Train season ticket to "Manchester CTZL" and free rides on the Metrolink

ic

Does anybody know whether if I got a season ticket from my local station to "Manchester CTZL", would I be able to use the metrolink within the city centre for free, the same as you can for one off tickets? The info on the metrolink site only looks to talk about purchasing tickets and using on the same day.

maurice28

Yes, that should work fine. Is it a GMPTE travelcard you have? I get a montlhy one and it covers the whole of Greater Manchester for £88, and includes travel within the city centre zone on Metrolink.

Just make sure you know what constitutes the city centre zone!

ic

I'm looking at a season pass purchased from my local train station (as advertised on national rail website) - I'd be heading to the heart of Manchester a couple of stops from Piccadilly definitely in the "central zone". http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/seasonticket/search

Tigsteroonie

Yes.

My train season ticket says it's valid between "Manchester Stations & (my local station)" and it's been checked and accepted by TfM tram inspectors on a few occasions for cross-town use.

ic

I hadn't thought to check GMPTE.

A season ticket restricted to my local station to Manchester is £930. An any train any bus within Greater Manchester is £1005 - just £6 a month more for complete flexibility. That is tempting!

ic

Ooooh, perhaps even better

Season Tickets
With a rail season ticket you can travel at any time of day between two stations as often as you please. In addition a rail season ticket between two stations in Greater Manchester allows you to travel by train anywhere in Greater Manchester at weekends. They are available for one week, one month and for any period up to one year.

You can buy rail season tickets from the ticket office at staffed train stations. If this is closed, or the station is un-staffed, you can buy season tickets valid up to one month from the conductor on the train. Season tickets over one month are only available from main stations. You can pay with cash, cheque and credit cards. Before you buy any rail season ticket you will need to get a photo ID card from a staffed train station.

The price of a season ticket varies according to the distance travelled.

Traincard
Traincard is a rail season ticket that lets you travel by train anywhere in Greater Manchester, as many times as you like. You can buy them for one week, one month or a year.

Prices of Traincards are:
weekly - £26.00
monthly - £88.00
Annual - £835.00

you can buy a Traincard from the ticket office at staffed train stations. If this is closed or the station is un-staffed you can buy weekly Traincards from the conductor on the train. Monthly and annual Traincards are only available from main stations. You can pay with cash, cheque and debit cards. Before you buy a Traincard you will need to get a photo ID card from a staffed train station.

Traincard looks good as cheaper than the rail season ticket - but no mention of validity on the metrolink.

ic

Ah ha, tucked away on the national rail site...

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/promotions/pr93c0eaeb9d4653b48ac9b0307154fb/details.html

Just posting all this as very useful information. So £95 cheaper for me than a standard season ticket and allows unlimited train travel within Greater Manchester plus this confirms it does cover City Centre Metrolink.

Tigsteroonie

So now you just have to decide whether it's worth paying more to have the flexibility of bus travel added (I think the train & bus option is known as a System One travelcard).

ic

First I have to get the job, one more interview to go...

Given the Traincard provides unlimited rail travel within the Greater Manchester area, that's the one I'd go for - £95 cheaper than the normal season ticket between my local station and Piccadilly (restricted to that one route) and and £170 cheaper than the system one that includes the bus. I'd never get £170 worth of use out of the bus.