Railway services offer one of the best options for both short and long distance travelling. As a matter of fact, many countries are also connected to each other with advanced railway networks.

People prefer going on the trains, not only because it is a cost effective travelling option, but also because of the various other services that are being offered by the railway services.

Buying tickets:

 

• Buying tickets at the station itself, and boarding the trains
• Making seat reservations, like in the airlines

You might be familiar with buying train tickets at station counters, and then boarding the trains. For local, suburban, or regional train routes, you may buy the tickets at the station itself, and you won’t have to make any seat reservations as such.

In this case, pre-booking does not make much sense, because you won’t get any significant price advantage. However, many railway services offer seasonal passes, on which you can save money. It is an ideal option for commuters who use trains for commuting everyday.

For long distance trains however, you need to go for the airlines types of ticketing, where you will need to book the tickets, and get your reservations confirmed. The earlier you book your tickets, the cheaper will be the prices. Hence, it is always better to book your tickets in advance, in order to avoid extra travel expenses.

Most of the train ticketing services are now available over the internet. You can even find the cheap train ticket finder websites, to see which service providers give you the best deals. You can then easily book your tickets online, and have them sent to your email almost immediately.

Tips for buying cheap train tickets:

Most of the railway services offer train tickets for sale, about 60 to 90 days in advance. Some of them even offer tickets from 120 days before the date of travel. If you book your tickets immediately upon their availability, you generally stand a good chance to get discounted prices, almost 30% at times.

Special fares for youths and seniors:

Many of the railways services also offer discounted fares for seniors above the age of 60, and for youths below the age of 26. Railcards are being offered in many countries for senior citizens and youths.

You will have to purchase the card for a fixed price, for which you will get the validity of one year. During that period, you can use it for as many times as you want for domestic travels, within the country.

Free or highly discounted tickets for infants:

Infants up to a certain age are allowed to travel for free in most of the railway services. However, some of the service providers do charge 50% price of the regular fares.

The rules about train ticket fares for infants varies from country to country, which is why you might want to check the terms and conditions of various railway services, if you are planning to travel with your little children.