Terms and Conditions

BritRail is a trademarked name of the Rail Delivery Group whose members operate rail services on Britain’s National rail network.

Seat Reservations:

Reservations for particular journeys are not compulsory, but for busy trains are advisable (ie: mainlines in peak hours.) It is not necessary to validate a pass in order to reserve a seat / sleeping berth in advance. Normal fees are payable.

First Class and Standard Class:

Many local trains in England, Scotland and Wales have Standard Class accommodation only. This has been accounted for in price of the First Class Passes.

Purchase Restrictions:

Pass holders must be non-UK residents. BritRail and its representatives may ask at any time for proof of foreign residency and reserve the right to confiscate the ticket or pass in such circumstances. The BritRail ticket is non-transferable and must only be used by the person or persons specified on the ticket.

Exclusions:

The BritRail pass is not valid on Eurostar services, special excursions, Tyne and Wear Metro Trains (Newcastle-upon-Tyne area), Glasgow Underground trains, Manchester Metro link, road links between airports and railway stations, Docklands Light Railway, privately owned railways, steam services, London Underground trains and buses, ships, hovercraft, nor any other services not mentioned.

Pass Validation:

Passes are issued open dated and must be validated within six months from the date of issue and prior to the first use. To validate a rail pass, present it along with your passport to the Railway official at the station of departure. At this time, the first and the last day of validity of the pass as well as the passport number is entered and the passenger must sign the pass. Under no circumstances is the pass holder allowed to validate his or her own pass. In the case of a Flexipass, the passenger must enter the date of travel each day before he/she boards the first train of the day. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in the payment of a fine and the cost of a full fare ticket.

Prices:

BritRail reserves the right to change prices without notice whether such changes are related or not to alterations in the rates of exchange.

Refunds will be granted if:

The unvalidated Pass or original exchange coupon or voucher is returned to the office from which it was purchased within 6 months from the date of issue, (unless a different time period is specified by your travel agent).Passes or tickets must bear no evidence of having been tampered with in any way. No refund can be made in Britain. No refund can be made if the Pass or Ticket cannot be produced. Refunds are not given on validated Passes once the commencement date has been reached.

Where a Pass forms part of an inclusive Tour Package, it is not separately refundable. Where no other cancellation charges are specified by travel agent, the cancellation charge will be a minimum of 15%. Special offers are not refundable. Neither the Participating Operators nor their Agents can accept any responsibility for any failure in the provision of any special offers included. Refunds should not be returned to the Freepost address listed on this ticket jacket. Seat and Sleeper reservations are non refundable.

BritRail Pass Strike Refunds:

If travellers activate one of their travel days on a strike day and cannot use that Pass day due to no service, they may apply for a pro-rata refund for the strike days that they were unable to travel.

Refunds for FlexiPasses will only be given where the paper Pass has the date of the strike clearly visibly printed in the box, or an M-Pass is downloaded for the day of the strike to claim a refund. Please provide this proof at the time of the refund request. No claim for a refund can be processed without a Pass being valid for travel on the day of the strike. All refunds must be processed via booking agent or the website’s customer service department.

Lost Tickets:

BritRail is not responsible for tickets or vouchers, which are lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed. Refunds cannot be authorized in such cases. Therefore, travel insurance is recommended. Your travel agent may advise a rail protection plan to cover your pass while travelling.

Conditions for BritRail Products

General Conditions for all BritRail Consecutive and Flexipasses:

Validated passes which include days when no train service operates (Christmas, etc.) will be extended by the number of days when no service operates. First Class Pass holders should note that some trains provide standard accommodation only, this is allowed for in the pricing of the First Class Pass.

BritRail Passes are valid from 00:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs (Midnight to Midnight) on a chosen day of travel. If a pass holder is traveling on an overnight train containing sleeper accommodation, the next day’s date must be inserted. The BritRail Pass and the BritRail FlexiPass (First Class and Standard Class) allows travel on all scheduled trains of Participating Operators in Great Britain (or temporary replacement road services). BritRail Passes are valid on Gatwick Express, Heathrow Express and Stansted Express.

The BritRail England Passes:

First Class and Standard Class are valid for travel only on scheduled trains of the Participating Operators. Any journey made onwards, outside the BritRail England Pass area boundary must be paid for in advance of boarding the relevant train i.e. a valid ticket must be held, otherwise penalty fares will be incurred. BritRail England Passes are valid on Gatwick Express, Heathrow Express and Stansted Express.

Boundary Stations for the BritRail England Passes:

Carlisle, Berwick upon Tweed, Lydney, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Hereford, Bucknell, Shrewsbury, Chirk, Crewe, Chester, West Kirby.

The BritRail London Plus Pass:

Children 5-15 pay half the adult fare. Children under 5 travel free.

Boundary Stations for the London Plus Pass:

Harwich, Kings Lynn, Huntingdon, Bedford, Long Buckby, Stratford-upon-Avon, Worcester Foregate, Bedwyn, Salisbury, Bristol Temple Meads and Weymouth.

The BritRail South West Pass

is valid on most mainline and branchline services operated by First Great Western, South West Trains and Heathrow Express trains. The BritRail South West Pass cannot be used to travel on the following routes: any train west of Swansea; any train between Gloucester and Newport via Chepstow; First Western’s Night Riviera sleeper service, unless a berth has been purchased in addition to the BritRail South West Pass; any train services east of Portsmouth, even if this route is operated by First Great Western; any route in South Wales other than the Newport – Cardiff – Swansea mainline; any service operated by Arriva Cross Country, Arriva Trains Wales, Chiltern, Southern, First Capital Connect, Southeastern or London Midland.

Boundary Stations for the BritRail South West Pass:

London Paddington, Greenford, Marlow, Henley, Reading, Didcot, Oxford, Banbury, Hereford, Gloucester, Bristol Parkway, Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol Temple Meads, Weston-Super-Mare, Barnstaple, Gunnislake, Newquay, St.Ives, Penzance, Falmouth Docks, Looe, Exmouth, Weymouth, Portsmouth Harbour, Basingstoke and Gatwick Airport.

The BritRail BritRail Spirit of Scotland Pass Pass

Valid on all scheduled daytime passenger trains for journeys wholly within Scotland, including National Express and LNER trains to/from Carlisle and Berwick-upon Tweed. (Travelpass tickets cannot be used to travel before 0915 Mondays to Fridays, except between Glasgow-Oban/Fort William/Mallaig and Inverness-Kyle/Wick/Thurso.) 20% discount on Northlink Ferries standard fares between Scrabster-Stromness; Aberdeen-Lerwick; and Aberdeen-Kirkwall-Lerwick. (Valid only on day of sailing, and applies to reclining seat fares only, not cabin inclusive). Upon presentation of a valid Pass, Passholders may collect a TravelPass Pack containing timetables and discount vouchers from the following stations: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh Waverly, Fort William, Glasgow Central & Queen Street, Inverness, Oban, Paisley Gilmour Street, Perth & Stirling.