Free train travel for veterans and serving personnel going to Remembrance events

Serving military personnel and veterans can travel free by train from Birmingham to Remembrance events this month, after rail operators in the region agreed to waive their fares.

The offer covers journeys to events in London this weekend, 31 October to 1 November, and again on 8 November, when the National Service of Remembrance takes place at the Cenotaph.

On Remembrance Sunday itself, 8 November, free return travel will also be available to services closer to home, including in Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton, and to the Royal British Legion's National Remembrance Gardens at Alrewas in Staffordshire.

Who can travel free

The offer is open to military personnel in uniform, or carrying a current Ministry of Defence identity card.

Veterans need to show a Veterans Railcard, Ministry of Defence-issued Veterans ID or other suitable proof of their status.

For the first time this year, free travel has also been extended to bereaved family members, who were asked to apply by 16 October to secure a ticket. Children and young people who have lost a parent serving in the British Armed Forces or the reserves are also eligible.

Anyone travelling on a named complimentary ticket is asked to carry it with photographic ID.

"Paying our respects"

Jonny Wiseman, customer experience and commercial director at the region's main local train operator, said it was "so important to pay our respects to those who served and those who continue to serve".

The Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, has said that extending free travel to bereaved next of kin means nobody is "priced out of paying their respects".

What is happening, and where

In London, the Submariners Association is holding its annual Remembrance wreath-laying on Saturday, followed by a parade on Sunday. The National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph follows on 8 November, alongside other events in the capital.

At the National Remembrance Gardens in Alrewas, a short journey from Birmingham, the annual Remembrance Sunday service will begin at the foot of the Armed Forces Memorial at 10:40am. The memorial records the names of service personnel who have died on duty since the end of the Second World War.

Across Birmingham, services and parades will be held at war memorials in the city centre and in neighbourhoods across the city, with the traditional two minutes' silence at 11am.

Plan ahead

Trains are likely to be busy on Remembrance Sunday, particularly on routes into London and to Alrewas, so anyone planning to travel is advised to check times in advance and allow extra time. The free travel offer applies only on the dates stated, and standard fares apply on other days.

For many veterans and families, getting to a service in person is an important part of the day. Removing the cost of the ticket makes that easier for those who served, and for those who lost someone who did.