New rail ticket unleashes weekend travel with thousands more routes

A groundbreaking rail ticket that offers fully flexible weekend travel, giving passengers the freedom to journey on Fridays or Saturdays and return on Mondays has now been extended.

With thousands of additional route options available, this ticket transforms weekend getaways, making spontaneous adventures more accessible than ever.

Great Western Railway launched the Long Weekender ticket earlier this year to offer full flexibility to those who want a weekend getaway, while providing a cheaper more comfortable return journey on a Monday. It was however limited to certain routes, travelling away from London.

Now the train operator has extended the use of the ticket across its network, offering more than 5,500 different route combinations including towards London for the first time.

The ticket allows customers to depart at any time on Friday or Saturday, including during the peaks, and return at any time on Monday, offering more than 50% off the cost of a peak Anytime return.

Sundays have become particularly busy for train services, with more people than ever choosing to travel over the weekend, and changes in work patterns have seen commuter journeys fall when compared with pre-pandemic levels – leaving many Monday trains less popular.

GWR Sales & Marketing Director Amanda Burns explains:

“Changing customer patterns have provided a clear opportunity for us to expand our leisure offers, particularly with less people travelling on Mondays.

“This ticket offers great savings if you’re heading for rest in the West or a show in London; staying at a hotel or B&B; or visiting friends and family. And if you need to catch up on those work emails on the way home on Monday, you can do so from the comfort of the train.”

Available to book directly at GWR.com, find out more about the Long Weekender here.