The Devon & Cornwall Railcard has become the first regional railcard in the UK to go digital.

Residents in Devon and Cornwall, aged 16 or over, can now purchase the railcard, download it to their phone and use it to save up to a 1/3 on standard class rail fares.

It’s all about making the journey experience smoother for Great Western Railway customers and is thanks to funding from the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (DCRP), the Community Rail Partnership for the two counties.

GWR director of sales and marketing, Amanda Burns, said: “We’re so grateful to the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership for supporting the digitalisation of this regional railcard. It really does offer some great savings to those people living in the two counties who travel on GWR services.

“Mobile ticketing has transformed the way people travel and we hope the move to digital will encourage more customers to purchase this regional railcard and explore some of the fantastic destinations Devon and Cornwall has to offer.”

DCRP manager, Richard Burningham, said: “We have long wanted to make the Devon & Cornwall Railcard much easier to buy and this step forward does just that.  Our thanks to GWR for identifying the opportunity and making it happen and to our partners for agreeing that we could provide the necessary funding. Now we want to see a big increase in the number of local people who hold a Devon & Cornwall Railcard.  We will be working hard with GWR and others to bang the drum about the great savings local people can get with a Devon & Cornwall Railcard and how easy it now is to buy.”

It will still be possible to buy the Devon & Cornwall Railcard from staffed stations in the two counties.