpose.
If your residential journey exceeds these limits, a Residential Pass cannot
be issued. Instead, RST will authorise a Privilege Season Ticket at one
quarter of the standard rate, less a further financial allowance for the
relevant free travel element as mentioned above. The free travel element
is not available on Flexi Season Tickets. For more information see section
‘Obtaining a Residential pass or staff discounted (priv rate) season ticket.’
A Staff Travel Card cannot be used to buy a staff discounted (priv rate)
Season Ticket or daily tickets for travel to work or school/college.
Residential Passes and Privilege Season Tickets may also be used for leisure
travel on the route specified.
Retired Safeguarded Employees who are issued with retired rail staff travel
cards/passes are not eligible for Residential Travel
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Other additional facilities for more senior Active and Retired
Employees
If you are classed at the former BR management grade of MS2 or MS3 you
are eligible for an unlimited mileage Residential Pass (standard class) from
your residential station to your permanent place of work, regardless of the
mileage involved. Apply on Employee Residential Travel Form (XX01).
If your employer confirms with RST that you are management grade MS4 or
above you may be granted unlimited First Class travel in the form of a Status
Pass.
Even if you are eligible for 1st class travel by reason of grade and salary
level, a Status Pass cannot be issued unless there is a spare one within an
employer’s quota.
Status passes issued to Active employees allow unlimited free leisure and
residential (but not duty) travel, in 1st class, either across the network or
on a regional basis only. There are 3 levels: Gold, Silver and Blue. The
separate quotas of Gold and Silver Active passes allocated to each Scheme
Employer (including TOCs) was set at privatisation and cannot be exceeded.
Blue passes are the regional ones and may have been issued at 1st or STD
class depending on qualification date. These are not quota-controlled, but
no new employees can become eligible for them.
• Status Passes for Active Employees may be used for Leisure and
Residential purposes.
• Status Passes for Retired Employees and Dependants of Active and
Retired Employees may only use the Status Pass for Leisure and
educational purposes.
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The level of Active Status Pass held at retirement will normally be
maintained for the Retired Status Pass. Photos for Status Passes can be
uploaded online.
Gold Status Passes
Gold passes provide unlimited free leisure and residential (but not duty)
travel on:
• National rail network
• Some inter-available TfL rail services
• Sleeping berths
• Selected Caledonian MacBrayne Clyde services (routes 13-15 only as
outlined in the Caledonian MacBrayne section of this guide)
Gold Status Passes may be granted to:
• Active or Retired Employees graded EG4 or above,
• All eligible Dependants
Gold Status Passes are not valid for travel on Wightlink services. Where an
employee entered service prior to 1 April 1985 and has a Staff Travel Card
with endorsement NIL, 2 or 3, then it is the Staff Travel Card which
provides travel facilities on Wightlink services.
Silver Status Passes
Silver passes provide unlimited free leisure and residential (but not duty)
travel on:
• National rail network
• Some inter-available TfL rail services
Silver passes may be granted to:
• Active or Retired Employees graded MS4 or above.
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• Spouses/partners, or widow(ers) or children of staff graded EG1
Silver Status Passes are not valid for travel on Wightlink services. Where
an employee entered service prior to 1 April 1985 and has a Staff Travel
Card with endorsement NIL, 2 or 3, then it is the Staff Travel Card which
provides travel facilities on Wightlink services.
Blue Status Passes
Blue status passes provide unlimited free leisure and residential (but not
duty) travel on:
• National rail services in the region for which the pass is issued and in
the class shown
• Some inter-available TfL rail services in the region for which the pass is
issued
Blue Status Passes must not be used as a gate pass in areas in which they
are not valid for travel when travelling with other facilities such as dated
Staff Travel Card boxes or staff discounted (priv rate) tickets.
Blue Status Passes are not valid for travel on Wightlink services. Where an
employee entered service prior to 1 April 1985 and has a Staff Travel Card
with endorsement NIL, 2 or 3, then it is the Staff Travel Card which provides
travel facilities on Wightlink services.
Blue Status Pass Regions
As well as the availability detailed below, Blue status passes are valid on
through services which operate from a station within their own Region, into
a neighbouring Region and then back into their own Region, on condition
that the holder does not alight at any point within the neighbouring Region
in question.
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Maps depicting availability are online at
www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-i-go.html
BP1 Eastern Region
Between all stations on the former Eastern and Anglia Regions and on Tyne
and Wear Metro Services (unless specified otherwise). The boundary
stations are:
BP1.1 With the former London Midland Region:
Carlisle, Skipton, Burnley Manchester Road (via Hebden Bridge only),
Manchester (via Hebden Bridge, Marsden or Dore only), Chesterfield,
Nottingham (via Mansfield only), Newark Castle, Aslockton, Stamford,
Crouch Hill, Wapping.
BP1.2 With the former Scottish Region:
Berwick-upon-Tweed, Carlisle.
Available also on the following LU services:
BP1.3 Metropolitan and District Lines:
(i) Moorgate to Kings Cross.
(ii) Tower Hill to Upminster, but not to alight/board between Tower
Hill and Bow Road.
BP1.4 Northern Line:
Kings Cross to Mill Hill East or High Barnet via Archway, but not to
alight/board between Kings Cross and Highgate.
BP1.5 Central Line:
Liverpool Street to Epping or Hainault, via Woodford or Newbury Park, but
not to alight/board between Liverpool Street and Stratford.
BP1.5 Piccadilly Line:
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Finsbury Park to Kings Cross but not for alighting/boarding in between.
BP1.6 Victoria Line:
Finsbury Park or Highbury & Islington to Kings Cross.
BP1.7 Docklands Light Railway:
Tower Gateway to Limehouse.
BP2 London Midland Region
Between all stations on the former London Midland Region. The boundary
stations are:
BP2.1 With the former Eastern and Anglia Regions:
Carlisle, Skipton, Halifax (via Hebden Br only), Huddersfield (via Marsden
only), Sheffield (via Dore only), Chesterfield, Worksop (via Mansfield only),
Newark Castle, Aslockton, Stamford, Crouch Hill, Wapping.
BP2.2 With the former Scottish Region:
Carlisle.
BP2.3 With the former Western Region:
Craven Arms, Worcester (via Hartlebury or Barnt Green only), Banbury,
Kensington Olympia.
BP2.4 With the former Southern Region:
Kensington Olympia, Farringdon, South Acton.
Available also on the former Southern Region between Gunnersbury and
Richmond, and on Chiltern Line services if specified.
Available also on the following TfL LU services:
BP2.5 Metropolitan and District Lines:
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(i) Moorgate to Kings Cross.
(ii) If endorsed for Chiltern availability available between Baker Street
and Watford, Chesham or Amersham, but not to alight/board
between Baker Street and Harrow-on-the-Hill.
(iii) Earl’s Court to Kensington Olympia.
BP2.6 Bakerloo Line:
Paddington to Harrow & Wealdstone.
BP3 Scottish Region
Between all stations on the former Scottish Region and on the Caledonian
MacBrayne Ltd. Clyde Services listed in 7.1.2. (if specified). The boundary
stations are:
BP3.1 With the former Eastern and Anglia Regions:
Berwick-upon-Tweed, Carlisle.
BP3.2 With the former London Midland Region:
Carlisle.
BP4 Southern Region
Between all stations on the former Southern Region. The boundary stations
are:
BP4.1 With the former Western Region:
Reading, Westbury (via Warminster only), Yeovil Junction (via Sherborne
only), Kensington Olympia, Dorchester West.
BP4.2 With the former London Midland Region:
Kensington Olympia, Farringdon, South Acton.
Available also on the following London Overground services:
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BP4.3 To Dalston Junction (replacing the former Metropolitan & District
LU services between Shoreditch and New Cross/New Cross Gate
Available also on the following TfL LU services:
BP4.4 Metropolitan and District Lines:
(i) Putney Bridge to Wimbledon.
(ii) Turnham Green to Richmond.
BP4.5 Waterloo and City Line:
Waterloo to Bank.
BP5 Western Region
Between all stations on the former Western Region. The boundary stations
are:
BP5.1 With the former London Midland Region:
Craven Arms, Birmingham New Street (via Barnt Green / Hartlebury only),
Banbury, Kensington Olympia.
BP5.2 With the former Southern Region:
Reading, Salisbury (via Warminster or Sherborne only), Kensington
Olympia, Weymouth (via Dorchester West only).
Available also on the following TfL LU services:
BP5.3 Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City and District & Circle Lines:
(i) Paddington to Notting Hill Gate - Circle Line, for through journeys
between Paddington and East Acton or westwards but not to
alight/board in between or at Notting Hill Gate.
(ii) Paddington (Suburban) to Hammersmith (H&C).
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(iii) Earl’s Court to Kensington Olympia.
(iv) Baker Street to Watford, Chesham or Amersham, but not for
alighting/boarding between Baker Street and Harrow-on-the-Hill.
BP5.4 Central Line:
Ealing Broadway or West Ruislip to White City and in the case of through
journeys between East Acton or westwards and Paddington; also between
White City and Notting Hill Gate, but not to alight/board between White
City and Notting Hill Gate or at Notting Hill Gate.
Sleeper Services
Active and Retired Safeguarded Employees and their eligible
spouse/partners and child dependants (including Widow/ers) are eligible
for rail staff travel on Caledonian Sleeper and Great Western Railway
Sleeper:
Caledonian Sleeper
On Caledonian Sleeper services between Euston and destinations in
Scotland there are two options available for staff discounted travel:
1. 75% discount off the public fare (single only), inclusive of travel and
room accommodation (Solo or Twin Accommodation), on presentation
of a Staff Travel Card (no need to date a box). Reduced fares are subject
to availability and can be purchased in advance from a National Rail
station or via RST Online.
2. Purchase a staff discounted (priv rate) Any time or Off Peak ticket or
date a box on your Staff Travel Card or use your Silver Status Pass and
pay the room supplement. There is no discount on the room
supplement. Room supplements can be booked online at
www.sleeper.scot or via RST Online
Please note that option 1 is usually cheaper.
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Due to limitations in the National Reservation System, if travelling using free
facilities (Staff Travel Card dated box or status pass), then berth
reservations cannot be made more than 90 days in advance.
Holders of Standard Class facilities may only travel in Classic
accommodation. Holders of Standard Class facilities must pay the full public
rate if they wish to travel in Club Class.
Holders of 1st Class facilities are eligible for discounted travel in either Club
or Classic accommodation.
There are no staff discounted rates on travel in Caledonian Doubles.
There is no free or discounted travel in the overnight seated
accommodation. Rail staff may use either Free or discounted travel on
daytime legs between Kingussie – Inverness, Edinburgh – Fort William and
Fort William – Edinburgh. Reservations are mandatory but this can only be
made up to 7 days before travel. This applies to all travel facilities including
75% discounted tickets, season tickets or residential passes.
Caledonian Sleeper has agreed an easement on the 22:00 hrs time rule and
will accept Staff Travel Cards which are dated for the date of arrival in
destination, providing the customer has a room reservation for a journey
which ends on the date entered on the Staff Travel Card.
Travelling with a Gold Status Pass
If you have a Gold Status Pass endorsed ‘All Stations and in Sleeping Berths’
this allows free travel on the Caledonian Sleeper and does not require
payment of the room supplement. However, there are a limited number of
places.
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You can book this via your RST Online account, Guest Services on 0330 060
0500 or a National Rail station.
Travelling with children on Caledonian Sleeper
There are three options for travelling with children.
1. 75% discount off the public fare inclusive of travel and room
accommodation on presentation of a Staff Travel Card (no need to date
a box). You need to request a ‘Solo Room with free child’ ticket and
the child effectively travels for free. Reduced fares are subject to
availability and can be purchased in advance from a National Rail
station.
2. Adult dates a box and child dates a box (if they have facilities). You
would then need to purchase a ‘twin room supplement’ to cover your
accommodation. Room supplements can be booked online at
www.sleeper.scot
3. Retired employees travelling with children who do not have rail staff
travel facilities can date a box and purchase a child £4.00 Anytime or
Off-Peak fare. You would then need to purchase a ‘twin room
supplement’ to cover your accommodation. Room supplements can be
booked online at www.sleeper.scot
Option one is usually the cheapest.
If there are more children travelling than adults with rail staff travel
facilities, then an additional room will have to be purchased at the staff
discounted (priv rate) adult rate.
Great Western Railway sleepers
Great Western Railway operate the Night Riviera sleeper between London
Paddington and Penzance.
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To travel you must:
• purchase a staff discounted (priv rate) ticket and pay the sleeping berth
supplement, or;
• date a box on your Staff Travel Card and pay the sleeping berth
supplement, or;
• hold a Western Region Blue Status Pass or Silver Status Pass and pay
the sleeping berth supplement, or;
• hold a Gold Status Pass endorsed “All Stations and in Sleeping Berths”
and book a free berth supplement at a GWR managed station ticket
office or via RST Online.
Where the Night Riviera sleeper service departs before 22:00 hrs, GWR has
agreed an easement on the 22:00 hrs time rule and will accept Staff Travel
Cards which are dated for the following day, providing the customer has a
berth reservation for a journey which ends on the date entered on the Staff
Travel Card.
8
Great Western Railway do offer the £4.00 flat fare for children travelling
with retired Staff Travel Card holders aged 60+, but the £4.00 flat fare only
applies to the travel ticket. Children must also pay the sleeper berth
supplement.
9
The berth supplement is £60 for a berth in a twin cabin, or £90 for a berth
in a solo cabin. The twin cabin cannot be shared with a stranger, so if two
pass holders are travelling, the price is £120. There are no discounts on the
berth supplements for any category of customer (Child / Railcard / PRIV
etc.).
10
8
(Source RST Ref:90-011-032/D7602INC)
9
(Source: RST Ref: 90-003-003/D7581INC)
10
(Source: RST Ref: 90-003-003/D8250INC)
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Free or staff discounted (priv rate) tickets may be used in the seated
accommodation, but seat reservations are strongly recommended.
Train delays and service disruption
When employees using their national leisure or residential travel
concessions are subject to train delays and service disruptions, they should
be dealt with no less favourably than the public insofar as the provision of
alternative transport, overnight accommodation or compensation (based
on actual fare paid if appropriate) is concerned.
Employees should apply for ‘Delay/Repay’ on the website of the TOC they
were travelling on.
Travel Irregularities
Employees are responsible for the proper use of all rail staff travel facilities
that are issued to themselves and their families.
The employee has absolute discretion as to whether they allow their
spouse/partner and child dependant(s) to enjoy these facilities.
The Scheme sets out the penalties if any holder of any National or
International rail staff travel facility, whether employee, spouse/partner or
child dependant, attempts to use it fraudulently or allows someone else to
do so.
Generally, if a primary cardholder transgresses, the spouse/partner and all
dependants also lose their facilities; if a spouse/partner or child dependant
is at fault, then generally just that individual is subject to penalty.
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Any person who is found to:
• improperly use any Staff Travel Card, Status Pass, Residential Pass
• improperly use any ticket/pass issued by or on behalf of a TOC or Group
• transfer or any card, ticket or pass, or attempts to do so,
• will be liable to prosecution, permanent withdrawal of rail staff travel
facilities and, if an employee, possible dismissal.
Dated Staff Travel Card boxes and staff discounted (priv rate) leisure
tickets are not valid for business, trading, duty or residential use
(commuting to work or travel to educational establishments) by either
active or retired employees, partners or dependant children. Where such
cases are detected they will be treated as a travel irregularity.
There is more information in the Travel Irregularities document on the RST
website at www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-i-go.html
Complaints
If you have a problem using travel facilities on TOC services, you should
firstly raise the issue with the TOC concerned. Details of how to contact
each TOC can be found on their website.
If your complaint remains unresolved, then you should then raise your
complaint with the Rail Ombudsman. www.railombudsman.org
If you have problems in the following areas, please contact Rail Staff Travel
• Using Travel facilities on non-TOC services, e.g. Leisure Railways
• The service provided to you by Rail Staff Travel
• Using FIP Rail Staff Travel facilities in Europe
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Section 7: National Rail services in Great Britain
Rail Staff Travel facilities are valid on the services of the following franchised
and concessionary National Rail train operating companies in Great Britain.
Avanti West Coast
C2c
Caledonian Sleeper
Chiltern Railways
CrossCountry
East Midlands Railway
Elizabeth line
Gatwick Express
Great Northern
Greater Anglia
Great Western Railway
London North Eastern Railway
London Overground
Merseyrail
Northern
Island Line (Isle of Wight)
Scotrail
South Western Railway
Southeastern Railway
Southern
Thameslink
TransPennine Express
Transport for Wales
West Midlands Trains operating
under two brand names
• London Northwestern Railway
• West Midlands Railway
When a franchised or concessionary operator is replaced by another
franchised or concessionary operator, or any other operator appointed by
the Department for Transport, rail staff travel facilities remain valid on the
services provided by the new operator. The only exception is for employees
who are issued with a card/pass valid on operators within their TOC Owning
group. If operators are no longer part of a TOC Owning group then those
Group specific cards/passes will not be valid on those service.
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Section 8. Other undertakings in Great Britain
Travel facilities are granted to Active and Retired employees,
spouse/partners and child dependants on some other GB transport
undertakings as indicated below.
Unless otherwise stated, only reduced rate travel is available, and for leisure
use only.
Rail
Eurostar
There are two options for Safeguarded staff:
• The cheapest fares are available using a Staff Travel Card (unless it has
endorsement 5, 6 or 11 when it is not valid for reduced rate travel on
Eurostar). You do not have to date a box on your Staff Travel card.
• Other reduced fares are available using an FIP International Reduced
Rate Card.
The FIP International Reduced Rate Card or Staff Travel Card used to
purchase the ticket should be carried with you on the journey.
For prices and booking see www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/offers
The Staff Travel Card is only recognised outside of Britain at Lille Europe and
Paris Nord.
11
Although tickets can be purchased on the day of travel at the stations
served, it is better to obtain tickets in advance through International Rail.
11
Eurostar staff should sell Safeguarded fares on presentation of the Staff Travel Card
(STC). A STC for each person travelling on a Safeguarded fare must be presented. Eurostar
will record each STC number against the booking..
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For International Rail, you can email them at [email protected] or visit
the website www.bookmyrst.co.uk
There are also alternative agents, details can be found on our FAQs
www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/faqs.html#IntBook
Reservations can be made in Standard Premier (1
st
class) by holders of 1
st
Class FIP and Staff Travel Cards.
You cannot upgrade from Standard Class to Standard Premier.
Grand Central
Open access operator Grand Central accepts travel with:
• Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets purchased with the Staff Travel Card.
• Staff discounted (priv rate) season tickets
• Free travel using dated Staff Travel Card boxes
• Free travel using the Eastern Region Blue Status Pass
• Free travel using a Silver Status Pass
• Free travel using a Gold Status Pass
Heathrow Express
Open access operator Heathrow Express accepts travel with:
• a Staff Travel Card with a dated box
• Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets purchased with the Staff Travel Card.
• a Gold Status Pass
• a Silver Status Pass
• a Western Region Blue Status Pass
Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets for leisure travel with a Staff Travel Card
can be purchased at the ticket office at Paddington, or the ticket office at
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Terminals 2 and 3, or at the ticket office in the arrival hall at Terminal 4 and
Terminal 5. Alternatively, a Priv-Oyster card may be used. The fare charged
will be the Priv-rate of the Peak or Off-Peak public single ticket as
appropriate.
Children under 16 travel free at all times on Heathrow Express, as long as
they travel with a fare-paying adult. Customers travelling with children
under 16 should ask Heathrow Express staff to open the ticket gate for
them, to allow entry to the platform. Children who have a 5-10 or an 11-15
Zip Oyster photocard or a Young Visitor discount added to a standard retail
Oyster card or to a Visitor Oyster card should not touch in or out as they
will be charged. There is no limit to the number of accompanied children
allowed to travel for free.
Hull Trains
Open access operator Hull Trains accepts:
• Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets purchased with the Staff Travel Card.
• Staff discounted (priv rate) season tickets
• Free travel using dated Staff Travel Card boxes
• Free travel using the Eastern Region Blue Status Pass
• Free travel using a Silver Status Pass
• Free travel using a Gold Status Pass
London Tramlink
Unlimited free leisure travel for Staff Travel Card holders (no need to date
a box – just show your Staff Travel Card).
Status Passes are not valid on London Tramlink.
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LUMO
Open access operator Lumo accepts:
• Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets purchased with the Staff Travel Card.
• Staff discounted (priv rate) season tickets
• Free travel using dated Staff Travel Card boxes
• Free travel using the Eastern Region Blue Status Pass (between
Morpeth and London Kings Cross only)
• Free travel using a Silver Status Pass or Gold Status Pass
LUMO services are standard class only. There is no 1
st
class accommodation.
Tyne and Wear Metro
Privilege rate tickets are only issued to employees who entered employment
before 11 August 1980. The only exception is the Heworth to Sunderland
service, which all Staff Travel Card holders can use, and for some Gold Status
Pass holders free travel is granted.
This eligibility will be indicated on a Status Pass and/or Staff Travel Card.
The valid Staff Travel Card endorsements are NIL, or 3. Staff Travel Cards
with any other endorsements are not valid.
To obtain free travel, use your Status Pass or appropriately dated Staff
Travel Card.
To purchase a discounted ticket, only single Privilege rate tickets are
available and to obtain these, you should press the child fare button on
ticket issuing machines. When travelling you must carry your Staff Travel
Card or Status Pass to support the use of the staff discounted (priv rate) rate
ticket.
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On Tyne & Wear Metro's Heworth to Sunderland service the ticketing
arrangements above apply but also include Active or Retired Employees
who entered employment on or after 11 August 1980.
There is no arrangement with Nexus for any staff travel on the Shields Ferry.
If you cease to be eligible for Tyne & Wear Metro facilities on leaving the
service, you cannot have these reinstated if you re-enter employment with
an Eligible Employer unless there is no gap between leaving the first Eligible
Employer and joining the second.
West Coast Railway Company - The Jacobite
Steam-hauled main line charter trains operate weekday return services
between Fort William and Mallaig typically from April to October, with
weekend return services for a slightly shorter period.
You can travel on these services in Standard Class at a staff discounted (priv
rate) of a quarter of the published price.
There is no staff discounted (priv rate) available on 1
st
class fares.
12
West Coast Railway Company booking details:
Standard class staff discounted (priv rate) tickets. Telephone: 01524
732100.
First class public rate tickets. Website westcoastrailways.co.uk
Heritage Railways (generally not on the National Rail network)
Staff discounted (priv rate) travel is generally not available on special event
days with leisure/heritage railways. You should check with the railway
12
Source RST Ref: 90-035-421/D7976INC
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before making a trip to ensure that staff discounted (priv rate) travel is
available on your intended day.
Staff discounted (priv rate) travel is obtained by presentation of the Staff
Travel Card. Status Passes and other TOC specific and group specific passes
will not be accepted.
Railway company
Notes
Avon Valley Railway
Bala Lake Railway
Bluebell Railway
Bodmin & Wenford
Railway
Brecon Mountain Railway
Bure Valley Railway
Chinnor and Princes
Risborough Railway
13
Half-price Adult tickets only when you
book online at www.chinnorrailway.co.uk
Offer Code TOC (normal Adult price £12,
privilege Adult price £6). Free travel for
under 5 years and £3 flat-fare for 5-15
years. Valid only on Standard Days. Not
valid on Gala Days, Dining Services, or
Santa Specials. At the final Checkout,
press the green REDEEM BUTTON for the
discount to be applied.
Crich Tramway Museum
National Tramway Museum (2 for 1 offer)
13
This is a commercial offer provided through the goodwill of the CPRR rather
than a reciprocal arrangement with Rail Staff Travel. RST Ref 90-035-
031/D7661INC
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Railway company
Notes
East Lancashire Railway
Discounts on Standard Travel (Green /
Blue / Orange Days) and steam/diesel
galas can be booked online in advance or
on the day. Discounts on other special
events (check with ELR before booking).
customer.services@eastlancsrailway.co.uk
Embsay Steam Railway
Ffestiniog Railway and
Welsh Highland Railway
In place of 2
nd
class accommodation, the
railway provides 3
rd
class
Great Central Railway
Helston Railway
Isle of Wight Railway
Kent and East Sussex
Railway
Lakeside and Haverthwaite
Railway
Lappa Valley Railway
Llanberis Lake Railway
Lynton and Barnstaple
Railway
Mid-Hants Railway
North Norfolk Railway
North Yorkshire Moors
Railway
Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets are 75%
discount off standard fares on ordinary
timetabled daily services (excluding pre-
bookable services, Pullman Dining Trains
and special events.). Priv rates are subject
to availability and only bookable on the
day of travel at an NYMR Booking Office.
Priv-rate ticket exclude the annual pass.
Paignton & Dartmouth
Steam Railway
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Railway company
Notes
Plym Valley Railway
Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets not
available on Christmas services
Ravenglass and Eskdale
Railway
Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets issued
only at Ravenglass Booking Office. Not
available on Bank Holidays and subject to
availability.
Romney, Hythe and
Dymchurch Light Railway
Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets only on
a RomneyRover and are not available for
use on special event days (see -
www.rhdr.org.uk)
Severn Valley Railway
Snowdon Mountain
Railway
Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets issued
for return journeys only
South Devon Railway
Strathspey Railway
Swanage Railway
Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets are not
valid on special event days.
Talyllyn Railway
Vale of Rheidol Railway
Welsh Highland Railway
See Ffestiniog Railway
Welshpool and Llanfair
Light Railway
Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets are not
available on special event days, dining
trains and other premium services
Wensleydale Railway
West Somerset Railway
Shipping
P&O Ferries (Dover-Calais & Hull-Rotterdam)
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Staff Travel Cards issued to active and retired employees, partners and child
dependants can be used for a discount for travel on any of the Dover-Calais,
and Hull-Rotterdam routes against the standard fares for any duration.
Travel on the Dover-Calais route as a Foot Passenger (without a vehicle) is
free except for the port taxes (payable in each direction). Port Tax tickets are
not available to book on-line. Please call the P&O Ferries contact centre.
Route
Adult port tax
Child (4-15 yrs) port tax
Dover – Calais
£4.00
£4.00
Foot passengers can travel on one morning, one afternoon and one evening
sailing per day only in each direction. The schedule varies depending on the
time of year which is why 2 times are listed for most sailings.
14
• Dover to Calais 09:15 or 09:55, 13:40 or 14:00, 17:25
• Calais to Dover 10:35 or 11:10, 15:50 or 15:55, 18:50 or 19:20
Present your Staff Travel Card at the port when you check-in for travel. Failure
to do so will result in being refused travel.
P&O Ferries booking details
• Web www.poferries.com/ATOC (when prompted for your Membership
Number, enter the number of your current Staff Travel Card)
• Email: RTS.supportgroup@poferries.com
• Telephone: 01304 448 888. Daily 07.30 until 21.00 (22.00 from Easter to
September). Telephone bookings attract an additional charge of
approximately £5.00, unless paying Port Tax tickets only.
Stena Line Irish Services
14
Source RST Ref:90-035-017/D8452INC
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Staff Travel Cards (no need to date a box) issued to active and retired
employees, partners and child dependants can be used on services for free
foot passenger travel to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. All
Stena Line services are single class.
A Port Tax ticket (for all passengers aged 4 or over) must be bought in advance
and presented at the embarkation port.
Cabins, Stena Plus and Meals can also be pre-booked at brochure prices.
Passengers must report at least 45 minutes prior to departure on all routes
except Belfast-Liverpool where check-in is at least 90 minutes prior to
departure.
The following routes tend to be exceptionally busy throughout the summer
months, Christmas, New Year, Easter, Halloween and Bank Holiday periods:
• Cairnryan – Belfast
• Fishguard – Rosslare
• Holyhead – Dublin
• Liverpool – Belfast
Reservations are compulsory on all sailings. All free and concessionary
travel holders must have the correct documentation before travelling.
Bookings cannot be made at the Port on the day of departure.
Space for concessionary travel is subject to availability. An alternative can
be requested if the first choice of sailing has no space left.
Vehicles
Fares are cheaper the earlier the booking is made. The 50% discount for
conveyance of vehicles is on the flexi fare available at the time of booking.
Port Taxes
These are payable in each direction for adults and children (4-15 years).
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Route
Adult
Child (4-15 yrs)
Fishguard – Rosslare
£5.00
£3.00
Rosslare - Fishguard
€7.00
€4.00
Holyhead - Dublin
£5.00
£3.00
Dublin - Holyhead
€7.00
€4.00
Cairnryan - Belfast
£5.00
£3.00
Liverpool - Belfast
£15.00
£13.00
Belfast - Liverpool
£15.00
£13.00
Environmental Charge
All passengers and vehicles are subject to the Environmental Charge
introduced by the International Maritime Organisation. Fees are payable for
all single journeys. More details are available on the website here:
www.stenaline.co.uk/faqs/book-quote-online/what-is-the-environmental-
charge
Stena Line booking details
Telephone: 03432 081801 for port tax and vehicle discounted fares.
Online: www.stenaline.co.uk for Cabins, Stena Plus and Meals.
Stena Line Harwich to Hook of Holland
The facilities for this are in the European (FIP) Arrangements section
towards the end of this document.
Irish Ferries
Services operate between Pembroke Dock and Rosslare, and between
Holyhead and Dublin.
Active full time Safeguarded employees are granted free travel on two
occasions a year for themselves and their eligible partners and child
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dependants. Apply to Rail Staff Travel at least 8 weeks in advance on Non-
FIP Travel Request Form (XX09d) giving full details of the specific journeys
(date and sailing time) required.
Active full time Safeguarded staff may also book unlimited Priv-rate
journeys, as can retired employees, (and their eligible partners and child
dependants) and Widow(er)s
The discount is available on the price of the foot-passenger ticket. Port tax
must be paid at the public rate. Tickets must be purchased from Irish Ferries
in advance of travel.
Irish Ferries booking details
Telephone 08717 300 400
Caledonian MacBrayne
Caledonian MacBrayne routes
1 Ullapool-Stornoway
2 Uig-Tarbert
3 Uig-Lochmaddy
4 Mallaig-Armadale
5 Oban-Craignure
6 Oban-Castlebay
7 Oban-Lochboisdale
8 Oban-Coll
9 Coll-Tiree
10 Oban-Tiree
11 Oban-Colonsay
12 Kennacraig-Islay
13 Ardrossan-Brodick
14 Wemyss Bay-
Rothesay
15 Gourock-Dunoon
Gold Status Pass holders, irrespective of when they entered service, are
eligible for free travel on Caledonian MacBrayne routes 13, 14 and 15. Gold
Status Passes are not valid for free travel on Caledonian MacBrayne routes
1 – 12.
With the exception of Gold Status Pass holders, the facilities described
below are available only to Employees who entered service prior to 1
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January 1971 on routes listed above. This eligibility will be indicated on a
Status Pass and/or Staff Travel Card.
Reduced rate travel facilities are available on all routes below upon
presentation of a valid undated Staff Travel Card at the booking offices.
Free travel facilities, obtained by use of a dated Staff Travel Card, are granted
to all eligible active and retired staff on routes 13-15 only. For routes 13 and
14 you should collect a ticket at the Port Ticket Office before boarding. For
route 15, obtain tickets on the ferry from a purser.
On routes 1–12 free travel twice per annum is granted to eligible Active full-
time Employees, their spouses/partners and dependent children. Apply on
Non-FIP Travel Request Form (XX09d) giving 10 days’ notice. Individual
tickets will be issued for specific journeys. However, you must obtain a
Boarding Pass, either at the Port Ticket Office before boarding or onboard
from the Purser.
On River Clyde services on routes 13-15:
• Gold Status Passes are valid
• Silver Status Passes are valid if endorsed with “Available also on
specified Caledonian MacBrayne Clyde services”
• Blue Status Passes Scottish Region are valid if endorsed with
“Available also on specified Caledonian MacBrayne Clyde services”
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
Services operate between Heysham/Liverpool and Douglas; and between
Douglas and Dublin/Belfast.
For Active Safeguarded employees only (i.e. no dependants) free travel is
granted on two occasions per year. Apply on Isle of Man Steam Packet
Application Form (XX16) giving at least 3 weeks’ notice. Individual tickets
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are then issued for specific journeys. A port tax is payable locally on services
leaving Douglas.
For dependants of Active Safeguarded employees, Retired safeguarded
employees and their dependants, staff discounted (priv rate) tickets are
issued for return journeys only at the ordinary single fare valid three months
for outward and return journeys.
Staff travel is for foot passengers only. There is no reduction for vehicles.
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company booking details
Free and discounted tickets are quota controlled. Advance booking is
strongly recommended.
Telephone: 01624 661661 or in person at the Isle of Man Steam Packet
Company office at the port of embarkation.
Wightlink Services
Travel facilities are available only to Employees who entered the service
prior to 1 April 1985 on the services between Portsmouth Harbour and
Ryde/Fishbourne; and between Lymington and Yarmouth.
Reduced rate travel is available to all eligible Active and Retired Employees
and their Dependents upon presentation of a valid undated Staff Travel
Card.
Free travel can be obtained by use of a dated Staff Travel Card (but not a
Status Pass).
Residential travel is also granted to Employees. For this purpose, the
shipping company will accept Residential Passes as long as these are
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endorsed “via Wightlink services” if part of a through journey, or specifically
(e.g. Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde) if that is the extent of the residential
journey sought.
Eligible employees are granted a 50% reduction on the standard vehicle and
driver tariff which applies on both routes to single, day return and return
tickets, although this is not available for commercial vehicles, caravans or
trailers. All other passengers in the vehicle can travel free or at staff
discounted (priv rate) (if eligible) or at the appropriate full fare. Tickets
cannot be pre-booked and can only be purchased on the day of travel.
There are no restrictions on foot passenger services. Concessionary vehicle
arrangements are not offered during the peak summer holiday period
(roughly mid-July to late August) on Saturdays on sailings departing
between 07.35 and 19.50 hours.
Wightlink booking details
Telephone: 0333 999 7333.
Windermere Lake Cruises
Unlimited free travel is granted to all Staff Travel Card holders, including
spouses/partners and child dependants.
Before boarding, a Boarding Pass must be obtained by producing a valid
Staff Travel Card (no need to date a box) at the Company’s booking offices
at Ambleside, Bowness or Lakeside.
Luton Airport
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Luton DART
Free staff travel facilities (Status passes and Staff Travel Card dated boxes
and any TOC specific passes) are not valid on Luton DART.
Privilege rate tickets may be purchased to Luton Airport.
Until 3 March 2024 the ticket will be priced at the privilege rate for the
National Rail portion of the journey and the full public rate for the Luton
DART.
From 3 March 2024 the ticket to Luton Airport including the travel on
Luton DART will be at priv-rate.
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Section 9: Travel in London
Transport for London’s (TfL) Services
If your Staff Travel Card has a printed endorsement of 11 on the face of the
card you are not eligible for any free or privilege rate travel on London
Underground and Docklands Light Railway (LUL/DLR) services.
If your Staff Travel card does not have a printed endorsement of 11 on the
face of the card, you can use your Staff Travel Card for priv rate travel on
London Underground and DLR services. You can also use it with a dated box
for free travel on the Inter-available routes as described below.
Retired employees and partners and child dependants are not eligible for
free or priv rate residential travel on London Underground or DLR services.
Widow(ers) receive the same benefits as the employee.
Using an Oyster card is cheaper than buying paper tickets, so TfL facilities
are described in Oyster terms that are used and understood by TfL staff.
Break of journey is not allowed on London Underground journeys -. a
broken journey counts as two separate ones.
London Overground and the Elizabeth Line are part of the national rail
network so a dated Staf Travel Card can be used for free travel.
On London Underground and DLR Inter-available routes only
Level of benefit
How obtained
Leisure:
limited free travel
Staff Travel Card (dated) unless it has
endorsement 11.
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Level of benefit
How obtained
Leisure:
unlimited free travel
Gold Status Pass
Silver Status Pass
Blue Status Pass if region specified
Residential:
limited free travel
Residential Pass
Zonal Privilege Season Ticket
Residential:
unlimited free travel
Gold Status Pass
Silver Status Pass
Blue Status Pass if region specified
On all London Underground and DLR services
Level of benefit
How obtained
Leisure:
unlimited privilege rate
travel
Priv All Rail or Priv All Rail N discount set on
Oyster, or paper ticket purchased at NR
stations only
Residential:
unlimited priv rate
travel
A staff discounted (priv rate) zonal Season
Ticket or Priv rate pay as you go on Oyster
Leisure & Residential:
Unlimited free travel
Oyster Status Pass for eligible employees.
LUL and DLR Inter-available routes
The “inter-available routes” (i.e. those where both National Rail and TfL
trains used to operate) are between the following points and at
intermediate stations unless otherwise stated:
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Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City and District & Circle Lines:
(i) Moorgate to Kings Cross;
(ii) Baker Street
15
to Watford, Chesham or Amersham, but not for
alighting/boarding between Baker Street and Harrow-on-the-
Hill;
(iii) Paddington to Notting Hill Gate - Circle Line, for through journeys
between Paddington and East Acton or westwards but not for
alighting/boarding in between or at Notting Hill Gate;
(iv) Paddington (Suburban) to Hammersmith (H&C);
(v) Tower Hill to Upminster (except at Aldgate East);
(vi) Putney Bridge to Wimbledon;
(vii) Turnham Green to Richmond;
(viii) Earl’s Court to Kensington (Olympia)
Northern Line:
Moorgate to Mill Hill East or High Barnet via Archway, but not for
alighting/boarding between Kings Cross and Highgate, except at Kentish
Town
Central Line:
(i) Liverpool Street to Epping or Hainault, via Woodford or Newbury
Park.
(ii) Ealing Broadway or West Ruislip to White City and in the case of
through journeys between East Acton or westwards and
Paddington; also between White City and Notting Hill Gate, but
not for alighting/boarding between White City and Notting Hill
Gate or at Notting Hill Gate
Bakerloo Line:
Paddington to Harrow & Wealdstone
15
Gold Status Passes additionally valid from Euston Square
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Jubilee Line:
Stratford to Canning Town
Piccadilly Line:
Finsbury Park to Kings Cross but not for alighting/boarding in between
Victoria Line:
Finsbury Park or Highbury & Islington to Kings Cross
Waterloo and City:
Waterloo to Bank
Docklands Light Railway:
Tower Gateway to Limehouse
Residential Pass London Underground limitations
Residential Passes (made out with appropriate availability) for active staff
only are also valid on the above lines with the exception of:
Hammersmith & City Line:
Valid only between Paddington (Suburban) and Westbourne Park and not
valid at Royal Oak.
District Line
Valid between Tower Hill and Upminster but not for alighting/boarding
between Tower Hill and Bow Road, except at Aldgate East when shown on
the pass.
Northern Line
Not valid between Moorgate and Kings Cross or at Kentish Town
Central Line
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Not valid at Bethnal Green or Mile End or between Ealing Broadway and
North Acton
How to use your facilities in London
The reciprocal exchange of travel facilities with Transport for London (TfL)
allows holders of Staff Travel Cards to purchase tickets for leisure travel on
London Underground (LUL) and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) services at
priv rate.
The easiest and cheapest way to travel in London is to have the appropriate
Priv All Rail discount set on a registered Oyster card. The applicable priv rate
Oyster fare will be deducted as you travel. If you do not touch in and out at
either end of your journey the maximum Oyster fare will be taken and you
may be liable for a penalty fare or prosecution.
Your Oyster Card with the Priv All Rail discount may be used on TfL bus
services. However, the bus journey will be at the public adult fare.
To get the Priv All Rail discount set on an Oyster card, submit TfL Privilege
Oyster Application Form (XX19). Once authorised by RST, take it together
with your Staff Travel Card and registered Oyster card to a London
Underground station, where a member of staff in the booking hall will set
the priv rate discount on your Oyster card. If your Oyster card isn’t
registered you can do this by creating a TfL online account at
oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster. With this account, you can see your journey
history, correct a maximum fare and top up your pay as you go credit online.
The Priv All Rail discount expiry date will match that on your Staff Travel
Card. When you get a new Staff Travel Card, take it to a London Underground
station and get the Priv All Rail discount updated on your Oyster card. You
do not need to contact Rail Staff Travel each year, unless you do not get the
discount set before the expiry date of the Staff Travel Card.
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If you don’t update your Priv discount and it expires you will be charged the
full pay as you go fare instead of a staff discounted (priv rate) fare.
You can still buy single staff discounted (priv rate) rate tickets for travel on
London Underground services at National Rail stations, although these fares
will be more expensive than Oyster pay as you go fares. If you’re buying a
ticket for travel between two stations across Zone 1, for example, you
should ask for a London Terminals to Zone U12* London ticket.
You cannot buy paper tickets for travel on the DLR.
London Underground staff discounted (priv rate) Season Tickets
London Underground only issue staff discounted (priv rate) Season Tickets
on Oyster. Before you can buy a Privilege rate season ticket, you will need
to get the ‘Priv All Rail’ discount set on your registered Oyster card. If your
Oyster card isn’t registered you can do this by creating a TfL online account
at oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster.
Applications for Privilege Season Tickets should be made by completing
Employee Residential Travel form (XX01) or Dependant Season Ticket Form
(XX31) from the RST website www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst and submitted
to RST. Once approved, RST will send you the authorised Privilege Season
Ticket form. You will then be able to buy your zonal Privilege Season Ticket
from ticket machines at London Underground stations. These cannot be
bought via RST online.
To buy a staff discounted (priv rate) Season ticket, the expiry date of the All
Rail discount must be after the expiry date of your Privilege Season ticket.
If the staff discounted (priv rate) Season ticket expires after the ‘Priv All Rail’
discount expiry date on your Oyster card, then you will need a member of
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LU staff to extend the expiry date of your ‘Priv All Rail’ discount to the end
date of your Season Ticket before you can buy the staff discounted (priv
rate) rate season ticket.
If you make a journey after the expiry date of the staff discounted (priv rate)
Season Ticket on your Oyster card, you will be charged either the full public
Oyster fare (if the accompanying privilege discount entitlement has also
expired) or staff discounted (priv rate) Oyster fare (if the privilege discount
entitlement is still valid). If you travel beyond the zones of your Privilege
Season Ticket, a privilege zonal excess fare will be charged. The fare will be
deducted from the pay as you go credit on the card. If there is insufficient
money on the card, it will not open the gates and you will need to add
money to clear the negative balance before you next travel.
National Rail Services in the Oyster area
You can use a dated box on your Staff Travel Card, or a Status Pass for free
travel on National Rail services.
If you want to use your Staff Travel Card to travel at Priv rate you can either
buy a paper ticket or use an Oyster card. Getting the ‘Priv All Rail’ discount
set on your registered Oyster card as mentioned in the section above will
also allow you priv rate travel on Elizabeth Line, the London Overground
and TOCs within the Oyster pay as you go area.
This is for leisure journeys only and cannot be used for residential travel.
On services operated by Tramlink which is owned by TfL, showing an
undated Staff Travel Card allows free leisure travel.
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Section 10: Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
You can use your Staff Travel Card to buy staff discounted (priv rate) tickets
for rail travel in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
FIP coupons can be used for free travel. See ‘Travel Tips in Europe’ for more
information.
If you are crossing the border on the Enterprise service and using FIP
coupons then both NIR and CIE coupons are needed.
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Section 11: Foreign Undertakings
European (FIP) Arrangements
The International Reduced Rate Card (FIP Card) is for unlimited reduced
rate leisure travel (i.e. buying discounted tickets) and International
Coupons (FIP Coupons) are for limited free leisure travel.
FIP free and reduced rate travel facilities may only be used for leisure
purposes. They cannot be used for residential, commuting or duty travel.
Guidelines on getting the best out of travel in Europe can be found in the
Travel Tips for Europe guide on the RST website.
www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-i-go.html
Retired Employees and Widows
To qualify for reduced rate or free FIP rail travel, you must still be eligible to
receive National leisure rail staff travel facilities on the National Rail
network and must also have been:
If retired before
1 January 1982
At least 55 years old when retiring; or,
Below 55 years of age and taking ill-health retirement or
redundancy but having completed 20 years’ continuous
service
If retired after 1
January 1982
Eligible for FIP facilities for at least 10 years of active
service; or,
Prematurely retired as a result of an accident at work,
but eligible for FIP facilities at that point
On retirement there are two further opportunities to obtain FIP coupons.
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• From the date of your retirement, you have 9 months to apply for
any coupons not already issued from your last annual allocation.
Each coupon issued must be used within 3 months.
• From the date of your retirement, you have 45 months to apply for
one additional free coupon on each FIP undertaking which was a
member whilst you were an active employee. Each coupon issued
must be used within 3 months.
Many carriers do not offer free travel to retired employees. There is a
separate table later in this document showing the facilities available to
retired employees.
Different qualifying criteria apply to Widow(ers). Please contact RST.
More detailed information is available in our ‘Travel Tips for Europe’ guide.
General
There are a number of open access and franchised carriers in countries
which were previously covered by a single national carrier. FIP facilities are
carrier specific and care must be taken by FIP facilities holders to ensure
that the carrier accepts the FIP facilities held.
The class of travel allowed by FIP carriers is the same as that granted to an
employee on National Rail.
On FIP carriers (except on Eurostar), it is usually possible to upgrade from
2
nd
Class to 1
st
Class where the difference in the public fare between 2
nd
and
1
st
class is paid for in advance. It is an offence for an employee holding 2
nd
class facilities to travel 1
st
class unless the difference in fare has been paid
prior to travel.
Business class is often not available to FIP 1
st
or 2
nd
class facilities holders.
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Restrictions are imposed by FIP carriers from time to time and details are
circulated and can be found in www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-
i-go.html
Supplements and seat reservations are payable on many express, long
distance or cross-border services, particularly ICE and TGV. Some carriers
do not permit supplements to be purchased on board the train, unless
departing from a station where the ticket office is not staffed.
Free Travel
Free travel is granted usually once a year on most FIP carriers to all Active
employees and on some carriers to Retired Employees, and also to
spouse/partners and child dependants (see table below for details).
FIP International Free Coupons that are issued must be in the same name
as your passport and you must have this with you when traveling.
Coupons are valid for a maximum period of 3 months from date of issue. To
travel before 31 March of the next year out of this year’s quota, you must
apply at least 3 weeks before 31 December and state an outward travel date
of 31 December.
Apply online on the International Coupon Application Form (XX09b for
employee travel only or XX09c for employees, partners and child
dependants)) at
www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms.html#international
You must apply a minimum of 3 weeks before your intended date of
travel.
Coupons are issued as a batch for the journey requested. An FIP regulation
states that if a coupon has been part-used on a carrier adjoining or
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bordering the country of issue, it may not be used again for any further
journeys on this carrier after the return journey has been made to the
country of issue. The definition of the carrier adjoining or bordering Britain
is StL (Stena Line – North Sea) and SLL (Stena Line – Irish Sea).
Part-used coupons for non-adjoining countries may therefore still be used
up. Unused coupons may still be used for another journey as long as the
overall period of validity has not been exceeded.
All FIP carriers listed below grant unlimited reduced rate leisure travel for
all FIP card holders. The table shows the number of coupons per calendar
year available for Active and Retired Employees and Dependants. (in this
context dependants refers to both partners and dependant children).
Free Travel for active staff
Carrier
Location
Active Employees and:
BDZ - Balgarski darzhavni zheleznitsi
Bulgaria
1, and 1 for each Dependant
BLS AG
Switzerland
1, and 1 for each Dependant
BSB-VSU Bodensee-Schiffsbetriebe
Austria,
Switzerland,
Germany
1 (employee only)
ČD - České dráhy
Czech Republic
1 (employee only)
CFL - Société nationale des chemins de
fer luxembourgeois
Luxembourg
1, and 1 for each Dependant
CFR - Căile Ferate Române
Romania
1 (employee only)
ClÉ - Córas lompair Éireann
Republic of Ireland
2, and 2 for each Dependant
CP - Comboios de Portugal
Portugal
1 (employee only)
DB - Deutsche Bahn AG
Germany
1 (employee only)
DSB - Danske Statsbaner
Denmark
1 (employee only)
Euskotren – Euskotren Trena
Spain
1 (employee only)
FS - Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane
Italy
1, and 1 for each Dependant
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Carrier
Location
Active Employees and:
GYSEV - Győr-Sopron-Ebenfurti Vasút
16
Austria, Hungary
1 (employee only)
HT - Hellenic Train
Greece
1, and 1 for each Dependant
HŽ - Hrvatske željeznice
Croatia
1 (employee only)
KD - Koleje Dolnośląskie
Poland
1 (employee only)
KŚ - Koleje Śląskie
Poland
1 (employee only)
KW - Koleje Wielkopolskie
Poland
1 (employee only)
ŁKA - Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna
Poland
1 (employee only)
MAV - Magyar Államvasutak
Hungary
1 (employee only)
NIR - Northern Ireland Railways
Northern Ireland
2, and 2 for each Dependant
NS - Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Netherlands
2, and 2 for each Dependant
ÖBB - Österreichische Bundesbahnenn
Austria
1, and 1 for each Dependant
PKP - Polskie Koleje Państwowe
Poland
1 (employee only)
RENFE - Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles
Españoles
Spain
1 (employee only)
SBB–CFF - Schweizerische
Bundesbahnen
Switzerland
1 (employee only)
SNCB - Société nationale des chemins de
fer belges
Belgium
2, and 2 for each Dependant
SNCF - Société nationale des chemins de
fer français
France
2, and 2 for each Dependant
SP - Schweizer Privatbahnen
Switzerland
1 (employee only)
StL - Stena Line BV
17
North Sea
2, and 2 for each Dependant
SV - Srbija Voz
Serbia
1 (employee only)
SŽ - Slovenske železnice
Slovenia
1 (employee only)
VR - VR-Group Ltd
Finland
1 (employee only)
Vy - Vygruppen
Norway
1 (employee only)
16
Also known as Raaberbahn.
17
Stena Line BV free travel for one return journey – present an FIP coupon + Port Tax ticket
+ Environmental Charge. Reduced rate tickets available at ports only. Advance reservations
mandatory – phone 01255 202352
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Carrier
Location
Active Employees and:
ŽPCG - Željeznički prevoz Crne Gore
Montenegro
1 (employee only)
ŽRS - Željeznice Republike Srpske
Bosnia-
Herzegovina
1 (employee only)
ŽRSM - - Železnici na Republika Severna
Makedonija
North Macedonia
1 (employee only)
ŽSR - Železnice Slovenskej republiky
Slovakia
1 (employee only)
Free travel for retired staff
Carrier
Location
Retired Employees and:
CFL - Société nationale des chemins de
fer luxembourgeois
Luxembourg
1, and 1 for each Dependant
ClÉ - Córas lompair Éireann
Republic of Ireland
1, and 1 for each Dependant
FS - Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane
Italy
1, and 1 for each Dependant
HT - Hellenic Train
Greece
1, and 1 for each Dependant
NIR - Northern Ireland Railways
Northern Ireland
2, and 2 for each Dependant
NS - Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Netherlands
1, and 1 for each Dependant
ÖBB - Österreichische Bundesbahnen
Austria
1 Retired Employee only
SNCB - Société nationale des chemins de
fer belges
Belgium
1, and 1 for each Dependant
StL - Stena Line BV
18
North Sea
1, and 1 for each Dependant
Reduced rate travel - FIP Cards
International Reduced Rate (FIP) Cards are valid for two calendar years.
They are only valid for travel in conjunction with the Passport of the holder,
and must be presented to purchase discounted tickets, and also when
18
Stena Line BV free travel for one return journey – present an FIP coupon + Port Tax ticket
+ Environmental Charge. Reduced rate tickets available at ports only. Advance reservations
mandatory – phone 01255 202352
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discounted tickets are inspected. The name on the passport must match
that on the International Reduced Rate Card.
Booking reduced rate tickets or obtaining reservations for free
travel
To obtain reduced rate tickets, seat, couchette, sleeper reservations and
supplements from the UK, you can contact International Rail.
Bookings can be made as early as 6 months, or as late as 21 days, prior to
travel.
W: www.bookmyrst.co.uk/
E: [email protected]o.uk
You can also make bookings for journeys involving any of the following:
• When using International Coupons for free travel on services but
additionally requiring reservations or paying mandatory
supplements, or using an FIP card for discounted journeys
• Eurostar* London to Lille/Paris/Brussels/Amsterdam
• Lyria* TGV services between France and Switzerland
• Thalys* services (operated by THI Factory) between France,
Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany
• AVE** internal services within Spain
• TALGO* services within Spain and between Spain and Portugal
• RENFE services within Spain and between Spain and Portugal
• DB/SNCF* services between Paris and cities in Germany
* FIP Leisure Fares include travel ticket and seating/overnight
accommodation. International Coupon Tickets are not valid.
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** special FIP Leisure Fares which include travel ticket and reservation are
payable by holders of International Coupon tickets and International
Reduced Rate Cards.
When booking please have your International Reduced Rate Card and
debit/credit card details ready.
Non-European Arrangements
Some non-European administrations offer travel facilities to Active and
Retired Staff and dependants provided they have not taken up permanent
residence in the country for which travel facilities are required.
Unless otherwise stated, dependants usually comprise spouses and
children.
19
These facilities are not granted to widow(ers) and their
dependent children.
Reduced rate tickets are usually only available from ticket offices in advance
of travel and not normally on-board trains. All administrations offer the ½
rate reduction off the full public fare unless otherwise stated. Reductions
may not apply to other discounted ticket types. Apply a minimum of ten
weeks before travel using Non-FIP Travel Request form XX09d on the RST
website at www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms.html
RST cannot guarantee that a letter of introduction will result in any
concessions. This should be borne in mind when booking your trip.
19
RST will issue facilities for all dependants. However, specific carriers may not
accept unmarried spouses, or those of the same sex.
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Country – Railway
20
Staff, partners and dependant children
Active
Retired
America – Amtrak
21
½ rate
22
None
Australia – New South
Wales Railways only
23
½ rate
½ rate
The method of delivering the concession on these Non-European
undertakings varies and may be a pass, a ticket or a Letter of Introduction,
and in most cases full journey details should be supplied.
20
Facilities in India are withdrawn due to the inoperability of the arrangements.
21
A valid passport must be presented to purchase tickets and reservations, and
also on board for ticket inspection. Reservations must be made at least 24 hours
before the scheduled departure time at an open Amtrak ticket office or calling
800-872-7245. Reduced rate fares are not available on Acela Express services,
Thruway services in the 7000-8000 series or Thruway services in Oregon. (RST Ref:
90-083-001/D7530INC). Persons eligible for reduced-rate fares are not entitled to
refunds for the fare difference if they book as revenue passengers rather than
using the Reduced-Rate Travel Authorisation Card.
22
Spouses/partners (same sex and opposite sex) may travel with eligible
employees. Dependant children aged 19 – 23 must be verified full time students
to travel with the employee at discounted rates. (RST Ref: 90-083-001/D7529INC).
23
NSW TrainLink. Discounted fares not available in the Sydney metro area
(bounded by Dungog, Scone, Lithgow, Wollongong and Goulburn). (RST Ref: 90-
084-001/D6913INC). Domestic partners are accepted irrespective of marital status
or gender (RST Ref: 90-081-001/D7583INC). Dependant children under 21 years
old only.
