WITH commuters in Wales facing an increase in rail fares, TV money saving expert Martin Lewis has offered their his top tips for making savings.

Fares in England and Wales are set to rise by 1.6 per cent, despite people being encouraged to get back to work.

However, there are still savings to be made.

Mr Lewis, founder of moneysavingexpert.com gave his top tips to help resist rising rail costs.

"Check if you can use a railcard on your commute. We found some could save hundreds of pounds by using their railcard on daily tickets rather than a season ticket. Most railcards cost £30 a year (£20 for disabled persons) and get the holder a third off many fares," he said.

"Split your ticket. Imagine you're travelling from London to Sheffield. If the train stops at Derby, check whether it's cheaper to buy a ticket from London to Derby and a second ticket from Derby to Sheffield.

"It's perfectly legal as long as the train stops at the intermediate station. Use a free split ticketing tool to find out if you can get a cheaper walk-on single fare by breaking down your journey."

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Mr Lewis also recommended buying in advance, with train companies releasing tickets 12 weeks ahead of the journey, as well as checking if two singles are cheaper than a return ticket.

"It may not always be the case," he said. "But it is worth a try.

"Look for hidden promos. Lots of train companies have hidden promotions buried on their websites – which you won't find if you're going through a ticket booking website."

For more advice on how to save money on rail tickets, visit Money Saving Expert's cheap train tickets guide.

The cap on the annual rise in most regulated fares is linked to the previous July’s Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation, which was announced by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.

Rail fares are usually increased every January, although it is understood ministers are considering delaying the 2021 rise due to low passenger numbers.

The UK, Scottish and Welsh governments regulate rises for around half of fares, including season tickets on most commuter routes, some off-peak return tickets on long-distance journeys, and tickets for travel around major cities at any time.

Industry body the Rail Delivery Group said it is working with the Government to offer flexible season tickets and wants regulations to be updated “so that we can build an easier-to-use, better-value fares system”.