Exploring Cornwall has never been easier than with the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) GWR touch smartcard.
You can now effortlessly tap in and out in a new travel area in West Cornwall*.
Keep your tickets, payments and Railcards in one place, and never worry about paper tickets again.
And with access to new Anytime Day Single fares and guaranteed best price on same-day travel**, you’ll get the best value.
Limited time offer: For the entire month of March, you’ll get 10% off every journey when you travel using pay-as-you-go. If you are an existing Pay-as-you-go customer no need to do anything – just tap in, tap out, and save automatically. If you are new to Pay-as-you-go, click the link below to take advantage of the offer.
So, whether you’re visiting St Michael’s Mount, exploring the Eden Project, or anywhere in between, get there with pay-as-you-go.
Pay-as-you-go is also available in Bristol but please be aware that you cannot use pay-as-you-go to travel between Bristol and Cornwall. For more information, see our pay-as-you-go FAQs.
Order your pay-as-you-go smartcard
How to get pay-as-you-go if you don't have a GWR account
Choose if you want to order a new smartcard or add pay-as-you-go to an existing smartcard from the dropdown menu
Enter your details and submit your form
You will receive your pay-as-you-go smartcard within five working days
If you added pay-as-you-go to an existing smartcard, you will normally be able to use pay-as-you-go within two hours
How to get pay-as-you-go if you already use a Flexi Season ticket on your GWR smartcard
If you use a Flexi Season ticket on a GWR smartcard, we recommend ordering a new smartcard for pay-as-you-go journeys.
Get inspired and see where you can go with pay-as-you-go
Discover Cornwall’s cultural heritage
Cornwall is full of surprises. Whether you’re a history buff exploring Cornwall’s mining heritage at Geevor Tin Mine Museum – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – or a creative soul visiting Tate St Ives, Cornwall has something for everyone.
Visit incredible attractions
There’s always something to see and do in Cornwall, all-year round. There’s the iconic castle and gardens at St Michael’s Mount, eco-friendly adventure at Eden Project, and a sense of drama at the iconic Minack Theatre. Wherever you are, there’s a great day waiting for you.
Explore this breathtaking county
Of course, Cornwall is known for its stunning beauty. Whether you’re discovering Celtic crosses as you ramble through the countryside, or taking in the view from its clifftops, you’re never far from something that will leave you speechless.
Frequently asked questions about pay-as-you-go
Here are some of the key things you need to know about pay-as-you-go in the Cornwall area. For more information, visit our full FAQs on our main pay-as-you-go page.
Pay-as-you-go with the GWR touch smartcard lets you save time and breeze through the station without ever needing to purchase a ticket.
By securely adding your bank details to your smartcard, all you need to do is tap in and out when you travel, giving you the best available fare on the day.
You can also load single, return, and season tickets (excluding Flexi Season Tickets) on your smartcard, alongside pay-as-you-go. If you use a Flexi Season ticket, we recommend you use separate smartcards if you want to use this and pay-as-you-go.
To set up pay-as-you-go, follow these instructions:
How to get pay-as-you-go if you don't have a GWR account
Choose if you want to order a new smartcard or add pay-as-you-go to an existing smartcard from the dropdown menu
Enter your details and submit your form
You will receive your pay-as-you-go smartcard within five working days
If you added pay-as-you-go to an existing smartcard, you will normally be able to use pay-as-you-go within two hours
Your pay-as-you-go account will be associated with a credit or debit card for automatic payments to be taken through a continuous payment authority.
Add your Railcard to your online account and we will discount your pay-as-you-go journeys automatically.
Plans to extend to the rest of Cornwall through to Plymouth were included in Cornwall Council’s successful bid to the Government’s Levelling Up programme for the Mid Cornwall Metro and will follow as part of that programme.
If you have any of the following Railcards, you can have your pay-as-you-go journeys discounted:
Devon and Cornwall Railcard
16-17 Saver
16-25 Railcard
26-30 Railcard
Senior Railcard
HM Forces Railcard
Disabled Persons Railcard
Discount only applicable to the Railcard holder. An accompanying passenger must purchase a ticket separately, covering the same journey as the card holder.
Go to 'Manage Your Railcard' in the left-hand menu
Enter the details of the Railcard you want to add to your pay-as-you-go account
Select your pay-as-you-go card in the 'Smartcard' dropdown menu
Submit your Railcard
The Railcard must belong to the account holder. We will verify the information and approve or reject the application within five working days.
If approved, your pay-as-you-go journeys will be discounted from the date of approval. You can see the status of your application at the bottom of the page on the 'Manage Your Railcard' screen.
You can also visit a ticket office and upload your Railcard immediately.
Don’t forget to always carry your Railcard with you.
You’ll need to tap in or out on the yellow card readers on ticket gates or at the platform when you travel.
If you’re stopping somewhere to enjoy one of our great destinations, you can break your journey up, but remember to tap out and back in again when you resume your journey.
It’s important to remember to tap in and out. But, if you don’t, we’ll notify you by email to let you know you had an incomplete journey. You can then confirm your journey in your online account. If you don’t do this, you’ll be charged an incomplete journey fee of £20 when using pay-as-you-go in Cornwall.
We will try to enter your journey details for you based on your regular travel patterns. If this information is wrong, you can easily edit the journey in your online account. To edit your journey details:
You will see a notification for any incomplete journeys with a link to edit them
You can also change the date range to include the affected journey
Select the red ‘Amend Journey’ button
Select ‘Provide Correction’
Enter the missing origin or destination and correct date and time of travel
Select the reason for the error from the dropdown menu
Click ‘Confirm’
An icon will appear next to the journey to indicate you have updated the details
You can confirm four journeys online in a 28-day period. If you exceed this, you will need to contact our Customer Services team to confirm any further changes during this 28-day period.
Yes, you can. At the end of the day, we’ll use the taps you made to see your complete journey. For example, if you travelled from Penzance to Truro, then later in the day travelled to Falmouth Docks, you would be charged a Penzance to Falmouth Docks Single ticket.
At the end of a day, we analyse all your entry and exit taps and apply the most appropriate fare for the journeys you made.
The fare will be based on the ticket types available on the day and the time you travelled on our services. We will then charge you the best value same-day and flexible fares, as available on GWR.com on the day of travel.
We also offer a new range of Anytime Day Single when using pay-as-you-go. These are available on most journeys and are generally half the price of the Anytime Day return fare.
Weekly Season ticket price capping is also applied to journeys if you are travelling regularly between two stations over a fixed Monday to Sunday 7-day week. This means that you will not be charged more than the cost of a Weekly Season ticket, ensuring you get the best value ticket that is available for your journeys.
Advance Single tickets are not included in the pay-as-you-go scheme. In some cases, it may be cheaper to buy Advance Single tickets for your journey.
If we're unable to take payment from the card details you provided, you'll receive an automated email from us to let you know that the payment has failed.
Please ensure you have sufficient funds in your account and your card details are kept up to date. If not, we may close your pay-as-you-go account.
If your journey with GWR is delayed by 15 minutes or more, you can claim compensation under our Delay Repay scheme.
If your journey with CrossCountry is delayed by 30 minutes or more, you can claim compensation under CrossCountry’s Delay Repay scheme.
The GWR touch smartcard means you can get Automated Delay Repay notifications when travelling with pay-as-you-go. In most cases, we can tell when you have been delayed and let you know you’re entitled to compensation.
If you travelled with GWR and were delayed, your Automatic Delay Repay notification email will contain a link for you to confirm your claim.
If you do not tap in or out, or have to amend your pay-as-you-go journey details, we will not be able to send you an automated notification. However, you can still make a manual Delay Repay claim.
All pay-as-you-go smartcards need to be linked to a GWR account. However, only one pay-as-you-go smartcard can be linked per GWR account.
This means that if, for example, you have an existing GWR account and would like to add pay-as-you-go for your child, you can do this without re-registering.
However, if you already have a pay-as-you-go smartcard linked to your GWR account and would like to add pay-as-you-go for your child, you will need to create a separate GWR account using a different email address.
You can use the same payment authority for both yours and your child's GWR account.
If you don't have a GWR account or need to re-register for your child
*Pay-as-you-go is currently available in a large travel area in West Cornwall. To find out what stations are included, download our travel map.
**Get the best value on same-day fares for the day of travel, plus Weekly Season ticket price capping applied to end-to-end journeys between two stations over a Monday to Sunday 7-day week. Excludes Advance Single tickets. For more details, see our FAQs on pricing, fares and payment details.
