Travelling with GWR

If you are travelling on an IET, you will need to store your bike vertically on a hook in the dedicated bike compartment. If your bike is electric, we advise that you remove the battery when travelling to deter theft.

Find out more about travelling with a bike and how to reserve a space.

Our services carry complimentary Wi-Fi. Search for ‘GWR WiFi’ and select connect to get online.

We do our best, but the Wi-Fi signal can be intermittent (for example when going through tunnels) and data speeds may vary across the route and depending on the number of customers using it.

We want everyone travelling with us to have an easy and comfortable journey – including our older customers and people with a disability. If you need support getting on and off the train, navigating the station or planning your journey, we're more than happy to help.

We can provide the following assistance:

• getting on and off the train
• transfering between services
• help with luggage
• assistance to onward travel
• assistance in and around the station

We ask that this is booked at least 2 hours before you travel by calling our Passenger Assist team on 0800 197 1329 or by using our online form.

If you aren't able to give us any notice of your journey, we will do our best to support you. This might take longer as our staff may not be freely available to help when you need them.

We always do our best to accommodate all your luggage, but you should not bring more luggage onto the train than you can carry. If the train is busy, or loading your luggage could cause delays, injury, or inconvenience, we won’t be able to take it. We also won’t take unaccompanied luggage or anything that we think might be dangerous.

Find out more about luggage allowances on our trains and what you can't bring.

Smoking is not permitted inside any of our stations, or on our platforms and trains. As well as cigarettes, we don't allow e-cigarettes, vaping devices, or any other smoking devices either.

If you're not sure about where you can smoke, please speak to a member of staff. They may be able to point you in the direction of the nearest designated smoking area.

All GWR train services can carry manual or powered wheelchairs up to the following dimensional and weight limitations:

• Width 700 millimetres
• Length (including footplates) 1200 millimetres
• Weight (including passenger) 300 kilograms

We recommend that you book a space by contacting our Passenger Assist team at least 2 hours before you wish to travel. We can also provide you with any additional help you may need for example with your luggage, or changing trains.

Find out more about Passenger Assist and book assistance here.

If you have a mobility scooter, we’re happy for you to bring it with you on certain trains, as long as you have a permit. The only exceptions are scooters which are more than 120cm long or 70cm wide and/or if the combined weight of you and the scooter exceeds 300kg.

You can find out more about travelling with a mobility scooter and apply for a permit by downloading our Mobility Scooter Policy (PDF, 997 KB).

You won’t need a permit if your mobility scooter can be folded down, so it is no bigger than an average large suitcase; that way it can go in the luggage rack.

Find out about our Passenger Assist service and book assistance here.

From 21 May, 2023, customers will no longer be able to bring e-Scooters onto GWR trains or stations.

This follows a number of incidents on the UK rail and tube network where lithium-ion batteries in e-Scooters have been associated with severe overheating, increasing the risk of fire.

If unchecked, this carries particular risks in enclosed spaces on board trains.

Unlike other personal mobility devices such as e-bikes or mobility scooters, e-Scooters are not currently regulated, and are not required to meet minimum safety standards for vehicles.

Customers bringing e-Scooters onto GWR trains or stations will be asked to leave. Unattended e-Scooters will be treated as abandoned and will be safely disposed of.

Our policy for mobility scooters is different. 

We always ask our customers to give up priority seats for people who need them more, but it’s not always obvious why someone needs a seat.

If you’re disabled, pregnant, 65 or over, or travelling with a child under 3, and you need to sit down when you travel, you are eligible for a Priority Seat Card. That way, when you ask someone for their seat, you can show your card without having to explain anything.

To see if you can get a card, call our Passenger Assist team on 0800 197 1329 or download an application form (PDF, 149 KB).

There are clearly labelled priority seats on all our trains, usually near the doors.

If you’d like to travel with your pet, we’re happy for you to do so. Please keep dogs on a lead.

Other small domestic animals must always travel in a fully enclosed carrier that does not exceed 85 x 60 x 60 cm.

You can take up to two animals free of charge. You’ll also need to keep them off the seats and make sure they aren’t taking up space that other customers could use.

Surfboards can be carried in the Guards Van on our Night Riviera Sleeper service. On local stopping services surfboards are permitted if the train is not busy, or loading your luggage will not cause delays, injury, or inconvenience.

We are not able to carry surfboards on any Intercity Express Trains (in any circumstances).

Every night at the depot, the whole interiors of our trains are cleaned – Tables wiped, floors hoovered and mopped, windows cleaned, bins emptied, and regular touch points sanitised.

We regularly have a periodic heavy clean which is more thorough and includes the carpets and seats, and the exterior of our trains, including the windows. We also deliver in transit and turnaround cleaning throughout the day on all our services where practicable.

All the waste from our trains are cleared at the end of the day and hand sorted. All recyclable materials are recycled, and food waste is either composted or turned into energy.

All the waste from our trains are cleared at the end of the day and hand sorted. All recyclable materials are recycled, and food waste is either composted or turned into energy.

You can find out more by watching this video.

• dogs must have a suitable lead and any other pets will need to travel in a rigid carrier
• your pet(s) must stay on the floor of your cabin and not sleep on the beds
• only recognised assistance dogs are allowed in our on-board lounge
• pets should not be exercised in corridors or aisles

Customers travelling from one of our main stations or from most GWR managed stations in Cornwall can enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi access in waiting areas and on platforms.

How to connect:

1. Search for ‘GWR Free Station WiFi’ and select connect
2. Open your device's internet browser; our Wi-Fi registration page should load automatically
3. Follow the instructions on screen to activate complimentary Wi-Fi access

Find out more about Wi-Fi at stations.

We’ll explain our range of ticket and fare options, and help you find the best one for your journey. We can also help you plan a journey and give timetable information.

You can use cash and most credit and debit cards, and valid Rail Travel Vouchers to pay – each office displays a list of the payment cards it accepts in the window.

You’ll find the opening hours of our ticket offices here or displayed at our stations, along with details of how to buy tickets if the office is closed.

At a ticket machine, you can buy a wide range of tickets available for immediate use. You can also pick up tickets you have booked online or over the phone. Most of our stations have them, and they take cash and/or most credit and debit cards. Sometimes we limit what tickets are available. For example, you can't buy an off-peak ticket from a ticket machine at peak time.

You can check whether your local station has a ticket machine here or by calling National Rail Enquiries on 03457 48 49 50.

Opening hours

Find out more about our First Class lounges here.

Opening hours:

Monday to Friday: 06:30–18:30
Saturday: 09:00–16:00
Sunday: 10:00–16:00
Public holiday: Closed

Find out more about our First Class lounges here.

Night Riviera Sleeper passengers travelling to London Paddington can use our exclusive lounges at Penzance and Truro, which are open an hour before departure. They are also available for use by passengers arriving on the Sleeper. Passengers travelling from Paddington can use the First Class lounge from 21:00.

There are normally baby changing facilities at our stations with accessible toilets. 

The easiest way to check if a station has baby changing facilities is by visiting our stations and routes page. Enter the name of the station and check ‘Baby Changing facilities’ under Station details.

Smoking is not permitted inside any of our stations, or on our platforms and trains. As well as cigarettes, we don't allow e-cigarettes, vaping devices, or any other smoking devices.

If you're not sure about where you can smoke, please speak to a member of staff. They may be able to point you in the direction of the nearest designated smoking area.

• in the booking section of your online account
• by calling us on 03457 000 125
• by visiting a ticket office

If you need assistance with this please message us on Twitter @GWRhelp, or on Facebook Messenger @GWRUK.

If you have a season ticket, you can make reservations for your regular trains by sending details of your services, seat preferences, the duration of time you’d like the seat reserved for, and your photocard number to gwrreservations@gwr.com.

Find out more about seat reservations.

You can reserve a bike space at any time before your train arrives. You should do this as early as you can. Storage is limited and bikes can't be kept in the areas by the doors.

Reservations for bikes are mandatory on all our Intercity Express Trains and you must have evidence of your reservation with you when you travel.

You can reserve a space when you buy your ticket. If you already have a ticket and want to add a reservation, then you can do it:

• in the booking section of your online account
• by calling us on 03457 000 125
• by visiting a ticket office

You can plan your journey and buy tickets at any time on our website.

You can also get information about trains and journey times from National Rail Enquiries via 03457 48 49 50 (phone) or 0345 60 50 600 (textphone), and they’re available 24 hours a day.

Plan and book your travel with GWR for a hassle-free journey to airports across the region.

We are currently running amended train services across the network.

We may sometimes have to change our timetables so please check your journey details as close as possible to your date of travel.

Find a summary of planned improvement work taking place across our network and check your journey here.

If you’re changing trains and the service you are on is running late, your next train may not be able to wait. That’s because we don’t want to make the customers already on that train run late as well. There may be occasions when we can wait – for example, if your connecting train is the last one of the day. If not, your ticket will be valid for the next available service.

Please check our timetables to see how much time you’ll need to change trains before you book your tickets, and it is always sensible to allow a reasonable amount of time to catch your onward connection.

• on and off the train
• transfer between services
• help with luggage
• assistance to onward travel
• assistance in and around the station