- new railcard, available from Armistice Day this year, will
help boost veterans’ job prospects and strengthen family bonds
through cheaper travel
- over 830,000 eligible for a third off their fares, saving
veterans and their families hundreds of pounds a year
- discount forms part of government’s new veterans strategy to
support former servicemen and women
Military veterans will get cut-price train travel to help boost
job prospects and bring them closer to family and friends, with a
new railcard on sale from Armistice Day, Transport Secretary
announced today (22
January 2020).
Available from Armistice Day this year, the railcard will extend
discounted train travel to the more than 830,000 veterans not
covered by existing discounts.
Joined by veterans at St Pancras railway station, the Transport
Secretary and the Minister for the Cabinet Office underlined the
government’s commitment to supporting former service personnel
and recognised their service to the country.
Transport Secretary said:
Every part of society should honour the debt we owe those
who’ve served our country. I’m proud that the Department for
Transport, together with other government colleagues and the
rail industry, is doing its bit.
This railcard will help open up opportunities to veterans,
whether through employment and retraining, or by strengthening
links with friends and family. I believe that enabling former
service personnel to travel more easily is the least we can do.
The money-saving announcement, delivering on a manifesto
commitment, forms part of the government’s veterans strategy.
This action plan, which is also being launched today, outlines
what government is doing to deliver more for our veterans and
sets out holistic support for those who served, in areas
including community and relationships, employment and skills,
health and wellbeing, finance and debt, housing, and contact with
the law.
The strategy will be coordinated by the
recently-established Office for Veterans
Affairs.
Cabinet Office Minister , who represents the
Office for Veterans Affairs (OVA) in Cabinet said:
The Office for Veterans’ Affairs was set up to get things done
for our veterans. I am pleased to see that
the OVA is
already able to show it is achieving just this, working with
the Department for Transport to deliver this railcard.
Our new action plan will help to make the UK the best place in
the world for veterans. The Office for Veterans’ Affairs will
drive the plan from the heart of government, working to help
veterans on jobs, housing and health, through better data and a
more joined up approach.
Minister for Defence People and Veterans said:
Discounted train travel is a fantastic way to recognise those
who have served this country, and the speed at which plans have
been worked up shows how seriously we are taking our
commitments to make the UK the best country in the world to be
a veteran.
The railcard is only the start though, and I’m clear we need to
do more to look after the people who so selflessly put their
lives on the line to look after us.
Now the action plan has been published, I look forward to
continuing to drive forward this issue across government and
the services we offer.
Today, the government is also releasing its response for the
consultation into the veterans strategy, which includes an action
plan on how the Office for Veterans’ Affairs will coordinate
departments to help veterans over the next 2 years.
Public responses to the consultation underlined the need for a
more coordinated approach to veterans support. Other key findings
include a call to promote a positive perception of veterans and a
need to increase awareness of the support already offered from
across central and local government.
