Senior Railcard

The Senior Railcard is an annual card available to people aged 60 and over, which gives discounts on certain types of railway ticket in Britain. The Railcard has existed in various forms since 1975; the current version is priced at £35.00 and is valid for one year, with a 3-year card available for £80. It is one of a wide variety of discounted and concessionary fare schemes available on Britain's railway network.

History

During the early 1970s, some of British Rail's Regions offered a series of small, localised travel promotions for people of or near retirement age. The London Midland and Southern regions were particularly active in this, although other examples existed elsewhere. These promotions were characterised by restricted validity and geographical availability. For example, one Southern Region scheme introduced in 1970 offered pensioners half-price travel at off-peak times on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only, for journeys from a set list of around twenty stations, upon production of their pension book.
All of these schemes were superseded by the introduction of the first Senior Citizen Railcard, valid throughout Britain, on 1 April 1975. This took the form of a large, thin card with a pre-printed expiry date of 31 March 1976, on which the holder's name, address, pension book number and signature had to be added. Holders had to meet one of the following criteria:

Retirement pension book held; or
Resident in United Kingdom with a pension received from another country; or
No pension received, but aged over 65 and resident in United Kingdom.

The discounts available were relatively limited in relation to those available with the current Railcard:

Half price travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only, in Second Class accommodation only; all Ordinary Single/Return and Day Single/Return fares were included
25% discounts on some Sealink ferry services, operated at the time by British Rail

At first, the Railcard cost £4.32, although this was soon reduced to £4.00 when the VAT charge was removed.
A major change occurred as from 1 April 1976. A separate "Day Returns Only" Railcard, priced at £3.00, was introduced alongside the original Railcard, whose price was raised to £6.00. The cheaper Railcard gave discounts only on Day Return tickets—not on any Singles or Ordinary Returns. From the same date, two major enhancements were made, both of which applied to both types of Railcard: discounted travel could take place on any day of the week, and First Class travel gained the same discounts as Second Class. Also, a 50% discount was now given on Sealink ferry services to all destinations.
In the next few years, until the next major revision in 1985, the main changes to the Railcards' conditions related to the qualification criteria. From January 1978, these were extended slightly, with people aged 60 or over who received Widow's Pensions or War Widow's Pensions being included. From January 1980, anybody resident in Britain and aged at least 60 or 65, and British people living abroad but meeting these age criteria, could buy the Railcard. Finally, from 30 March 1984, a further simplification took place: anybody aged 60 or over could hold one. This condition still applies as of 2007. Other additions included the introduction of certain discounts on Motorail services, London Underground journeys, through travel to the Isle of Man and various European destinations, and discounts on all-inclusive holidays by rail.
12 May 1985 saw changes to the range of fares which received discounts, and in some cases to the level of the discounts, in respect of the "full" version of the Railcard. The "Day Returns Only" Railcard still gave 50% discounts on those fares, but the full version now gave only a 34% saving on Standard Single and Return fares and the new off-peak Saver tickets. A 50% discount was now only available on Day Returns and the new off-peak equivalent, the Cheap Day Return. Further restrictions on journeys by ferry and ship were made in 1985 and 1986, while Rover and Ranger tickets of all types were included within the discount scheme from May 1987, with a saving of 34% available for Railcard holders.
By this time, the "Day Returns Only" card could only be used to buy Cheap Day Returns, following the introduction of the "Cheap Day" fare to distinguish between peak-time and off-peak journeys. "Cheap Day Returns Only" wording began to appear on these Railcards accordingly; but they were withdrawn from 10 January 1988, with the price of the "full" Railcard being increased from £12.00 to £15.00 at the same time. The APTIS ticket issuing system had been introduced in late 1986, and was still in the process of being rolled out across the British Rail network in 1988, so the APTIS "Cheap Day Returns Only" Railcard is rarely seen. The first APTIS version of the full Railcard, with mauve upper and lower bands, also lasted until 10 January 1988, at which point the following changes were made: security background was changed from the light green colour seen on most APTIS ticket stock to a dark pink; the upper and lower bands became dark brown; and part of the background was filled with the words "Senior Citizen Railcard" in cursive writing in white. This style lasted only until October 1988, at which point the white lettering changed to brown.
The Railcard was renamed Senior Railcard in May 1990.
From 5 January 1992, several changes were made to the discounts available. Reduced fares for journeys wholly on the London Underground network were withdrawn; children accompanying the Railcard holder no longer travelled for a £1.00 flat fare ; Day Singles and Day Returns for weekday journeys within the Network SouthEast area no longer received a discount, restricting Railcard holders to off-peak travel; and One Day Travelcard discounts became more restricted. From 1985, when the "One Day Capitalcard" was introduced, Railcard holders gained a 50% discount. This applied from any Network SouthEast station either within or outside the Travelcard zonal area, and for Capitalcards valid for any combination of zones. The discount on "All Zones" Travelcards was reduced to 34% on 6 January 1991, although other zonal combinations still attracted a 50% discount. As from 5 January 1992, however, only the All Zones One Day Travelcard received any discount.
There have been few significant changes since then, with frequent changes in the design of the Railcard being the most noticeable. On all types of ticket for which a discount is available, the level is 34%, as it has been since the changes of 1992; and the types of tickets which receive discounts remains largely the same. The discount is also available on most new ticket types introduced since then, such as SuperAdvance and Virgin Value. Similarly, there has been little change in the types of ticket excluded from receiving discounts; these are summarised . The restriction on journeys made in the morning peak in the former Network SouthEast area also remains.

Applications

Railcards can be booked at railway stations, Rail Appointed Travel Agencies and other ticket-issuing locations; through the post ; by telephone, through Train Operating Company telesales facilities; and at a dedicated website accessible from ATOC's central "Railcards" website. Some local authorities offer the cards at a discount of around 20%.
In the early years, applications could only be made in person at stations and travel agencies. Because applicants were required to hold a pension book or similar, this had to presented at the time the Railcard was purchased; the pension book number was then written on the front of the Railcard. Now, when a Railcard is bought in person, applicants must complete the form found inside the Senior Railcard leaflet available from ticket sales points and show proof of age. Online purchase requires registration using a valid e-mail address and password, and a UK passport or driving licence number for identification. Renewal of Railcards by post became possible in 1989; an agency based at Harrington Dock in Liverpool deals with all applications. During the period when the APTIS system was in use, this office had a single machine which validated Railcards with the location name MERSEYRAIL LPOOL and National Location Code 2202.

Price

The price of the "full" Railcard has been increased on several occasions since 1975. The shorter-lived "Day Returns Only" version also experienced regular increases.

Effective from	"Full" railcard	"Cheap Day Returns only" railcard	Notes
1 April 1975	£4.32	N/A	Included VAT @ 8%
Later in 1975	£4.00	N/A	VAT charge dropped
1 April 1976	£6.00	£3.00
8 January 1978	£7.00	£3.50
May 1979	£8.00	£4.00
28 January 1980	£10.00	£5.00
19 June 1983	£12.00	£7.00
10 January 1988	£15.00	N/A	"Cheap Day Returns only" card withdrawn
7 January 1990	£16.00	N/A
17 August 1997	£18.00	N/A
May 2004	£20.00	N/A
2 January 2008	£24.00	N/A
19 May 2013	£30.00	N/A
2 March 2025	£35.00	N/A

Tickets issued with a Railcard

On the APTIS, PORTIS/SPORTIS and other computerised ticket issuing systems, a "status code" field is provided on each ticket issued. This is left blank if an adult is travelling at full fare; but if any discount or other special condition applies, a code of up to five letters appears.
When APTIS and PORTIS were introduced, from late 1986, the Railcard was named "Senior Citizen Railcard", and a status code of SNRCZ was used to identify a ticket bought with the Railcard. Following the renaming to "Senior Railcard" in January 1992, this was changed to SNR. The two codes were used alongside each other during the period in which both "Senior Citizen Railcards" and "Senior Railcards" were in circulation. The code SNR has been used exclusively ever since, including on the various "New Generation" systems that have replaced APTIS and SPORTIS.