Ticket info

Tickets from Transport for Wales that are for other operator’s services

Yes, you are able to buy train tickets for any train journey in the UK through us and you still benefit from paying no booking fee or card fee.

Whether that's online, on our app, at one of our self-service ticket machines or in person at a ticket office.

If there are three to nine of you travelling together, you can save money by buying a ‘Small Group Day’ ticket, which gives each of you 20% off the full price ticket.

You all get a ticket - you just need to travel together for your outward and return journeys.

If there are ten or more travelling together, you need to contact us directly. For further information, please visit our Group Travel page.

We run First Class train services between Swansea and Manchester, and Cardiff and Holyhead.

On weekdays, we run:

• 6 services each way between Cardiff and Manchester
• 2 services from Cardiff to Holyhead
• 1 service from Holyhead to Cardiff

On weekends, we run:

• 6 services each way between Cardiff and Manchester
• 1 service from Swansea to Manchester on a Saturday
• 2 services each way between Swansea and Manchester on a Sunday

Find out which services have First Class services on board by using our Journey Planner tool and looking for trains with First Class tickets available. More information about First Class tickets can be found here.

If you are planning a long-distance journey (over 2 hours), you may find it the best value to purchase two single Advance tickets.

Advance tickets are generally available to book 8 weeks before the date of travel.

Check out our ways to save page to find out all the ways you can save on your travel.

Printed versions of timetables and leaflets usually can be obtained from staffed stations on the Transport for Wales network.

You can download our timetables here.

The most up to date timetables can be found using our online journey planner.

You can also sign up to free email alerts to be notified whenever we make major changes to our timetables here.

You can buy train tickets for any UK train journey from the Transport for Wales website.

Buy online with Transport for Wales, there are no booking fees, no credit card or debit card fees and no delivery fees (except next day delivery). When you buy with us, all you pay for is the price of your ticket.

All ticket machines on the Transport for Wales network accept credit or debit cards. Some machines can accept coins and notes.

You can find out about the locations of our ticket vending machines by visitng the National Rail website.

If you’d like to change your ticket or want to get it refunded, the process you’ll need to follow depends on the type of ticket you have.

Full details can be found here.

We compile our timetables with great care and experience and look to make as many connections as possible.

There are a huge number of potential connections on our routes. Where we can't schedule them all, we prioritise them according to greatest demand, greatest potential demand and alternative connections.

We also seek to make them achievable and dependable, so we won't timetable very tight connections out of long distance services in some circumstances. We talk to all the other train operators, and we all make changes regularly to make connections. We are always mindful of our regular local passengers.

We'll judge each case individually: it's very often impossible to please everyone, so we try and please the largest number of passengers.

If you’re buying a season ticket for the first time, you need to visit your local staffed station where our ticket office staff will be able to issue your season ticket and photo card.

Once you have your photocard, you can buy seven-day season ticket at a ticket vending machine, ticket office or on the train.

You can also buy season tickets of any duration, between a month and annual, online or from the booking office once you have your photocard.

You may be able to buy your season ticket before the day it is due to start. For more information on buying season tickets, please go here.

Rail fares

The relatively low increase in average rail fares has been a factor in the enormous growth in rail travel seen over the past 10 years, with 45% more passengers using the rail network all over the UK. This increase in passenger usage is 60% in Wales since 2003. Passenger numbers across the UK are now higher than at any time since 1946. 

Rail tickets are arranged into two pricing ‘baskets’ - ‘regulated’ and ‘unregulated’. Regulated fares are protected from larger above-inflation rises e.g. most season tickets, and some Off-Peak and Anytime Day tickets. Unregulated tickets include Off-Peak Day, longer-distance Anytime, and Advance tickets.

Maximum group size

The maximum number of travellers depends on the journey being made, the capacity available on the train and
group size.

Carriage hire is also available. Please contact our Travel Management team to discuss your needs.

An mTicket is a ticket contained within a mobile phone app that displays as a barcode.

It must be downloaded and activated prior to use and is available to be purchased for most journeys through the TfW website and app.

An eTicket is an electronic ticket that includes a barcode sent as a PDF in an e-mail.

The eTicket can be saved to a mobile phone or printed out but is only valid for single use and only available on some TfW Advance tickets.

Travel contactless as often as you like and save money with 7-day, monthly and annual Season tickets.

Full details can be found here.

Some Advance tickets may be available on your day of travel, but we recommend you buy yours up to 12 weeks before your travel date, as there are a limited number of Advance tickets available for each journey.

Full details can be found here.