Railway Fare Calculator

Work out railway fare instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Railway Fare Calculator

Distance-based rail fares are the base rate times distance, adjusted for class and any railcard discount. Most real fare tables taper with distance rather than staying linear, so long journeys work out cheaper per kilometre than this simple model suggests.

Formula

Rail fare

fare = distance x rate per km x class multiplier x (1 - railcard discount)

Worked example

With the default values below, Railway Fare Calculator returns Fare payable of $35.48. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Journey distance: 240 km
Base rate per kilometre: 0.14
Class multiplier: 1.6 x
Railcard discount: 34 %

Results

Fare payable: $35.48
Base standard class fare: $33.60
Railcard saving: $18.28
Effective fare per kilometre: $0.1478

Step by step

1Values used
2Rail fare
3Fare payable= 35.48
4Base standard class fare= 33.60
5Railcard saving= 18.28
6Effective fare per kilometre= 0.1478

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do fares taper with distance?

Because a large part of the cost is per journey rather than per kilometre — station access, booking and terminal costs — so it is spread over more kilometres on a long trip.

Is splitting tickets cheaper?

Often, where fare tables are inconsistent between adjoining segments. It is legal provided the train calls at the split point.