I bought a 3-year Senior Railcard towards the end of 2018.  It cost £70 and they claimed I would get my money back ‘in just a few journeys’. Ha-ha-ha!

I had realised that I couldn’t use it to travel in the morning peak, before 9.30 on weekdays, nor on the London Underground unless I splashed out for a Travelcard, but I thought that I would get the money back over time.  Then the lockdown came in March 2020 and lasted until about July 2021.  OK there were a few legal relaxations, but who wanted to take the risk of public transport until we had got vaccinations and the incidence of Covid was much reduced?  So for about half its validity, the Railcard has been useless.

Ironically, on two occasions that I have wanted to use it, the rail service to London was replaced by a bus, meaning the journey was slow and unpleasant and I was late for the art exhibitions I wanted to attend.  Of course, there is no warning about this when you buy the rail tickets.

Worse, when you look at their website, it says that ‘a decision taken at the highest level was that the validity of Railcards would not be extended since the rail services continued to be available during lockdown!’  I can imagine trying to justify a journey during lockdown, ‘I know my journey isn’t essential Officer, but I must not waste my Railcard. I have this information on the highest authority.’

Whilst it would be too strong to call the situation a scam, my Railcard has been incredibly bad value.  I think it is no more than a sop to regulators so that they can claim they offer benefits to Seniors. It’s sad because I do like travelling by train.