For mobility scooter users who travel by train, the fare is one cost and the practical rules for carrying a scooter are another. The Disabled Persons Railcard tackles the first. This guide sets out what the National Railcards website publishes about the price, who qualifies, what proof is needed and which tickets are included. It covers the Railcard itself, not the separate rules on which scooters each train company accepts, which are in our guide to taking a mobility scooter on trains.
What it costs and what it saves
The Railcard website lists the Disabled Persons Railcard at £20 for one year or £54 for three years. It gives one-third off tickets for the cardholder and one adult companion, with no time-of-day restrictions. The companion does not need to be the same person on every journey, but must travel with the cardholder for the whole journey (Railcard, “Disabled Persons Railcard”). Prices can change, so the figure on that page is the one to rely on when buying.
For children aged 5 to 15 with a disability, the site says the standard lower child price applies to their own ticket, and the Railcard can be used to save on tickets for an adult companion.
Who qualifies
The Railcard site describes the card as for anyone with a disability listed in its eligibility checklist. The qualifying situations it lists include:
- receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Adult Disability Payment (ADP) at any rate;
- receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Child Disability Payment (CDP) at specified rates of the mobility or care component;
- receiving Attendance Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance or Pension Age Disability Payment;
- receiving a War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement, or a War or Service Disablement Pension at 80 per cent or more;
- leasing a vehicle through the Motability scheme;
- holding a Disabled Persons Bus Pass in England, Scotland or Wales, or a London Disabled Persons Freedom Pass;
- holding a Blue Badge;
- having a visual impairment, a hearing impairment or epilepsy, subject to the evidence the site sets out;
- being currently unable to drive on medical grounds, or being without speech.
The site also mentions a planned expansion of the eligibility criteria and links to a page with the detail. For a scooter user, the practical point is that several common routes to eligibility, such as a Motability lease, a Blue Badge or a disabled bus pass, are on the list. Our guides to the Motability Scheme and to Blue Badge parking cover those separately.
Proof and photo
An applicant must provide proof of disability support and a passport-style photo, online or by post. The site gives the evidence expected for each route, for example an award letter for PIP or ADP, a copy of a Motability leasing agreement, or copies of the front and back of a Blue Badge. A digital Railcard can take up to five working days to be checked before an activation email is sent, and physical cards have separate delivery times.
What is included and what is not
The Railcard site lists a range of ticket types as included: Standard and First Class Anytime, Off-Peak, Super Off-Peak and Advance tickets, most Travelcards, Gatwick Express, Stansted Express and Heathrow Express, Caledonian Sleeper seats and solo rooms, PlusBus day tickets, and Rover and Ranger tickets. In London, the cardholder can get Oyster pay-as-you-go Off-Peak fares and daily caps, and a special concession gives an adult companion one-third off an Off-Peak Day Travelcard for Zones 1 to 6.
Not included are child tickets, season tickets, most London Underground and DLR tickets unless using Oyster pay as you go, Eurostar tickets, some train-company offers and promotions, and tickets for special excursion or charter trains. The site adds that a cardholder travelling on a concessionary pass that offers free travel cannot use the Railcard to buy a discounted ticket for an adult companion.
Discounts without a Railcard
The Railcard site notes that wheelchair users without a Disabled Persons Railcard can get a discounted fare for themselves and an adult companion through a National Rail scheme, and that assistance can be booked through Passenger Assist. National Rail’s own page states that mobility scooters can be taken on trains but that many train companies apply restrictions on size, weight and permits, so booking assistance and checking the operator’s policy remain separate steps from buying a Railcard (National Rail, “Mobility Scooter Restrictions”).
Questions readers often ask
Does the Railcard help with the scooter itself?
No. It is a fare discount. Whether a particular scooter is accepted on a train depends on the train company’s published limits.
Can a friend travel with me instead of the same person each time?
Yes. The site says the adult companion does not have to be the same person, but must travel with the cardholder throughout the journey.
Is it valid on Eurostar?
No. Eurostar tickets are on the site’s list of exclusions.
The bottom line
The Disabled Persons Railcard costs £20 for a year or £54 for three years, according to the Railcard site, and takes one-third off tickets for the cardholder and one adult companion at any time of day. Eligibility runs through a list of benefits, passes and conditions, with proof and a photo required. It does not cover child tickets, season tickets or Eurostar, and it is separate from the size and permit rules that train companies apply to mobility scooters.
Sources
- Railcard, “Disabled Persons Railcard” (railcard.co.uk)
- National Rail, “Mobility Scooter Restrictions” (nationalrail.co.uk)