For a definition of Leisure Travel, please see Section 3 of the Rail Staff Travel Conditions of Issue and Use.

You can purchase unlimited staff discounted (priv-rate) tickets for leisure travel only using a Staff Travel Card, Rail Staff Leisure Card or RST Online Leisure Card, subject to the Staff Travel Restrictions.

Staff discounted (priv-rate) tickets can only be used by the card holder and are not transferrable to any other person.

Holders of an RST Online Leisure Card cannot travel on:

• Caledonian Sleeper
• Elizabeth Line (except when crossing London between London Liverpool Street and Paddington with a ticket which shows the Cross London marker)
• Grand Central
• Hull Trains
• London Overground

Children aged under 5 travel free. Card holders aged 5 to 15 inclusive can travel with child tickets. Card holders aged 16 and above require adult tickets.

Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets must not be used for business, trading, duty or residential (commuting to work or travel to educational establishments).

Discounts available for leisure travel

Anytime ticket type: 75% off the public fare

Off-Peak ticket type: 75% off the public fare. Travel is subject to the same time restrictions as the public ticket.

70 min flex fares: 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 ticket type: No discount available

Rovers and Rangers: 75% off the public fare for most Rovers and Rangers. (Some Rover and Rangers have no staff discount (priv rate) available).

Staff discounted (priv rate) tickets issued to holders of the Rail Staff Leisure Card or RST Online Leisure Card are not valid on London Underground and DLR services except when the ticket shows the Cross-London Indicator (✠ or †,) in which case it may be used on the Underground to cross London between the relevant London Terminal stations only.

Holders of the Staff Travel Card (unless it has endorsement 11 National Rail only. Not Eurostar) may obtain staff discounted (priv-rate) travel on London Underground and DLR services. Please see the Travel in London page for more information.

You can purchase tickets online using your RST Online account. If you do not have access, please submit the RST Online Registration Request XX40 form.

If you hold an RST Online Leisure Card you must buy your tickets through RST Online. You cannot purchase at station ticket offices or on board trains.

If you hold a Rail Staff Leisure Card or Staff Travel Card you can buy your tickets through RST Online, or at a National Rail station ticket office.

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, and there is no open ticket office, 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 staff discounted (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, holders of the Staff Travel Card or Rail Staff Leisure Card can buy a staff discounted (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 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 Travel Irregularities for the consequences).

This section is not relevant to holders of the Rail Staff Leisure Card or RST Online Leisure Card.

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.

If you are eligible for a certain number of free journeys, 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. 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.

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”).

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.

Holders of the Staff Travel Card (unless it has endorsement 11 National Rail only. Not Eurostar) may use it on some inter-available London Underground and DLR services. Please see the Travel in London page for more information.

A list and map of the inter-available routes is on the Travel in London page.

This section is not relevant to holders of the Rail Staff Leisure Card or RST Online Leisure Card.

The photograph of the card holder is printed on the Staff Travel Card. Where the photograph is optional (as below), the Staff Travel Card will contain a default image.

• Photo ID is a mandatory requirement for all active employees, their partner and child dependents to support a Staff Travel Card. 
• A Photo ID is optional for retired employees, or any of their dependents.

This section is not relevant to holders of the Rail Staff Leisure Card or RST Online Leisure Card.

The Status Pass gives unlimited free travel on the National Rail network.

Blue Status Passes only offer unlimited free travel within defined geographical areas.

Please see the Status Pass page for more information.

This section is not relevant to holders of the Rail Staff Leisure Card or RST Online Leisure Card.

A photograph of the card holder is mandatory for all Status Pass holders.

For seat reservations, please see the Seat and Sleeper bookings page.

Holders of the Staff Travel Card and Rail Staff Leisure Card are eligible for staff travel on Caledonian Sleeper and Great Western Railway Sleeper services.

Holders of the RST Online Leisure Card are eligible for staff travel on Great Western Railway sleeper services. They are not eligible for travel on Caledonian Sleeper services.

For reservations, please see the Seat and Sleeper bookings page.

For upgrades, please see the Upgrades to First Class page.

Please see the separate page for Assisted Travel.