Martin Lewis has revealed the best time to book your Christmas train tickets

9 October 2019, 18:04 | Updated: 1 November 2019, 07:18

We're sorry to say the C word but Christmas really isn't too far away now...

It's just over two months away therefore it's just about acceptable to start talking about and planning Christmas-related things, one of which is the train ticket home!

Martin 'Money' Lewis, who is the founder of Money Saving Expert, has revealed when those planning to travel home for the celebrations should book their train tickets, to make sure they grab the best prices.

Rail companies tend to launch cheaper advance deals for the festive period, and this isn't until 10 to 12 weeks ahead, meaning you're likely to get a better deal by being organised.

In his latest newletter, Martin emphasised that "this is the key moment for Christmas tickets" and that at the moment, 17 out of the 30 main rail firms have released their advance fares from now up until the start of the Christmas period.

Some of the rail companies, including Great Western Railway and Northern Rail are already selling tickets for journeys for the end of December, so it's worth jumping on them to ensure you get the right deals.

For example, if you compare some of the already available tickets for Christmas, to the on-the-day prices it'll save you a tonne.

The Sun found that a single off-peak ticket from London to Liverpool cost £88.60 if you buy it on the day through the Trainline.com but just £12 to travel on December 12.

Money Saving Expert has also put together a guide explaining the Christmas deals, showing when rail companies are selling tickets up until and when more advance tickets are likely to be released.

The table will be updated regularly as more information is released.

Martin wrote: "Even Mr Spock couldn't work out the UK train ticket system's logic. It's confusing, opaque and often means many overpay."