Free UK summer holiday train tickets: Who is eligible?

Avanti West Coast is offering free train travel to vulnerable families this summer, enabling them to enjoy holidays.

The operator has teamed up with the Family Holiday Charity to facilitate breaks along its West Coast Main Line, connecting London with Glasgow and Edinburgh, and serving the West Midlands and north-west England.

These getaways are specifically designed for families facing significant challenges, including financial hardship, bereavement, extensive caring responsibilities, insecure housing, and domestic abuse.

Kathryn O’Brien, Avanti West Coast’s customer experience director, expressed the operator’s pride in the scheme, stating they are “really proud” to help families go on holidays they “may otherwise not have the chance” to take.

She added: “We serve many picturesque towns and seaside destinations along the West Coast Main Line that will be the perfect destination for the families to enjoy new experiences and escapism from their day-to-day reality.

“The trips will offer something that many could take for granted – the opportunity to nurture relationships, create memories and reconnect with one another.”

Rob Parkinson, chief executive of Family Holiday Charity, said: “While many of the families we support have not been on a holiday before, it will also be the case that some have never travelled together by rail.

“Providing new experiences and opportunities to make enduring memories is central to what we do as a charity, and so we’re very excited to be working with Avanti West Coast on this summer pilot project.”

Avanti West Coast said it will initially support six families with summer holiday travel, describing the trial as a “first for the rail industry”.

It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the “Great British Summer Savings” as part of a package to ease cost-of-living pressures from the Iran war.

Families can currently benefit from a temporary VAT cut on prices at attractions, children’s cinema tickets, and restaurant meals.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the support would give families concerned about the months ahead “a bit of breathing room” to “enjoy moments that matter without the same level of financial strain”.

Well-known attractions including Peppa Pig World, Alton Towers, and Legoland are participating.

Merlin Entertainments, owner of 20 venues, has updated prices; advance tickets for Alton Towers and Legoland now start at £29.75, down from £34. Wiltshire safari park Longleat also adjusted its system, with a family-of-four advance ticket now £122.30, a saving of £17.50.

The Odeon, Vue and Cineworld cinema chains are also taking part, with Odeon saying a family ticket for two adults and two children will come down from £32 to £28.50 during the scheme.

Greene King, with more than 2,500 outlets, McDonald’s, Wetherspoons and Nando’s are among the dining locations passing on the tax saving on children’s meals.