Since East Midlands Railway (EMR) extended the number of routes on which discounted Advance Purchase tickets were available, over 130,000 journeys have been made by customers taking advantage of their savings.

The new routes on which the tickets are available are from Derby to Crewe and Nottingham to Lincoln, with the Advance Purchase tickets providing a discount of up to 60% on the standard fare.

With 131,663 Advance Purchase tickets sold for travel on the Nottingham to Lincoln and Derby to Crewe routes, East Midlands Railway looking at opportunities to introduce them on more of its regional routes.

Out of the total number of Advance Purchase tickets sold, 96,844 were for travel on the Nottingham to Lincoln route, and 34,819 were for travel on the Derby to Crewe route.

The figures show there is a growing demand for travel by rail across the region, and how customers are increasingly planning ahead to secure the cheapest fares.

As well as enabling customers to save up to 60% on their travel by buying Advance Purchase tickets, they also encourage customers to travel during off-peak times, which helps East Midlands Railway by reducing crowding on busier services.

The railway’s top tips for using Advance Purchase tickets are:

• Travel at off-peak times, as ticket prices are often cheaper during quieter weekday and weekend periods.
• Check the EMR app. to find out if cheaper tickets are available.
• Use a Railcard, as these provide up to one-third savings of the cost of Advance Purchase tickets, but customers remember to have the card with them when they travel.

East Midlands Railway also has tickets called “Secret Fares” that give discounts of up to 50 per cent on regular advance tickets when bought through the online ticket platform Seatfrog.

The company also occasionally holds sales when Advance Purchase tickets can be purchased at over 50% discount on the normal price.

“It’s fantastic to see so many customers taking advantage of our Advance Purchase tickets on the Lincoln and Crewe routes. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, proving that planning ahead is the key to unlocking great value. We are always looking at how we can introduce more Advance tickets on other routes and are hopeful this can be achieved soon.”

Simon Pready, Commercial Director at East Midlands Railway