The Christmas travel tips you need to know to make your journey more bearable… including the train stations to avoid and when to book your ticket
THE Christmas party is over, all presents are bought, and you've eaten enough mince pies to feed an army - this means it is time to head home for Christmas.
However, buying expensive train tickets and dealing with the crowds is often the worst part of the season, sapping any Christmas spirit out of travellers.
It's not much better on the roads either, with 22 per cent of Brits leaving the car at home to avoid Christmas traffic jam stress.
So from ways to avoid peak hours to slashing the cost of your ticket by a third - here are our top train travel tips for the Christmas period.
Book ahead
Most people know that if you book early, you can get cheaper train tickets - in fact booking up to 12 weeks in advance gets you the very best bargains.
However, booking in 'advance', doesn't mean you have to book THAT far in advance - one day is enough to bag yourself a serious discount.
Someone who books at least the night before, rather than on the day, saves an average 43 per cent.
The nation unwrapped £21.8 million in savings by booking early last year.
Get a rail discount card
Railcards aren't just for students and can cut a third off your train travel costs.
If you haven't got one, and you are entitled there's still time.
These are available for anyone under 26, over 60, disabled or with a family, and cost around £30. A two-Together railcard will also save you and a friend or partner a third off your journey.
Railcards apply to all UK Standard and First Class anytime, Off-Peak and Advanced fares and the card generally pays for itself after two journeys.
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Avoid busy times
Crowds at train stations are as bad as they are going to ever be in the days running up to Christmas - so if you can plan your travel around them, you'll save yourself a lot of stress.
Saturday December 17 is set to be the busiest day for travel and Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston the most popular route on the day.
Find the elusive free seat on the train
No chance of bagging a seat for your journey? You never know - especially if you have some snazzy tech keeping an eye out for you.
Seat hunters need to download the , and find the section called BusyBot which reveals the quietest parts of the train so you can head for the empty seats and have the best chance of travelling in comfort.
Split your ticket
One simple change in how you book your tickets could save you a lot of money on fares over the Christmas period.
Ticket splitting involves buying different tickets for different stretches of your journey on the same train and disproves the common sense idea that the longer your journey is, the better the rate you get on your mileage.
It doesn't have to be a faff either, with numerous websites offering free tools that can make your train journey as cheap as possible, including and .
Avoid busy stations
Manchester Piccadilly, London Euston and Birmingham New Street are tipped to be the busiest in the top 10 originating and destination stations, so if possible try to avoid them if you want a relaxing journey home.
It's worth downloading an app that can give you real time journey updates and delay information.
is perfect for UK rail users and commuters, as travellers can locate trains, platforms and delays instantly.
Even better, you can track Twitter updates from your railway network and keep friends and families informed of your location via text/email/Facebook/Twitter, all within the app.
Don't forget - there are a lot of strikes planned over the Christmas period, so make sure you are up to date.
Avoid automated ticket machines
Always avoid the automated ticket machines - not only do they offer you the most expensive tickets, but the queues for them are unbearable during with the Christmas crowds.
About 61 per cent of Christmas travel this year is via mobile-ticket enabled routes, so ditch the tangerine tickets and join the tech-set.
Mobile tickets in the are downloadable straight to your phone, so you can avoid the collection queues and get yourself a festive hot chocolate at the station instead.
Also, most in-station ticket machines do not advertise discounted or group tickets, and can therefore work out a lot more expensive, compared to buying in advance, over the counter or online the night before.
Banish baggage blues
It's tough to pack light for Christmas anyway, especially with presents in tow. So if you have yet to buy Christmas presents, get them delivered to your final destination - rather than try to pack them onto a busy train - and avoid the battle for luggage rack space.