Tickets

I haven’t received my confirmation email and eTickets – what should I do?

You should have your confirmation email and eTickets within 10 minutes of completing your purchase and we’ll usually get them to you a lot quicker! If you haven’t got them within that time, please check your spam and promotions folders. 

Still no luck? Our customer service team is here to help. Just contact us as soon as possible before your train departs.

What is an eTicket?

An eTicket is a train ticket that we email to you. The eTicket comes in both a PDF and in a PKPASS format. You can use the PKPASS on iPhones and iPads. It’s much easier and quicker than collecting your ticket from a station! Your eTicket has a barcode that can be scanned at gatelines at stations, or by the guard/train manager on board a train, to check it’s valid.

How do I use an eTicket?

You use an eTicket by scanning it at the station gateline or on the train. We’ll email the ticket to you once your booking is complete. You can use either the PDF or PKPASS attachment. Both formats contain the same information – so it’s up to you.

PDF or PKPASS? 

• You could show the PDF on your phone or print it out
• You can add the PKPASS to your Apple Wallet on your iPhone (or iPad) and just use that
• Or you could do both, or any other combination. It’s all fine!

Why isn’t an eTicket option available for my journey?

We can only offer you an eTicket if all of the train companies along your route have agreed to allow us to sell eTickets. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Don’t worry though – if eTickets aren’t available for your journey we’ll always give you an alternative, such as picking up your ticket at the station.

These are the main reasons why an eTicket might not be available:

• If your journey involves crossing London – eTickets aren’t accepted on the Tube or DLR as there aren’t any barcode scanners at their barriers. This also means there isn’t an eTicket option available if you’re buying a ticket to or from London Zones, or when buying London Travelcards
• If your journey involves travelling on ScotRail or Merseyrail. These operators prefer other ticket formats, so they don’t allow us to issue eTickets for most journeys involving them.
• Finally, some ticket types can’t be issued as eTickets – these are mostly group tickets.

How do I collect tickets from a station?

If you opt to collect your tickets from a station, you’ll be provided an 8-digit ‘Customer Reference’ (in a format such as X8LKRT7W). You’ll need both that and the card you paid with to collect your tickets from the station. It’s usually quickest to collect your tickets from a ticket machine, rather than from the booking office.

What to do 

• Choose the ‘collect pre-paid tickets’ option on the screen 
• Insert your card into the card reader (you won’t be charged) 
• Remove your card when instructed to do so and type in the 8-digit customer reference on the screen 
• Select the journeys you want to print (it’s usually best to select ‘all’) 
• Your tickets will be printed. Check that the correct number of coupons has been printed – as well as your tickets there may be seat reservations or other supplements, and there will always be a collection receipt printed last.