Sunbelievable – enough tickets sold in rail sale to reach the sun

With more tickets sold than the entire population of Britain’s second-largest city, Birmingham, the Great British Rail Sale has been a runaway success. Through this first-of-its-kind sale, this spring will see over 128 million miles of discounted journeys travelled on UK railways.

This first-ever industry-wide sale saw more than one million rail tickets slashed by up to 50%, saving passengers over £7 million (or 15,000 years’ worth of takeaways). The total distance of the journeys sold would create a rail trip from the Earth to the sun and beyond, boldly going where no train has gone before.

The Great British Rail Sale was launched to help ease some of the pressure on family finances at a time when the cost of living is increasing for people in the UK and across the wider world.

The average price of tickets was around £7.50 during the sale and the most popular routes have been:

• Newcastle to York
• London to Nottingham
• Oxford to London Paddington
• London to Sheffield
• Cambridge to London

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

The Great British Rail has been unprecedented in its scale, and equally unprecedented in its success.

It has been fantastic to see so many of you jumping at the chance to head out onto our brilliant railway network, reconnecting with loved ones and exploring your favourite places across the country.

The whole rail family has come together to help passengers facing rising costs of living by saving hard-working people millions on their journeys across Britain this spring.

Jacqueline Starr, CEO of the Rail Delivery Group, said:

We are delighted that so many people have been able to take advantage of the Great British Rail Sale and are exploring the fantastic locations that are accessible by rail for less at a time when we’re all feeling the squeeze.

Customers who are planning to travel by train this summer can still make great savings on their next train journey by booking in advance, travelling off-peak or with a Railcard that provides one-third off most fares.

The government is listening to people’s concerns about rising living costs and is taking action with more than £22 billion of support in 2022 to 2023 alone – which includes helping with the cost of energy bills and efforts to ensure people keep more of their money. Offering half-price rail tickets is one of the ways the government is further supporting families with the cost of living.

The average annual spend on takeaways is £450.