Getting one
How much is a 16-25 Railcard? 1-year or 3-year
A 16-25 Railcard costs £35 for one year or £80 for three. When the 3-year card makes sense, who can’t have it, and the other costs to know about — replacements, delivery and refunds.
On this page
At a glance
- £35 for 1 year, or £80 for 3 years — digital and plastic cost the same.
- The official site says the 3-year card is £25 less than buying three 1-year cards.
- The 3-year card is sold online only, must be bought Before your 24th birthday, and isn’t available to mature students.
- Railcards can’t be refunded once they’ve been issued.
The prices
| Card | Price | Where you can buy it |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year | £35 | Online (digital or plastic) or at a staffed station ticket office |
| 3-year | £80 | Online only |
Digital and plastic cards cost the same — there’s no separate price for either. Retailers we checked, such as Trainline, sell the same two cards at the same prices (more in how to buy one).
1-year or 3-year?
The official site says the 3-year card saves you £25 compared with buying three 1-year cards. Spread over three years, £80 works out at about £26.67 a year instead of £35.
The 3-year card is worth a look if:
- you’ll be travelling by train for the next three years — say, for the whole of a university course, and
- you’re young enough: it has to be bought Before your 24th birthday, and it runs out the day before your 27th birthday.
Stick with the 1-year card if:
- you’re 24 or older, or a mature student — the 3-year card isn’t available to you
- you’re not sure you’ll keep using trains, because railcards can’t be refunded once issued and their validity can’t be extended
- you want to buy at a station — ticket offices only sell the 1-year card.
Other costs
- Replacing a lost or damaged card: £10. It’s free if the card was stolen and you have a police crime reference number. See lost, stolen or forgotten.
- Changing your name on the card: £10.
- Special Delivery for a plastic card costs extra (we couldn’t find the amount on the pages we checked).
Refunds
Railcards are non-refundable once issued. Trainline’s own policy is different for cards bought from it: refunds are usually possible within 14 days, as long as you haven’t bought any discounted tickets with the card and haven’t downloaded it to the app.
Any deals on the card itself?
When we checked on 17 October 2026 we found no sale or discount on the price of the 16-25 Railcard itself. One thing worth knowing about: Santander’s Edge Student current account has included a free 4-year Santander 16-25 Railcard (Santander says it’s “worth £115”). The account has its own conditions — you need to be 18 or over and on an eligible course, among other things — and the offer may have changed, so check Santander’s current terms before you count on it.
Sources
Checked 17 October 2026. We wrote this guide from these sources, in our own words:
- 16-25 Railcard (official site) (16-25railcard.co.uk)
- 16-25 Railcard: benefits (official) (16-25railcard.co.uk)
- 16-25 Railcard terms and conditions (official) (16-25railcard.co.uk)
- 16-25 Railcard: are you eligible? (official) (16-25railcard.co.uk)
- 16-25 Railcard: where to buy (official) (16-25railcard.co.uk)
- 16-25 Railcard: FAQs (official) (16-25railcard.co.uk)
- Trainline: 16-25 Railcard (thetrainline.com)
- Santander Edge Student current account (santander.co.uk)
We are an independent guide, not the official Railcard website. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.