People travelling into and around Wrexham and the surrounding areas by train are being encouraged to take advantage of Transport for Wales pay as you go fares, offering a simple and convenient way to travel – including on busy matchdays.
The tap in, tap out system allows passengers to travel without buying a ticket in advance. Customers simply use a contactless bank card or payment device to tap in on the platform validator or pay as you go enabled gate line at the start of their journey, before tapping out with the same card or device when they reach their destination.
The scheme is already available at a number of stations on routes into Wrexham, with pay as you go fares to Wrexham General currently including:
| Journey to Wrexham General | Pay As You Go single price | Pay As You Go return price |
| Bidston | £3.90 | £7.80 |
| Upton | £3.90 | £7.80 |
| Heswall | £3.30 | £6.60 |
| Neston | £3.30 | £6.60 |
| Hawarden Bridge | £2.70 | £5.40 |
| Shotton | £2.70 | £5.40 |
| Hawarden | £2.70 | £4.60 |
| Buckley | £2.70 | £4.10 |
| Penyffordd | £2.70 | £3.90 |
| Hope | £2.20 | £3.40 |
| Caergwrle | £2.20 | £3.00 |
| Cefn-y-Bedd | £2.20 | £2.90 |
| Gwersyllt | £1.70 | £1.90 |
| Wrexham Central | £1.70 | £2.20 |
Passengers are reminded that they must tap in and tap out for every journey using the same card or payment device to avoid incurring any additional penalty charges.
Pay as you go network expanding from September
The first phase of Transport for Wales’ pay as you go rollout in North Wales introduced the service at fifteen stations in May 2026.
A second phase is planned to go live from late September 2026, extending pay as you go to a further ten stations and significantly increasing the number of journeys that can be made using tap in, tap out technology.
The additional phase two stations will include:
- Rhyl
- Prestatyn
- Flint
- Chester
- Helsby
- Frodsham
- Runcorn East
- Ruabon
- Chirk
- Gobowen
The expansion will extend pay as you go beyond Wrexham and the surrounding areas, creating more opportunities for passengers travelling from across North Wales and neighbouring areas to use contactless payment for their journeys.
Wrexham Council and Transport for Wales are also looking at ways to encourage greater use of public transport in and around Wrexham, particularly during busy periods such as Wrexham AFC matchdays.
Councillor David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment said, “We want to make it as easy as possible for people to use public transport when travelling into Wrexham, and the tap in, tap out system gives passengers another really straightforward option.
There’s no need to buy a ticket in advance – you can simply tap in at the start of your journey and tap out when you arrive, which can make travelling by rail particularly convenient for people coming into the city.
It’s really positive to see the network expanding again from September. Adding another ten stations will give even more people the opportunity to make use of the pay as you go system when travelling to and from Wrexham.
With thousands of people travelling into Wrexham on matchdays, encouraging more people to consider public transport can help make journeys easier for everyone.
I’d encourage supporters, residents and visitors to take a look at the fares available and consider the train when planning their next journey into Wrexham – and remember to always tap in and out using the same card or device to complete your journey and avoid incurring any penalty charges.”
Transport for Wales is continuing its rollout of pay as you go across North Wales, with Phase two expected to add the ten additional stations from late September 2026.
