London Northwestern Railway (LNR) is celebrating World Car Free Day (22 September) by encouraging motorists to leave the car at home and try the train – with 50% off advance return fares across its network.
For today only, the operator has released 10,000 promotional codes that unlock half-price tickets, valid for journeys up to 22 October 2025. The offer covers LNR’s routes from Liverpool and Birmingham through the West Midlands to London Euston.
The initiative is designed to highlight the environmental benefits of rail travel. According to National Rail’s carbon calculator, a Birmingham–London journey by train produces around 4.06kg of CO₂e, compared with 20.23kg CO₂e by car – a reduction of about 80%.
Despite this, there are more than 41 million cars on UK roads, and LNR is urging drivers to swap at least one car journey for a train trip using the discounted tickets.
LNR’s customer experience director Jonny Wiseman said:
“World Car Free Day encourages motorists to take a break from the car for one day a year to demonstrate what a world without traffic and air pollution might look like.
We want drivers to go one step further and commit to swapping a car journey for a trip on the train in the next month, so we’re giving away thousands of 50% off promo codes to anyone who makes the pledge.”
This year marks the 25th anniversary of World Car Free Day, launched by the European Commission in 2000 as part of a continent-wide campaign to reduce congestion and promote sustainable transport.
With a limited allocation of discount codes, LNR advises motorists to act quickly to secure their half-price tickets at www.lnr.uk/sale.
