If you are a permanent resident in Warrington of state pension age you can apply for one travel concession, either an older person’s bus pass or a senior railcard. We are only able to issue you with one or the other.

If you would like both, you can apply for an Older Person’s Bus Pass from us and purchase a Senior Railcard from National Rail, please see their website for more information.

Railcards are issued free of charge and are valid for 1 year.

When we've received your completed application and supporting information, if you qualify, a code will be issued to you within 21 days, enabling you to redeem it with National Rail.

A Senior Railcard gives you 1/3 off a wide range of train fares, not free travel. Please note that time and train restrictions may apply; not every ticket type is available for every journey you may wish to take. To avoid confusion, please check before booking.

You can apply for this concession up to 3 weeks (21 days) before your date of eligibility.

Step 1 – check if you’re eligible

Check your State Pension age on the GOV.UK website

If you’re over 60 but not of pension age, we can’t give you a code, however, you can purchase a Senior Railcard from National Rail, please see their website for more information.

Step 2 – check what you need before you apply

You will need to provide:

  • proof of address - such as your driving licence, benefit award/pension letter, or we can check our records (we don’t accept utility bills, bank statements or tenancy agreements)
  • proof of identity - such as your driving licence, passport, birth or adoption certificate, marriage or civil partnership certificate, or deed poll certificate

You’ll need to have a photo of each of these, or have them scanned onto your computer, phone or tablet, so that you can upload them to your online application form.

If you’re unable to upload your documents to your application, please email them to the concessionary travel team or post them to Concessionary Travel Team, East Annexe, Town Hall, Sankey Street, Warrington WA1 1UH.

Step 3 – apply

Apply for a senior railcard

Step 4 – redeem your railcode

Go to the Senior Railcard page on the National Rail website.  You'll need an email address and either your passport number or driving licence number to enable you to proceed online. Enter the railcode we have provided to you into the promotion code box, make sure you enter the characters correctly.

If you don’t have an email address and passport or driving licence, please call 0345 3000 250 and the National Rail Railcard customer service team will help you complete your application.

For other senior railcard queries, you can find help by referring to the Senior Railcard Frequently Asked Questions

Renew your railcard

If you would like to renew your railcard, you'll need to apply and provide your supporting information again. This will enable us to issue a new code. Please don't apply more than one month in advance of your railcard expiry date.

If you don't want to renew your railcard, you can apply for a bus pass instead. We can't issue a bus pass if you have a valid railcard after we have issued a railcode.

Lost or stolen railcards

If your railcard is lost or stolen, report it to National Rail.  You can find information on their website about how to arrange a replacement.

Problems applying?

All of our Concessionary Travel applications are online, we cannot provide a decision about eligibility or issue a concession without a completed application. We can accept evidence separately once you’ve submitted your application and can provide your application reference number.

If you have any problems when completing the application or you need assistance to apply, please email our team concessionarytravel@warrington.gov.uk so we can provide further advice to you.

2 September 2024