FAQs
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I'm a child and I have a disability. Am I eligible for a Disabled Persons Railcard?
What do I do if my Railcard is lost, stolen or damaged?
Am I responsible for ensuring that I renew my railcard?
Can I claim a refund if I do not use my Railcard?
Can I reserve a seat or seats if booking a ticket or tickets in advance?
Will I have to pay the full fare if I forget to bring my Railcard when I travel?
Can I use my Railcard for tickets on the London Underground?
Can I use my Railcard on Eurostar services?
Can I use the Railcard in Northern Ireland or Eire?
Can I use the Disabled Persons Railcard to get discounts on season tickets?
How can I get registered as having a visual-impairment?
I'm a child and I have a disability. Am I eligible for a Disabled Persons Railcard?
Yes. Five to 15-year olds that have a disability listed on the application form qualify for a Railcard. This doesn't enable you to save money yourself (the usual child discount of 50% is a much better rate) but it does give a 1/3 off the standard fare to one adult travelling with you.
Where can people get the information here in a different format such as Large Print, Easy Read or Audio?
Here! You can download Word, pdf and audio versions of our leaflet "Rail Travel Made Easy" and our application here. If you require information in a format other than these - such as Braille - please contact the Disabled Persons Railcard Office.
What do I do if my Railcard is lost, stolen or damaged?
You should contact the Disabled Persons Railcard Office. There is currently a £5 administration fee to replace a lost or damaged railcard. To prove your railcard has been stolen you must have a police crime reference number or documentation.
Am I responsible for ensuring that I renew my railcard?
Yes, you must make sure that your railcard is renewed in good time, because a railcard that has expired is not valid for use. We will try to send you a reminder and a renewal form a few weeks before your railcard expires.
Can I claim a refund if I do not use my Railcard?
No. Unfortunately, refunds are not normally given on unused or unwanted Disabled Persons Railcards.
How long an application does a disabled persons railcard normally take to process? Can I claim back for any travel made during the time when the application is being processed?
We endeavour to get your Railcard as quickly as possible. As a guide we recommend that you allow 10 working days for your Railcard to arrive. You must actually be in possession of a Railcard when you purchase your tickets to be eligible for the Railcard discount, so applicants cannot claim back discount on any travel made whilst their application is being processed.
Can I reserve a seat or seats if booking a ticket or tickets in advance?
Yes, many of the train companies allow you to reserve a seat free of charge on long distance journeys. If an accompanying adult is travelling with you, then you will need to reserve two seats.
Will I have to pay the full fare if I forget to bring my Railcard when I travel?
Yes. You must show your valid railcard when you are buying your tickets, and if you are buying tickets for an accompanying adult, you must also have your railcard with you when you show your tickets to members of staff when you travel. If you cannot show your valid railcard, then you and any accompanying adult will have to pay the full fare.
Can I use my Railcard for tickets on the London Underground?
All discounted rail tickets (purchased with your railcard), which allow travel via London Underground are valid for your cross-London journey on the London Underground. Some Off Peak One Day Travelcards are available, subject to a minimum fare. Don't forget that if you are resident within the Greater London area and are disabled or aged 60 or above you are eligible for a Freedom Pass. This gives you free off-peak travel on buses, Underground services and rail services within the London Zones.
Transport for London use “daily price-capping” to limit what Oyster Pay-As-You-Go users will be charged a day when they travel on buses, LUL, trams, the DLR, London Overground and some National Rail services. The price cap guarantees Oyster Pay-As-You-Go users are always charged the lowest fare, making Pay-As-You-Go even cheaper than using a Travelcard.
Better still, Railcard holders can save even more. If you hold a Disabled Persons Railcard, you can get an Oyster card and have the Railcard discount entitlement loaded on to it. You can then use Oyster Pay-As-You-Go at adult-rate, but your Off-Peak Oyster daily price cap will be 34 per cent lower than the equivalent adult-rate cap.
To benefit from this great discont, you will need to get an Oyster card, register it to your name and have your Railcard discount concession loaded on it. This can be done at:
• Tube station ticket offices
• London Overground station ticket offices
• Some National Rail station ticket offices
For more information on Pay-As-You-Go price-capping go to www.tfl.gov.uk.
Can I use my Railcard on Eurostar services?
No. Eurostar does not provide domestic rail services in Great Britain and so (unlike domestic train operating companies) it is not required to accept railcards as part of its franchise to operate services. Eurostar does, however, give discounts to customers who have to remain in a wheelchair for the duration of the journey. For more information see the Eurostar website.
Can I use the Railcard in Northern Ireland or Eire?
The Disabled Persons Railcard can only be used in the area known as Great Britain, that is England, Scotalnd and Wales. It cannot be used on the Irish mainland, neither in Northern Ireland nor Ireland.
Residents of Northern Ireland (being eligible to receive UK benefits) can apply for the Railcard to use when they travel in Scotland, Wales or England.
With regard to concessionary travel schemes on the Irish mainland:
Northern Ireland: see www.nirailways.co.uk
Eire: There is a domestic scheme of free travel for people with disabilities that is only available to Irish citizens who normally reside in the Republic of Ireland. There is also an All Ireland Free Travel Pass and this is available to people over the age of 66. This scheme is operated by the Department of Social and Family Affairs. See www.irishrail.ie for other related information.
Can I use the Disabled Persons Railcard to get discounts on season tickets?
No. Railcards cannot be used with season tickets. Season tickets are already heavily discounted products, for example most weekly tickets give you seven days worth of travel for the price of five days, and most annual tickets give you 52 weeks of travel for the price of 40 weeks.
How can I get registered as having a visual-impairment?
The RNIB gives good advice on this. Click here to go to its webpage on registration.
I don't live in Great Britain or receive UK disability benefits, can I apply for a Disabled Persons Railcard?
Unfortunately we do not have the resources or expertise to be able to validate documentation from outside the United Kingdom so we can only accept UK-based documentation as proof of eligibility. People from outside the UK are advised to find out about the Britrail Pass which gives excellent savings to visitors to Britain. As proof of age is the only requirement for the 16-25 Railcard and Senior Railcard both of these can be purchased over the counter at most staffed rail stations. Likewise the Family & Friends Railcard can be bought by people travelling with one or more child. If you do not have a railcard and are a wheelchair user or a visually-impaired person travelling with a companion you can get 1/3 off a range of day tickets through the concessionary fares scheme - see the "Travelling by rail" page on this website for more details.