National Rail Enquiries - Season Ticket conditions

This information is to help you get the most from your Season Ticket. It does not affect your statutory rights, or replace, form part of, or modify in any way, the National Rail Conditions of Carriage relating to Season Tickets. A copy of the booklet 'National Rail Conditions of Carriage' is available from ticket offices.

Using your Season Ticket

You can use your Season Ticket up to and including its expiry date for any number of journeys between the stations and/or within the zone(s) shown on it at any time of day. It may be used at intermediate stations, and on any permitted route, unless a route or any other restrictions are specified on the ticket. Details are available where these tickets are issued.
With First Class Season Tickets you may travel in the First Class or Standard Class areas of the train. Standard Class Season Ticket holders may upgrade their Season Ticket to First Class at the ticket office before they board the train (or on the train if there is no open ticket office where you board the train).
Travelcard Season Tickets allow unlimited travel at any time of day on National Rail, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, Croydon Tramlink within the London Fare Zones Area. Travelcard Season Tickets are also valid on most London Bus services throughout the London Bus network. For journeys starting outside the London Fare Zones Area, the Travelcard Season Ticket allows travel by train between the starting station and the London Fares Zones Area boundary, and then unlimited travel within the zones paid for. Full bus details are available from: Transport for London, 55 Broadway, London SW1H OBD Tel: 020 7222 1234.
You cannot transfer your Season Ticket to another person.

Photocards

You need a photocard to buy most Season Tickets. These are issued free of charge from ticket offices. You must provide a recent passport-type photograph of yourself.
Where required, your photocard number must be on your Season Ticket. For your Season Ticket to be valid, you must show both your Season Ticket and photocard with matching numbers if requested by rail staff.

Photocards for Children

All children aged between 5 and 15 (inclusive) require a photocard. Proof of age will be required when the Season Ticket is issued.
A photocard for a child aged under 14 is valid for 2 calendar years from the date of issue. So, for example, a card issued on 22 January 2010, expires on 21 January 2011.
If the child reaches 16 within 2 1/2 years of the photocard being issued, the photocard will be dated to expire on the day before their 16th birthday.

'Changeovers'

If you move house, change your place of work or wish to change the class of travel, you may apply to exchange any Season Ticket with a month or more remaining, for one with the same expiry date for your new journey or class. This is called a changeover.
A changeover may be applied for at any rail ticket office (preferably one relevant to the new journey), a few days in advance of the date of the change. Any additional charge or refund will be based on the ticket prices when the original Season Ticket was bought, pro rata to the periods before and after the changeover.
No administration charge is made. Any ticket that has already been exchanged in this way may be accepted for further exchanges if necessary.

Refunds

If you stop travelling and no longer need your Season Ticket, please hand it in at, or post it to, the ticket office where you bought it.
Any refund is calculated from the date the Season Ticket was handed in. It will be the difference between the price you paid and the cost of a ticket or tickets for the period for which you have actually used the ticket, plus an administration charge (see section 9). Because of the discounts on longer term Season Tickets, refunds are not made pro rata to the periods before/after surrender and Annual Season Tickets have no refund value after about 10 1/2 months. For this reason we recommend that employers' Annual Season Ticket loan schemes are set up so that reimbursements are made in 10 equal monthly payments with two 'free' months at the end of the year, rather than in 12 equal monthly payments.
There must be at least seven days remaining on a Monthly Season Ticket or at least three days remaining on a 7 Day Season Ticket to obtain a refund (although on some 7 Day Season Tickets there may be no refund value after three days of use, dependent upon the relevant Standard Day Return price.
In cases of illness, the refund can be backdated if you produce suitable documentary evidence for a period before you hand in your ticket, provided that you have not started travelling again using your Season Ticket since your illness.
We do not give refunds or allow Season Tickets to be extended for periods of non-use, for example holidays. We do not normally give refunds on duplicate Season Tickets although consideration will be given if you can give written evidence of redundancy, prolonged illness or similar circumstances or if the original ticket is recovered and returned to the issuing ticket office within one month of its loss. Please ask at the ticket office for more details.

Discounts

The Passengers' Charter of each Train Company gives performance targets and details of the discounts available for Season Ticket renewals if the time keeping or reliability of the train service falls below set standards. The Train Companies will publicise details of any Season Ticket discounts.

Lost or stolen Season Tickets or photocards

If you lose your Season Ticket or it is stolen, report this immediately to the ticket office where you bought it. You should also report this to the police. If you or we cannot recover the lost or stolen ticket, we will then consider an application for a duplicate ticket, if the original was issued for a period of one month or more. We do not issue duplicates in respect of lost or stolen 7 Day Season Tickets. We may ask you or others for information. There is an administration charge when we issue a duplicate Season Ticket (see section 9).
We only allow one duplicate issue in any 12 month period. However, we will only allow a second duplicate issue if:
- the original Season Ticket is returned to the train company which sold it within one month of you reporting the loss; or
- the first or second request for a duplicate was because of theft, robbery, fire or other exceptional circumstances, the facts of which have been reported to the police, the fire service or another appropriate body. We will not issue any more than two duplicate Season Tickets in any 12 month period under any circumstances.
We will refund (with no administration charge) the cost of tickets you buy while you are waiting for the duplicate ticket to be issued, if you hand these tickets in.
If you lose your photocard or it is stolen, we can issue a new one, for which a further passport-type photograph is required. If we need to reissue your Season Ticket, an administration charge will be made (see section 9).

Damaged or defective Season Tickets

If your Season Ticket is damaged, illegible or defective, for example it will no longer work in ticket gates, it will be replaced at the office from which it was issued provided the Train Company which sold it can confirm the ticket is still valid.

Travel not covered by your Season Ticket

Please buy the appropriate additional ticket at the ticket office before you travel, if your Season Ticket has expired, does not cover your journey in full, has been left behind (see section 9), or is for Standard Class accommodation but you wish to travel First Class.
If you are travelling from a penalty fare station on a penalty fare train and your Season Ticket does not cover you for all of your journey, you must buy an accompanying ticket or permit to travel, if you are able to*, before you start your journey. If you do not you may be liable to a Penalty Fare.

More information about Penalty Fares.

Season Tickets left at home

If you do not have your Season Ticket with you when you travel you must buy a ticket for your journey. You will be able to get a refund on the fare paid on the first two occasions this happens in any 12 month period. On the second such occasion an administration charge will be made (see below). No more than two of these types of refund will be made in any 12 month period. You will need to hand in the tickets you have bought. You should make refund claims of this type within 28 days of travel.

Season Ticket administration charges

Refunds	Not more than £10
Duplicates for lost or stolen tickets	£10 (First Capital Connect and Southern charge £20, but will offer a refund of the charge if the original ticket is found and returned before the expiry date of the ticket)
Issue of replacement photocard including new Season Ticket	Not more than £10
Replacement of damaged or illegible season tickets or those which can no longer operate ticket barriers	Free of charge
These charges are subject to change.

One third discount on off-peak travel for Annual Gold Card holders

There is no discount on First Class fares even if the Gold Card is First Class.
Annual Gold Card holders buying discounted Day Travelcards (Off-peak) for accompanying adults or children must buy one for themselves if their Annual Gold Card is not valid for travel on all the London Fare Zones.
For full terms and conditions, please see the Network Railcard website.

Season ticket conditions