STUDENTS across the North of England have until Friday to get 50 per cent off the cost of their commute to school with Northern.

The train operator hopes the discount, via its Under 16 Education Season Ticket scheme, will convince children and their parents or guardians to convert their school run from road to rail.

The offer is valid for the entire academic year and is available on all routes.

For more information and details of how to buy a ticket, visit: northernrailway.co.uk/tickets/educational-season.

Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “As well as providing a significant saving on the cost of the school commute, U16 Education Season Tickets can be used at weekends and bank holidays too – not just the 195 days a year that schools are open.

“We have a long-running campaign to encourage people to convert from road to rail – and if we can get young people in the habit while they’re at school, we hope they will stick with it when they move into further education or the workplace.”

Northern announced that tickets for the new school year had gone on sale back in August.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with nearly 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.