Pay as you go on GWR trains

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.
• Veteran's Railcard
• Jobcentre Plus Discount Card

Adding your Railcard

To add your Railcard to your account:

1. Sign in to your GWR account
2. Go to the Railcards section
3. Add your Railcard details
4. Navigate to the Pay As You Go section
5. Select your Railcard and apply it to Pay As You Go

If we can’t validate your Railcard

In some cases, we may be unable to automatically validate your Railcard based on how it was originally purchased. If this happens, please:

• Visit: https://www.railhelp.co.uk/gwr/websupport
• Complete the form
• Upload a clear photo of your Railcard

Please note:

• The Railcard must belong to the account holder
• We will review your submission and confirm approval or rejection within five working days

After approval

• Discounts will be applied to your Pay As You Go journeys from the date of approval
• You can check the status of your application at the bottom of the Manage Your Railcard page
• Don’t forget to always carry your Railcard with you.

You can also visit a ticket office and upload your Railcard immediately.

Your Great Western Railway ("GWR") Touch Smartcard ("GWR Touch Smartcard") and pay as you go ("GWR PAYG") account are issued subject to the following Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions set out your rights and obligations.

Your GWR Touch Smartcard is issued free of charge and remains the property of GWR.

We reserve the right to withdraw the Touch Smartcard or GWR PAYG account at any time.

The conditions of use for your GWR Touch Smartcard can be found here.

Any ticket that you buy and use for travel on a GWR Touch Smartcard is issued subject to the National Rail Conditions of Travel and Railway Byelaws. Tickets stored on a GWR Touch Smartcard are subject to normal refund rules in accordance with the National Rail Conditions of Travel (NRCoT).

Please note that railway staff or agents have no authority to make individual exceptions to the NRCoT, Railway Byelaws or any of the additional Terms and Conditions contained or referenced within this document.

GWR PAYG Terms and Conditions of use

24 February 2026

a) Registering for GWR's PAYG

1. You will need to register for GWR PAYG through your GWR account. GWR PAYG can either be loaded to an existing GWR Touch Smartcard or you can request a new one.
2. A valid debit or credit card must be associated with your account. You must also agree to a Continuous Payment Authority (CPA) via your payment card. A CPA is an agreement between you and us that authorises us to withdraw money from your account via your payment card for your travel without having to seek individual repeated consents from you.
   By using GWR PAYG on your GWR Touch Smartcard you are agreeing to these Terms and Conditions of use and providing consent for us to deduct automatic payment from your payment card using a CPA.
3. When you register for your GWR PAYG account you will need to pre-authorise your payment card.
4. You must keep your credit or debit card details up to date. The payment card associated with your account may be updated by you at any time. If your details are not up to date and failed payments occur, we will notify you by email to ask that you update your payment card details to enable payment to be taken successfully. If a payment fails, we may attempt to debit your payment card on more than one occasion following the failed payment. This may continue until such time as you have updated your payment card and/or payment has been taken successfully.
5. You must ensure there are sufficient funds available in your nominated payment card account to cover GWR PAYG charges payable to us. Your GWR PAYG account will be closed and legal action taken to recover any amounts owed following three consecutive failed payment requests.
6. If we are unable to recover the fare from your account because of insufficient funds or the account closure, then we will escalate this for further investigation which could result in your prosecution in the criminal and or civil courts. If we are unable to take payment from your nominated payment card and you continue to make journeys using GWR PAYG, you are still liable to pay any fares accrued and we may take steps to recover debts owed. Continued use of the PAYG facility where there are no funds in the account or the account has been closed will be escalated for further investigation, which could result in your prosecution in the criminal and or civil courts.
7. If you already have a GWR Touch Smartcard and you add GWR PAYG to it, you must activate it within 30 days at the station you nominate during GWR PAYG sign up, by touching your card on the yellow smartcard reader. If you do not, you will need to register again and repeat the activation process.
8. Your data is managed in accordance with our privacy policy. To see a copy visit https://www.gwr.com/privacy-policy.

b) GWR PAYG Payments

1. We will make a payment request to your associated payment card the day after you have travelled.
2. The payment amount will be calculated based on the tap-in and tap-out information received.
3. We will use the tap-in and tap-out information to calculate the best journey combinations and charge you the 'Best Day Fare' based on the Fares included in the scheme. Please see Fares for further details about the fares included within the scheme.

c) Using GWR PAYG

1. GWR PAYG can be used in either of the two GWR PAYG areas:
   1. in and around Bristol; and
   2. Cornwall
2. GWR PAYG can be used on Great Western Railway ("GWR"), CrossCountry ("XC") and Transport for Wales Rail ("TfWR") operated services (together the "Participating Operators") within the GWR PAYG individual network area(s).
3. You must always tap-in at the start and tap-out at the end of your journey by placing your GWR Touch Smartcard on the yellow smartcard reader at ticket gates or using a ticket validator installed at stations.
4. The act of tapping-in your GWR Touch Smartcard creates a contractual relationship between you and the relevant Participating Operator, whereby you agree to pay the 'Best Day Fare' and the relevant Participating Operator agrees to facilitate your travel for that particular journey. Tapping-out concludes your journey and the contractual relationship associated with it.
5. If you wish to make a journey that begins or ends outside of the GWR PAYG network area(s), you must either hold a valid ticket(s) for the entire journey, or you must tap-in/tap-out at the boundary station of the GWR PAYG network area and hold a valid ticket for the section of the journey outside of the GWR PAYG network area
6. Travel between PAYG scheme areas is not permitted.

d) Incomplete journeys

An incomplete journey occurs when:

• You do not tap-in at the start or tap-out at the end of your journey;
• You travel using GWR PAYG outside the GWR PAYG network area; and/or
• You exceed the 'same station exit' rules, as described in paragraph e)1.

1. If you do not tap-in or tap-out, no fare can be calculated. We will contact you via email to ask that you complete the journey via your account. You can do this by adding missing 'taps' to an incomplete journey/ You should do this as soon as possible following receipt of the email notifying you of an incomplete journey. You can take this action up to 3 times in a 28-day period after which time you will need to contact GWR customer services on https://www.railhelp.co.uk/gwr/websupport. You may be asked to provide a reason why you were not able to tap-in or tap-out on your journey. Please note that a total cap of 4 failures to tap-in or tap-out applies (in accordance with paragraph d)4 below), after which GWR shall be entitled to close your GWR PAYG account.
2. If you do not tap-in and/or tap-out when you travel and do not subsequently complete your journey as per paragraph d)1 (above), you may be charged an incomplete journey charge of:
   1. £45.00 per journey if incomplete journey begins or ends in the Bristol scheme Area
   2. £25.00 per journey if incomplete journey begins or ends in the Cornwall Scheme Area
3. Where possible, we will auto-complete incomplete journeys up to 3 times in a 28-day period based on your previous journey history, further failures to complete a journey may result in an incomplete journey charge. Please note that each auto-complete will count towards the total number of 3 times in a 28 day period that the missing 'taps' action can be taken in accordance with paragraph d)1(above). You will be notified of an auto-complete of any incomplete journeys by email the day after your journey.
4. Failure to tap-in or tap-out on 4 or more occasions may result in account closure.
5. Where an auto-complete is not possible, you will have until the Wednesday following the Monday to Sunday travel period (within which your incomplete journey was taken) to amend the incomplete journey in your account. After this time, your journey can no longer be amended and an incomplete journey charge will be applied and taken from the payment card associated with your account.
6. If there is a delay in tap data being received by our system, which can lead to your fare being incorrectly calculated or incomplete journey notifications sent, we will automatically amend your GWR PAYG charges as necessary, once the information is received.
7. Travel between the two scheme areas is not permitted.
8. If you 'tap in' in one scheme area and 'tap out' in the other, we will charge you the greater of either two incomplete fares for each of the Scheme Areas or a through Journey at Standard Anytime Single fare between your 'tap in' and 'tap out' location. If you are inspected outside the scheme area, conditions stated in h. Inspection apply

e) If you decide not to travel

1. If you decide not to travel, for example due to disruption or cancelled trains, after you have tapped-in at a station, you will need to tap-out again at the same station within 30 minutes (creating a 'same station exit'). If you tap in and then out again outside of this 30 minute window, you may be liable for an incomplete journey charge.

f) Fares for GWR PAYG

1. At the end of each day, all your journeys will be assessed to calculate the 'Best Day Fare' (see how we calculate the 'Best Day Fare' in paragraph 6(c) below). These journeys will then be debited from your account balance or charged to the registered payment card the day after travel.
2. You are liable to pay the relevant fares for all journeys taken using your GWR Touch Smartcard registered through your account to use GWR PAYG either via credit associated with your account or from your payment card using the CPA.
3. When a journey is made within the GWR PAYG network area, we will charge you the cheapest fare available for your particular day, and route, of travel and will use the taps you have made on your journey, and the journey length, to calculate the route you took. The 'Best Day Fare' offer is based on single traveller tickets that can be bought on your particular day of travel on GWR.com, and includes equivalent tickets defined as 'Anytime', 'Off-Peak', 'Singles', 'Returns', 'Weekly seasons' (as available on GWR.com). The offer also includes a Rail Only version of the 1-day and 7-day 'Freedom Travelpass (Bristol Area)' and 'Cornwall Ranger (Cornwall Area)'.
4. The fare calculation will take into account any tickets you may have used through your GWR Touch Smartcard,. We will continually review all of your travel undertaken during each Monday to Sunday travel period, and identify when an incremental charge to a weekly ticket can be charged instead of further daily tickets, in order to provide you with the best fare for that travel period. GWR offers a 'Best Day Fare' offer and will charge you the cheapest combination against the following fares:
   1. Standard Anytime (Single & Return)
   2. Standard Off-Peak (Single & Return)
   3. Freedom Travelpass (Bristol Area) (Rail Only)
   4. Cornwall Ranger (Cornwall Scheme area)
   5. Weekly Season Ticket
5. Where you take a journey that triggers a mix of zonal cap and onward travel fares, the zonal best value fare calculations will be based upon the outermost boundary point of the relevant zone(s) of travel. For example, Zonal fare caps are also calculated against each Monday to Sunday travel period and we will continually review your travel undertaken to determine if a weekly ticket can be charged instead of multiple daily tickets.
6. Fare routeing is derived using the time of tap-in, tap-out.
7. The following non-exhaustive list of fares are not included as part of 'Best Day Fare' offer and are not retailed as part of the GWR PAYG:
   1. Advance Purchase Tickets
   2. Flexi Season Tickets
   3. Monthly & Annual Season Tickets
   4. Rovers & Rangers (e.g. the Freedom of Severn & Solent) unless specifically mentioned in point 4 above.
8. Please note that First-Class travel is not available when using GWR PAYG. Should you wish to travel First-Class you will need to either purchase a separate First-Class ticket to travel or pay for a weekend or weekday First upgrade.
9. The following Railcard Discounts can be added to your GWR PAYG account using the 'My Account' functionality
   1. 16-17 Saver
   2. 16-25 Railcard
   3. 26-30 Railcard
   4. Disabled Persons Railcard
   5. HM Forces Railcard
   6. Senior Railcard
   7. Veterans Railcard
   8. Job Centre Plus Travel Discount Card
   9. Devon and Cornwall Railcard (within the Cornwall PAYG Region)
   Please note Railcard discounts are only available for the card holder when using GWR PAYG, they are not available for accompanying travellers e.g. Family & Friends and Two Together, and any group travel discounts.
10. If you 'tap in' in one scheme area and 'tap out' in the other, we will charge you the greater of either two incomplete fares for each of the Scheme Areas or a through Journey at Standard Anytime Single fare between your 'tap in' and 'tap out' location. If you are inspected outside the individual scheme areas, you will be considered to not having a valid authority to travel and may be issued with a penalty fare notice or other revenue protection action.

g) Using GWR PAYG on your GWR Touch Smartcard with other pre-purchased tickets

You can hold pre-purchased tickets such as season tickets, singles and returns along with GWR PAYG on the same GWR Touch Smartcard, with the exception of Flexi Season tickets. You must always tap-in and tap-out for each journey you make to avoid an incomplete journey charge.

 

1. Season tickets: Where a journey made is covered by your season ticket held on your GWR Touch Smartcard, no charge will be made through GWR PAYG. If you travel beyond the stations covered by your season ticket, but still within the GWR PAYG network area, you will be charged the appropriate fare for that part of the journey through your GWR PAYG account. For travel outside of the GWR PAYG network area, the conditions stated in paragraph c)4 apply.
2. Pre-purchased single or return tickets: Where a journey is made that is covered by a pre-purchased single or return ticket held on your GWR Touch Smartcard, no charge will be made through GWR PAYG. If you travel beyond the stations covered by your single or return ticket, but still within the GWR PAYG network area, you will be charged the appropriate fare for that part of the journey through your GWR PAYG account. You must always tap-in and tap-out at the start and end of your journey.
3. Flexi Season: GWR PAYG and Flexi Seasons should not be loaded onto the same GWR Touch Smartcard. We strongly recommend that a separate GWR Touch Smartcard is used for each product, this will allow you to choose the correct product for your journey.

h) Inspection

1. In addition to tapping-in and tapping-out when you start, finish or break your journeys, you must produce your GWR Touch Smartcard when asked to do so for inspection. The GWR Touch Smartcard will be checked for any valid tickets. If you do not tap-in at the start of your journey, no valid ticket will be displayed, and you may be liable to pay a penalty fare or other revenue protection action for travelling without a ticket.

i) Forgotten, lost or stolen smartcards

1. The registered holder of the card is liable to pay the fare for all journeys made. If your GWR Touch Smartcard is used by someone else, we will not be held liable for any journeys completed without your consent.
2. If you have forgotten your GWR Touch Smartcard, you must purchase a valid ticket to travel.
3. If you lose your GWR Touch Smartcard, you must contact our Customer Service team on 0345 700 0125 as soon as possible. Your card will then be blocked to ensure it cannot be used by anyone else. If you notice any charges made using your reported lost GWR Touch Smartcard, you must notify us immediately.

j) Refunds

1. If you believe you have been charged the wrong fare for the journeys completed, please contact our Customer Service team using our online form https://www.railhelp.co.uk/gwr/general-enquiry. You will have until the Wednesday following a Monday to Sunday travel period (within which your journey was taken) to request any changes, after this time changes will not be possible. If upon investigation we find that you were charged the wrong fare, we will adjust your account balance accordingly. If you wish to have this refunded to your associated payment card, this can be processed upon request.

k) Delay Repay compensation

1. Delay Repay compensation is available when using GWR PAYG and you are delayed by:
   1. 15 minutes or more (GWR and TfWR services); and/or
   2. 30 minutes or more (XC services);
   (as may be amended from time to time).
2. Details of how to claim Delay Repay compensation can be found on the relevant Participating Operator's website.

l) Closing your GWR PAYG account

1. You may close your GWR PAYG account at any time by logging into your GWR account, navigating to your GWR PAYG account and selecting "close account". Alternatively, you can contact our Customer Services team by using our online form https://www.railhelp.co.uk/gwr/general-enquiry . The GWR PAYG product on your GWR Touch Smartcard will be blocked to prevent further charges being applied, as well as finalising any outstanding tap data collected to apply a final charge and bring the account balance to zero. If, after account finalisation, you have credit in your account, this will be refunded to your payment card. Please be aware that the account closure process can take up to 11 days to allow for any outstanding taps to be collected and the final balance calculated.
2. If we are unable to take final payment from your nominated payment card, we will contact you to update your payment details so that final payment can be made. Your GWR PAYG account will not fully close until your balance is returned to zero.
3. You may cancel your CPA directly with your bank instead of through your GWR Touch Smartcard account. The Financial Conduct Authority's guidance on cancelling CPAs is set out here. If you cancel the CPA in this way rather than through your GWR Touch Smartcard account you may incur debt to us for journeys made using GWR PAYG for which we cannot take payment. If you refuse to pay these when contacted, we may take legal action to recover any amounts due and owing.
4. GWR PAYG account closure will not affect any other tickets stored on your GWR Touch Smartcard.

m) We may suspend or cancel your GWR Touch Smartcard account in the following circumstances:

1. If we believe your GWR Touch Smartcard or GWR PAYG is being used in a way that is not permitted under these Terms and Conditions.
2. If we believe that the right to use any number or password used in relation to your GWR Touch Smartcard account is or has been gained by a third party or in an unauthorised, illegal, improper or fraudulent way.
3. If we no longer hold valid payment card details associated to your account and are unable to take payment.
4. If you register for GWR PAYG but do not make your first journey within six months.
5. If we believe that you have paid us or are trying to pay us using a stolen or otherwise barred or false debit or credit card, or if the debit or credit card transaction is at some time charged back to us.
6. If you tell us that your GWR Touch Smartcard has been lost or stolen.
7. If you tamper with your GWR Touch Smartcard in any way which damages or affects the operation or security of the GWR PAYG network, the GWR Touch Smartcard or GWR PAYG.
8. If we are permanently unable to provide the GWR PAYG scheme to you, or we choose to withdraw it.
9. If the emergency services or any regulatory authority tell us to cease to provide the GWR PAYG scheme, or a law or regulation is passed which means we need to do so.
10. If you cease to have a valid email address associated with your GWR account.

n) We may contact you about your GWR PAYG account in relation to:

• Registration
• Update, application or expiry of any of your railcard discount entitlements
• Account Closure
• Failure to load/collect the GWR PAYG product when it has been ordered
• Incomplete journey information (request to complete)
• Autocomplete journey information (where we have completed)
• Successful payment
• Payment failure
• Update/expiry of payment card
• Changes to our GWR PAYG scheme/service interruption
• Changes to these Terms and Conditions
• Delay Repay (including Auto Delay Repay notifications)
• Suspected fraudulent activity on your account

o) Miscellaneous

1. We will notify you of any planned outages of the GWR PAYG network to ensure your journey is unaffected. During any planned outages you will need to purchase a separate ticket for travel. If the GWR PAYG network is unavailable for reasons within our control, please use alternative means of purchase for travel. Should you feel the amount paid for travel as a consequence, exceeds the relevant GWR PAYG fare, please keep and provide us with your travel receipts. We will review your request and take appropriate actions, which may result in us reimbursing you the difference.
2. If the PAYG network is unavailable for reasons outside of our control, we will not be liable to pay compensation for a loss in service.
3. You agree not to use GWR PAYG for any purpose that is abusive, illegal, fraudulent, a nuisance or for criminal activities. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate the use of your GWR Touch Smartcard if we have reasonable belief that it is being used for, or in connection with, any such activities.
4. GWR PAYG is for use only by the registered user of the relevant GWR Touch Smartcard. The GWR Touch Smartcard and/or GWR PAYG may not be used for reward or hire.
5. We may make changes to the GWR PAYG scheme at any time, including making changes to, or introducing new, terms to these Terms and Conditions at any time. If possible, we will give reasonable notice of these changes. The changes will apply when we publish details of them in a way which we consider to be reasonably accessible, for example by displaying messages on our website, your online account or contacting you directly at your registered email address.
6. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall limit our liability to you in the event of death or personal injury suffered by you as a result of our negligence.
7. We will not be legally responsible to you for any, whether direct or indirect:
   • loss of income or profit;
   • loss of use of the GWR PAYG scheme;
   • lost business or missed opportunities; or
   • any loss or damage that is not directly caused by us or which was not reasonably foreseeable at the time you entered into this agreement.
8. Our maximum liability to you under these Terms and Conditions will be to refund the balance, if any, on your GWR Touch Smartcard account on the date our dispute with you is settled.
9. These Terms and Conditions of use are governed by English law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.