Advance Tickets

Book early for the cheapest train fares.

By purchasing an Advance ticket, you’re able to choose the best time to travel at the lowest available fare.

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Advance tickets are released up to 12 weeks in advance. For Greater Anglia journeys, these are currently available up to Friday 31st May.

These tickets are first come, first served, so if you want to be notified when tickets are available for a particular date, sign up for alerts now.

Where are Advance tickets available?

Greater Anglia red hare looking at a calendar to plan when they'll book their Advance ticket.

Advance tickets are available on the following Greater Anglia routes:

  • London to Ipswich, Stowmarket, Diss and Norwich
  • London to branch lines in Norfolk and Suffolk, including the lines to Cromer and Sheringham, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds and Felixstowe
  • London to Colchester, and stations to Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze
  • London to Audley End and stations to Cambridge
  • London to Ely and stations to King's Lynn (Greater Anglia through trains - weekday peak times only)
  • London to Prittlewell and Southend Victoria (less busy times of day only)
  • Many other intermediate journeys.

Advance tickets are also available on many through journeys to other parts of the country.

Plan ahead for a great value day out

Why travel with Advance tickets?

  • Tickets are priced as single leg fares so you can choose the lowest available price for each leg of your journey (out and back)
  • You book to travel at your specified time
  • It’s cost effective with fares starting at £10 single between London and Norwich, £8 single between London and Cambridge and £6 single between London and Southend (depending on availability and time of travel)
  • Railcard and Child discounts apply to all Advance fares (see Railcard Discounts below for details on which Railcards are valid)
  • You can check out our First Class Advance fares on our London to Norwich intercity route- they are often cheaper than you might expect
  • Get the best deal - book well in advance and travel at off-peak times

Check details and book early as Advance tickets are subject to limited availability and may not be available on every train.

Advance tickets are available up to 12 weeks before the departure date of the train; however in some cases where services are affected by engineering work, they may be released a few weeks later than this.

You must travel on your booked service or the ticket will not be valid.

Onward travel

It’s possible to buy additional tickets for your onward travel. For travel around London, you can buy a One Day Travelcard or use an Oyster Card or contactless payment card. For full details please see the TfL website

With PlusBus you can add unlimited bus travel within your destination town. You can also buy a PlusBus ticket for the town where you are starting your journey. PlusBus is available in hundreds of towns and cities in the UK. For details see the PlusBus website

Railcard discounts

16-25, 26-30, Senior, Two Together, HM Forces, Veterans railcard and Disabled Persons Railcard holders can save 1/3 on First Class and Standard Advance tickets.

Family and Friends Railcard holders can save 1/3 on all Standard Advance tickets.

Greater Anglia Club 50 cardholders can save 20% (online) or 10% (at stations) on First Class and Standard Advance tickets.

Advance Purchase on the Day

On most Greater Anglia services where Advance tickets are available, you can now buy Advance tickets up to ten minutes before the departure of your chosen train. Advance Purchase on the day tickets cost less than the equivalent flexible Single ticket. Seat reservations are not provided, but, like pre-booked Advance tickets, travel must be on the specified train only. Advance Purchase on the Day tickets are available to buy on the Greater Anglia website and the GA App. You can choose to have your ticket delivered to your smartphone as a mobile ticket, or sent to you as a pdf e-ticket that you can either show on your phone or print out.

How to buy your Advance ticket

Buying online is the best way to get your ticket as you can get them on your phone, email and print them out if you want.

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Refunds

Advance tickets are non-refundable, unless for reasons such as a train cancellation or severe disruption. If you bought a ticket online with us, please email [email protected]