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Millennials face a long wait online as next batch of 26-30 railcards go on sale nationwide

Millennials are facing long waits to get their hands on the next batch of 26-30 railcards, which were launched this afternoon.

The 26-30 railcard, which costs £30 for a year, went on sale at midday. It offers one third off most rail fares for more than 4m people across the UK, meaning railcard holders will save themselves an average of £125 a year when they travel by train.

The rail discount card was first promised by the chancellor in his Budget in 2017.

It was originally piloted in East Anglia in December 2017 before the the trial was extended nationwide on 13 March.

However, many customers were unable to claim the prize as only limited batches were available.

This afternoon many took to Twitter to vent frustration at the long wait:

The railcard roll-out comes as rail fares increased by an average of 3.1 per cent today despite commuters suffering a year of travel chaos in 2018.

The 3.1 per cent hike, announced in November, is meant to deliver key rail infrastructure upgrades, but followed calls for a price freeze following widespread poor service last year blamed on signal failures, bad weather and management issues.

“Rail fares are going up in January after a year blighted by timetable chaos, poor performance and strikes,” said Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus.

“Until day-to-day reliability returns, with fewer significant delays and cancellations, passenger trust won’t begin to recover.”

Currently rail fares are based on the retail price index, which rose 3.2 per cent last year, and the latest fare surge has increased calls for ticket prices to be based on the consumer price index, which generally grows at a slower rate.

The 26-30 railcard will be available to buy at www.26-30railcard.co.uk and can be downloaded to the Railcard app on a smartphone.