From 13 August charities will be able to benefit from 20% discounts on Advance fares for use over the Virgin Trains network.

Charities which receive 10% or more of their income from voluntary sources can register for the new Virgin Trains Charityline by visiting thetrainline.com. Representatives travelling on the charity ‘s business will then be able to receive a 20% discount on the full range of Advance tickets sold by Virgin Trains for use solely on its network.

Virgin Trains is the only train operator to offer specific discounts for charities.

These new discounts replace the previous system operated by Virgin Trains for ten years, which allowed representatives of charities to travel on peak trains using Off-Peak tickets.

Virgin Trains CharityLine

Registration for the Virgin Trains CharityLine is through http://www.thetrainline.com/. Simply click on the ‘Business’ tab, then follow the instructions to ‘create a business account for my company’, making sure to select ‘charity’ when selecting business type.

To register, charities will be required to confirm that they receive a minimum of 10% of their income from voluntary sources. If their income was over £500k in their last accounting year they will be required to provide a link to the relevant Charity Commission webpage confirming this to be true.

Once set up, the account will also enable charities to monitor journeys made and download management information. The new system allows booking up to 2359 the day before travel rather than requiring seven days notice for the issue of tickets.

Advance tickets are available on all but a few of the busiest Virgin Trains. They are for use on the chosen train only. Their price varies according to the time of day and day of the week. The 20% discount applies to all Advance tickets. Booking early and travelling off-peak maximises the chances of getting the best value fares.

Passengers using the Virgin Trains CharityLine scheme must carry charity photo ID or a letter of authorisation on headed paper confirming they are travelling on the charitys’s business.

Bookings under the existing system will end on 20 August, although all tickets issued up and including this date will be honoured.