Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Transport, has promised to make rail ticketing easier to understand after a mystery shopping survey by Which?, the consumer organisation, revealed that only half of Britain’s railway travellers manage to secure the best deal available.

Ms Kelly wants train passengers to be “confident they are buying the right ticket at the right price”, which appears to be far from the present situation. Only two in five of those questioned in the latest National Passenger Survey think that they are receiving good value for money from the train companies.

However, it is possible to find the cheapest tickets if you know when and where to look.

A standard single fare for immediate travel from London to Manchester, for example, costs £109.50, according to thetrainline.com, the ticketing website. However, a saver single bought online a few hours before travelling could cost only £58.50, and someone booking the same journey 12 days in advance would pay £19.50, or even less in some circumstances.

The problem is that the train companies offer only a limited number of cheap advance fares and there is no guarantee when – or even if – they will issue these. Travellers seeking the best-value fare could, therefore, look at the company’s website one day and find that the tickets have not yet been issued and then check a few days later only to find that they have all gone.

So it is worth knowing that Network Rail must set the timetable 12 weeks in advance. Consequently, this is often when tickets are released and those booking 12 weeks ahead will often bag the best fares.

Another useful tip is that it is sometimes cheaper to buy two singles rather than a return ticket. For example, someone travelling from Bristol to London and back again could pay only £23.50 for two singles, which is £25.50 less than they would pay for a return fare. However, this is not always the case, so it is always worth checking before you buy. For example, someone travelling from Nottingham to Edinburgh and booking ten days in advance would pay £92.50 for a return ticket and £108 if they bought two of the cheapest singles.

The best way to be certain is to look online at thetrainline.com or nationalrail.co.uk, both of which are useful for checking times and fares.

Passenger Focus, the independent rail consumer watchdog, also recommends checking the websites of the train companies to discover whether you can buy cheaper fares direct.

Investing in a railcard is another way to reduce the cost of train travel. The three nationwide versions – for students and young people, for the over60s and for families – can cut a third off the price of most journeys. At £20, railcards are always worth the money if your journey costs more than £60. There are also local railcards that offer different benefits.

Truly committed bargain hunters can cut costs dramatically by “splitting” long journeys. This involves buying more than one ticket to make up the route. It does require more planning, but it often means that you can travel the same route, on the same train, for much less. For example, a standard open return from London to Penzance is £234. But by buying four singles – from London to Bristol,

Bristol to Penzance, and the reverse on the way back – the total cost is £36, giving a saving of £198, according to moneysavingexpert.com.

For savvy commuters, the best option is to buy an annual season ticket. The cost is usually the equivalent of 40 weeks of travel rather than 52. The savings can be impressive. Someone travelling from Reading to London, for example, could save £952.80 a year by buying an annual season ticket for £3,176 rather than weekly tickets at £79.40. A commuter travelling from Harrogate to Leeds could save £346.80 by shelling out £1,156 for the annual fare.

This means that season tickets can even offer relatively good value for passengers with irregular travel patterns, especially as they often have other advantages, such as free weekend travel or special seat-reservation rights. Furthermore, you can often pay for annual season tickets in interest-free monthly instalments.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, says: “Only 5 per cent of commuters are aware of the advantages of annual tickets, even though they could save hundreds of pounds. Train companies should be doing much more to tell passengers about the benefits.”

Claim a refund for train delays

The satisfaction of finding a cheap fare can wear off fast if your train is late, Mark Bridge writes. Many customers are unaware that a delay of more than one hour caused by circumstances within the operator’s control entitles passengers to compensation – typically National Rail vouchers for 25 per cent, or more, of the ticket price.

If you are affected, note details of the delay and contact the operator within 28 days. The websites trainrefunds.co.uk and traindelays.co.uk, run by and for commuters, are packed with helpful information. Another handy link is passengerfocus.org, the site of the rail consumer watchdog.

Most operators do not compensate season ticket holders on individual delays but they will offer an automatic discount of about 5 per cent on renewals if performance falls below a certain standard.

The easiest claims system is for the London Underground. Passengers can request a full refund on journeys delayed by 15 minutes or more by circumstances within Transport for London’s control. Make your claim at www.tfl.gov.uk.

CASE STUDY

Charlotte Wright, a 30-year-old project manager, left, goes online to find the best deal on her train travel.

Ms Wright, who lives in Bromsgrove, West Midlands, says: “I travel a lot by train at the weekends, mainly visiting friends and family in other parts of the country. I use thetrainline.com to search for the best fares, but I also check the websites of individual train companies for special offers.”

When she travelled to work by train, Ms Wright also saved by buying an annual season ticket. “I now drive to work, but I used to travel from Bromsgrove to Birmingham every day and soon realised that an annual ticket was much cheaper,” she says.

Despite being relatively clued up when it comes to finding the cheapest tickets, Ms Wright admits that she is often flummoxed by ticket pricing, adding: “I was recently looking into travelling to Leeds at the beginning of December and was quoted about £30. However, the friends I am visiting had to change the date to the following weekend and I am now looking at paying more than double that. It is frustrating.”