GWR pay-as-you-go smartcard: it works!
22 November 2023

In early November, GWR (Great Western Railway) announced the launch of a tap on/tap off smart card for purchasing tickets on the railway, initially covering Penzance to Par (and the branch lines to Falmouth and St Ives) with a start date of 15 November.

I thought that I should take a look at it and see how it worked in practice. I applied for a smartcard and I received it by post within a couple of days. I then went online to link my Devon and Cornwall railcard to the pay-as-you-go card. This railcard costs £12 per year and provides one third off all fares in Devon and Cornwall. See below a screenshot of linking the railcard to the pay-as-you-go card. It took a few days from completing this form online before the linking of the two cards was confirmed.

On 21 November, I took a short journey from St Austell to Truro and back tapping on and off for each journey. The following day, I logged on to my account to see what I had been charged and was pleased to see that not only had the system correctly recorded it as a return journey and charged me for an off peak return, but it had also applied the D&C railcard one-third discount. The net result was that I was charged just £4.85 for the return journey, see screenshot below.

My advice to anyone who uses the trains in Cornwall at least a few times a year, and does not have a season ticket, is to sign up for the pay-as-you-go card and for the D&C railcard. Together, they are excellent value for money and very convenient to use.