What national rail staff travel facilities are provided to an employee?

The Rail Staff Leisure Card provides a discount of 75% off Anytime and Off-Peak, and some Rover and Ranger tickets. The discount is known as priv (privilege) rate. Priv-rate tickets can only be used for leisure travel. They cannot be used for residential travel (i.e. commuting), or duty or business travel. For residential travel (i.e. commuting) between home and your work location, you can apply to RSTL for authority to purchase a reduced rate season ticket.If your TOC issues you with a roster which requires you to travel on other TOC services for duty, your employer can request RSTL to provide you with a Duty Authority to Travel pass.

What facilities are provided to family members of an employee?

The Rail Staff Leisure card can be used to purchase priv-rate tickets for leisure travel. Priv-rate tickets cannot be used for residential travel (i.e. commuting), or duty or business travel. Partners/spouses and dependant children can apply for a reduced rate season ticket as above if they are travelling to a place of full-time education (school, college or university). They are not eligible for any reduced rate season tickets for commuting to their own employment. If you have a partner but you do not live at the same address, then your partner is not eligible for any FIP International Travel benefits.

How do employees get their facilities?

Your TOC will notify RSTL that you have joined them as an employee. RSTL will create your rail staff travel record. You must upload a passport-style photograph of yourself using our Photo Upload form. Your Rail Staff Leisure Card will be issued and posted to your home address. It is valid for a maximum of 12 months and will be automatically renewed, providing you are still an employee.

How do family members get their facilities?

Once your rail staff travel record is created, you can apply to RSTL to add your family members to your record. The eligible family members are one spouse or partner, plus any dependent children of either of you. For a spouse or civil partner, you must supply a copy of a marriage or civil partnership certificate. For other partnerships:

• If you live together, you need evidence that you live at the same address and make a Statutory Declaration
• If you do not live together you need to make a Statutory Declaration

Statutory Declarations must be made in front of a Solicitor, Commissioner of Oaths, Justice of the Peace or a Notary Public to confirm that you are in a meaningful relationship.

You upload a passport-style photograph of each family member along with each application. Once family members are added to your record and we have accepted the photographs of them, RSTL will send you their Rail Staff Leisure cards. The lead time for this is typically 3-4 weeks from application but may be longer at busy times. As the employee it is your decision whether or not to add family members to your staff travel record. Employees are responsible for:

• ensuring all family members are aware of the Conditions of Issue and Use, Staff Travel Restrictions, and understand the consequences of misuse.
• informing RSTL immediately when a family member is no longer eligible, through divorce or separation, or where dependant children are no longer classified as dependent (i.e. when they obtain employment, or enter into a relationship, or leave home).
• returning any passes no longer required to RSTL

How do I buy discounted tickets?

Once we post your Rail Staff Leisure Card to you, we will e-mail you details of RST Online, our booking system, and your registration details. You will be able to purchase tickets and have them delivered by e-mail, or with a booking reference to collect at station. You can also purchase tickets for leisure journeys, by taking your Rail Staff Leisure Card to any National Rail station ticket office.

If you start your journey at a station with an open ticket office, you must purchase a ticket before you board the train. If you start your journey at station with no open ticket office, you can buy a priv-rate ticket on board (unless there is a penalty fare area in operation and the ticket vending machine has a promise to pay or permit to travel option. In this case, you must obtain a promise to pay or permit to travel before boarding the train).

To purchase a reduced rate season ticket for commuting you need to obtain an authorisation form from RSTL. National Rail station ticket offices will sell you your reduced rate season ticket on submission of the authorisation form.

Where can I go with my national rail staff travel facilities?

It is valid on all National Rail Train Operating Company services, including open access operators Grand Central, Heathrow Express, Hull Trains and Lumo. You cannot use tickets on London Underground or Docklands Light Railway unless you have a priv-rate ticket which includes the Cross-London indicator (†) which allows you to transfer between London Terminal stations. Other carriers accept the Rail Staff Leisure Card, including London Tramlink and many Leisure and Heritage Railways. Details are in the Where Can I Go guide for Non-Safeguarded Staff.

What about travel facilities on European railways and shipping companies?

This is covered by a separate introductory guide on the RSTL website.

Misuse of rail staff travel facilities

Misuse of rail staff travel facilities is a serious disciplinary office.

• Your TOC HR department will follow its disciplinary processes in relation to your continued employment.
• The TOC which detects the offence will follow its Revenue Protection process in relation to loss of revenue.
• RSTL will review your eligibility to retain your rail staff travel facilities under their Travel Irregularity process. If you lose your eligibility for staff travel facilities, so will all your family members.
• Where a spouse, partner or dependant child misuses their facilities, RSTL will review the eligibility of the spouse, partner or dependant to retain their rail staff travel facilities under the Travel Irregularity process.

If you retire, you will retain travel facilities for yourself and your eligible family members, provided that on the date of leaving you are eligible to receive an immediate pension from a section of the Railway Pension Scheme or would have been eligible had you been a member of a section of the Railway Pension Scheme. You don’t have to take the pension, just be eligible to do so.

(For many employees, the minimum age at which a pension can be taken from a section of the Railway Pension Scheme is 50. However, from 6 April 2010, a change in the pension rules meant that if you transferred voluntarily to your current section of the Railway Pension Scheme after 5 April 2006, your minimum pension age may be 55. RPMI will advise you of your minimum pension age.)

[For employers, before advising RST that an employee under 55 has retired and is eligible to receive travel facilities, you must have confirmed the minimum pension age of the individual concerned and provided documentary evidence of this to RST.]

• If you retire because of ill health, to retain travel facilities for yourself and your family you must be eligible to receive either a normal age or an immediate ill-health pension from a section of the Railway Pension Scheme on the date of leaving.
• If you leave under redundancy, then regardless of your pension status (but subject to the paragraph below about the employer final payment) you will receive retired leisure travel facilities for yourself and your eligible family members. If you are dismissed, you will not retain any travel facilities.
• If you resign and leave the industry (i.e. Scheme employment), you will not retain any travel facilities. However you may be able to become eligible again. Contact RST for more information.
• If you are dismissed you will not retain any travel facilities.
• If for any reason you surrender your right to travel facilities (e.g. in return for a salary enhancement), you will not be able to have those facilities reinstated.
• If you worked for a company which pays for the issue of travel facilities, then continued issue in retirement of the facilities to which you may be eligible is additionally subject to your employer having made the requisite final payment to RST.

RST will continue to handle these for you. As soon as RST is notified of your retirement, we amend your status in our records, and will contact you about any details specific to your own circumstances. Contact details

The level and range of travel facilities held at the date of retirement is typically retained, however some cards must be returned immediately for exchange to a retired version.

Staff Travel Cards

You and your family may keep your existing active cards until the next renewal (mid to late March), when you will receive retired versions.

Status Passes (Gold, Silver or Blue)

You must return these to RST as soon as you retire so we can issue a retired version. You can do this by cutting each one into four and emailing a photo to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. A new photo must also be supplied, uploaded via our website so that the new card has an up-to-date image – this should avoid difficulties when travelling. Your new Status Pass will be valid for leisure travel only. If you do not do this within one month of leaving, a hold will be placed on your rail staff travel record so no further cards/passes are issued.

TfL Oyster Status Passes

As above – we will exchange your Active pass for a Retired version, provided you qualify to retain it under TfL’s rules, which are different from Rail Staff Travel’s rules. You must return these to RST as soon as you retire so we can issue a retired version. You can do this by cutting it into four and emailing a photo to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you do not do this within one month of leaving, a hold will be placed on your rail staff travel record so no further cards/passes are issued.

International Reduced Rate Cards (FIP Cards)

The reduced rate travel facilities on FIP administrations for retired staff is not as generous as for active employees. However you may retain your active card for a period of 6 months following the date of retirement, when it should be sent to RST for us to cancel it and issue you with a retired version.

International Coupon Tickets (FIP Coupons)

The free travel facilities on FIP administrations granted to retired staff is not as generous as for active employees. After the date of retirement there are two opportunities to receive coupons available to active employees.

• You may apply for any coupons that you did not use in your last active annual allocation of coupons. The start date on the coupons can be any date up to 9 months after your leaving date.
• You may also apply for one additional free coupon on each FIP undertaking that was available at the time of your retirement. The start date on the coupons can be any date up to 45 months after your leaving date.

This is also available for eligible dependants, but only on those networks where free travel is granted to spouses/partners and dependent children. These coupons are valid for the usual 3 months. Thereafter you can only apply for coupons which retired employees and their dependants are eligible for.

You cannot keep any product which allows residential (commuter) travel, as this is only available during active service.

Residential Passes

If you hold a Residential Pass you must return it to RST on your last day of service. You can do this by cutting it into four and emailing a photo to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you don’t do so, a hold will be placed on your rail staff travel record so no further cards/passes are issued.

Gold or Silver Status Pass for Residential Use only

As you would already have a Retired Gold/Silver Status Pass for leisure use to have this second Status Pass for Residential use, you must return it to RST on your last day of service. You can do this by cutting it into four and emailing a photo to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you don’t do so, a hold will be placed on your rail staff travel record so no further cards/passes are issued.

Privilege Season Ticket

You must return your Privilege Season Ticket to RST for a refund using form XX11. If you don’t do so, a hold will be placed on your rail staff travel record so no further cards/passes are issued.

Reduced Rate Season Ticket

You must return your Reduced Rate Season Ticket to RST for a refund using form XX11. If you don’t do so, a hold will be placed on your rail staff travel record so no further cards/passes are issued.

Rail Staff Leisure Card

You must return it (and any issued to family members) to RST on your last day of service. You can do this by cutting it into four and emailing a photo to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Incident Card Team (ICT) Card

You must return your ICT card to your TOC ICT manager or RST on your last day of service. You can do this by cutting it into four and emailing a photo to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Duty Authority to Travel (DAT) Card

You must return your DAT card to your TOC manager or RST on your last day of service. You can do this by cutting it into four and emailing a photo to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Provided that:

• You return to work for a Scheme employer (one which grants such staff travel facilities under the Scheme); and
• You have not worked for any other in between working for two Scheme employers

then you may be eligible to receive once again active safeguarded travel facilities (normally only for residential purposes as your leisure eligibility will have been “frozen” or “preserved” as described above). However, while you might pass the eligibility criteria, the granting of any travel facilities, at any level, is still at the discretion of the new employer. So before making or accepting a job offer, employers and employees are encouraged to check with RST that the particular circumstances qualify.

Previously, a combination of age and length of service were the main factors.

If you did not meet these criteria at the time, you were not eligible then and so cannot be eligible now:

Retirement

• Age 55 or over with 5 years or more service
• Age 50 or over with 5 years or more service and with the employer’s permission
• Executive Grades (as recorded by RST against the employee record) may retire at 50 and retain travel facilities without the employer’s permission

Ill-Health Retirement

• Age 45 or over with 5 years or more service
• Under age 45 with 20 years or more service
• Under age 45 with more than 5 years and less than 20 years’ service, if you were continuously unemployed since the date of leaving (if you were in receipt of an ill-health pension, the minimum service requirement of 5 years is waived) – you must submit evidence of unemployment each year unless you have provided something from an official body confirming that you will never work again. The requirement to provide annual proof ceases when you reach 60 years of age.

Redundancy

• Age 45 or over with 5 years or more service
• Under age 45 with 20 years or more service
• Under age 45 with between 10 and 20 years’ service, providing you were continuously unemployed since the date of leaving. You must submit evidence of unemployment each year unless you have provided something from an official body confirming that you will never work again. The requirement to provide annual proof ceases when you reach 60 years of age.

The full range of Railcards is available and some of these might be suitable, depending on your circumstances. For instance Family and Friends, Two Together and Senior Railcards all offer good discounts. In fact, you can apply for any public railcard as an active member of staff, though you can’t of course use two types of concession for the same journey.