The new 26-30 railcards have saved millennials over £3.4m since they launched in January

Cash-strapped millennials have saved over £3.4m since the hotly anticipated 26-30 railcard launched at the beginning of this year.

Between 2 January and 2 February this year, 440,863 journeys were made with the railcard, producing savings of £3,421,028. If this  trajectory continues, customers will save on average a total of £281 a year. 

The 26-30 railcard, which costs £30 a year and saves a third of off-peak and advance tickets, went on sale at midday on 2 January. They were instantly popular with millennials, with two railcards being sold per second and over 100,000 in the first two weeks. 

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the rail industry, said millennials have so far travelled 29, 717, 793 miles with their new railcards – the equivalent of 62 times to the moon and back. An average of 13,777 journeys are made per day with the railcard.

Read more: Millennials face long wait online for next batch of 26-30 railcards

Jacqueline Starr, RDG managing director of customer experience, said: “We’re delighted that over 125,000 people have been able to save over £3.4m on their rail journeys since the 26-30 Railcard went on sale last month. It’s great to see that whilst the majority of 26-30 Railcard customers are based in London and the South East, the introduction of this new Railcard has given them the incentive to travel further afield, which in turn helps to boost local economies. The money people save on their rail journey means they’ll have more money to enjoy the places they are travelling to.”

The 26-30 railcard was first introduced by Philip Hammond in the 2017 Budget. 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 one as only limited batches were available.

The railcard is now widely available to those who meet the criteria.