Tapping into a smarter way to travel across West Cornwall – with the help of some tap dancers

To emphasise the ease of ‘tapping in’ and ‘tapping out’ at stations, members of Jason Thomas Performing Arts tapped on a super-sized Cornwall pay-as-you-go card transformed into a dance floor.

Great Western Railway has teamed up with Cornwall Council to launch the pay-as-you-go touch smartcard, rolling payments and tickets into one and guaranteeing the best daily fares.

Register now for your new Cornwall pay-as-you-go card

Once a customer has registered for the smartcard and linked it to their bank account, they’ll be able to tap in out and tap out on yellow card readers at stations between Penzance and Par.

The introduction of the new card, only the second pay-as-you-go scheme on the GWR network, coincides with Network Rail’s multi-million-pound investment programme in Cornwall, replacing signalling equipment with brand-new, modern technology, and puts the county at the forefront of new digital fares technology.

For B-roll footage click here.

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.

Cornwall Council portfolio holder for transport, Richard Williams-Pears, pictured above, said:

“We are committed to helping our residents get the best value and give them access to the most convenient ways to make the most of public transport in Cornwall. 

“Initiatives such as this and our bus fares reduction scheme under the Transport for Cornwall banner, mean that Cornwall is leading the way in making it easier for people to travel by public transport and is another step in encouraging more people to look to more sustainable ways of travel, leaving their cars at home and cutting their carbon emissions.” 

GWR Regional Growth Manager, David Whiteway, said:

“We’re really grateful to Jason Thomas Performing Arts for helping to promote our Cornwall pay-as-you-go card. The smartcard allows you to ‘tap in’ and ‘tap out’ at stations across West Cornwall, calculating the best value fare on the day of travel.

“We launched a similar scheme in Bristol last year and are excited about doing the same in Cornwall, supporting residents, visitors and local businesses. Cornwall Council has already done so much to support modal shift and sustainable travel and we are proud to be working with them on this next step.”

Peninsula Transport chairman, Cllr Andrea Davis, said:

“We need to make sure passengers have easy and convenient ways to pay for travel as we move towards a more integrated transport system for the South West.

“GWR’s Cornwall smartcard should take us further on that journey. We need to encourage more people to use public transport to take pressure off the roads and reduce carbon emissions. Making payments and ticketing as easy as possible is a very important part of that process and something I’m sure passengers will find helpful.”

Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership’s Richard Burningham said:

“It’s great to see this hassle-free new way to travel being rolled out in Cornwall, giving passengers even more choice and convenience for their local journeys.

“To give people a sneak preview of how easy it is to use, we’re pleased to have produced a short video showing an example pay-as-you-go trip between Penryn and Truro. We’ll be promoting the video on social media to encourage as many people as possible to try this exciting new option.”

CrossCountry’s Interim Regional Director for West and Wales, Sarah Gould, said:

“We’re pleased to support with the rollout of the new smartcard system in West Cornwall, which will make travelling by train that much easier for customers in our Wales and West region.

“It’s been fantastic to work with colleagues from across the rail industry and throughout West Cornwall to make journeys swifter and smoother for our customers.”

The GWR touch smartcard is valid on GWR and CrossCountry services between Penzance and Par. The card enables passengers to get *best value on walk-up 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 seven-day week.

Train tickets and  season tickets can also be stored on your smartcard with pay-as-you-go, except a Flexi Season ticket. GWR advises that a Flexi Season ticket is not used in combination with pay-as-you-go and customers should obtain a separate smartcard for these products.

Railcards can also be loaded on to your pay-as-you-go card, with discounts automatically applied, while a 50% child fare discount is available if you register your child.

How do I get one?

Register for your GWR touch smartcard now:

• register for a GWR.com account or login if you already have one
• go to ‘Manage smartcards’ within your account and choose ‘Apply for a smartcard’ from the drop-down menu
• fill out the form and submit your order
• you should usually receive your free smartcard within five working days

For further information including answers to some frequently asked questions please click here.

*Best value walk-up, flexible fares as available on GWR.com. Excludes Advance Single tickets. Weekly Season ticket price capping applied to journeys between two stations over a fixed Monday – Sunday 7-day week. Unlimited day travel price capping only applies on journeys that start after 9am Monday to Friday and any time at weekends and bank holidays. Pay-as-you-go Anytime Day Singles generally half price of Anytime Day Return. Full terms at GWR.com/CornwallPAYG.