# NationalRail Smartcard Manager > Mobile manager for National Rail smartcards, enabling ticket loading and activation. (iPhone/iPad app by National Rail.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nationalrail-smartcard-manager/id1561115366 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [National Rail](https://appshunter.io/developer/512167281) - Category: Travel, Utilities - Price: Free - Rating: 1.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings · 27 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 11.0 · 17 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2021-06-21 - Data updated: 2026-08-15 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nationalrail-smartcard-manager/id1561115366/reviews.md ## What is NationalRail Smartcard Manager? The National Rail Smartcard Manager app allows you to view and load your Season Tickets, as well as activate your Flexi Season passes using your mobile device and smartcard. ## Key features - View Season Tickets - Load Season Tickets - Activate Flexi Season passes - Mobile device management - Smartcard integration ## Recent user reviews (10 of 27) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nationalrail-smartcard-manager/id1561115366/reviews.md ### 1/5 — Full of bugs *2026-06-22* Such a simple app yet actually a useful one for checking on and activating flexi passes on my smart card. Yet despite this it hasn’t been updating in years and is full of bugs. Activating a ticket shows an error has occurred every single time. Odd it’s like it’s been built and completely forgotten about in at least 3 years! ### 1/5 — Don’t rely on it *2026-04-14* It’s bad. Just really, really bad. I’ve complained to GWR, and they don’t care. And it hasn’t been updated in years, which tells you how much National Rail care. For one, it throws a ton of errors that you’re just supposed to ignore. Keep trying, and you’ll usually get there. But then sometimes, it just doesn’t work. You can have a smartcard full of tickets ready to go, but the app just won’t activate one. And you know the train company will fine you if you board without a ticket. So you don’t have any choice but to buy another ticket — a paper one, that actually works. I’ve wasted so much time and money on this app, it’s ridiculous. With all the duplicate tickets I have to buy, there’s no point in renewing my flexi-season anymore. It’s cheaper just to buy paper tickets every day. EDIT: I loaded £60 of flexi tickets onto my card, and the app refuses to activate them, and GWR say it’s none of their business. What an absolute scam of a system. I quit. The bus takes longer, but at least it’s honest. ### 1/5 — Don’t rely on it *2026-01-07, version 1.0.10* It’s bad. Just really, really bad. I’ve complained to GWR, and they don’t care. And it hasn’t been updated in years, which tells you how much National Rail care. For one, it throws a ton of errors that you’re just supposed to ignore. Keep trying, and you’ll usually get there. But then sometimes, it just doesn’t work. You can have a smartcard full of tickets ready to go, but the app just won’t activate one. And you know the train company will fine you if you board without a ticket. So you don’t have any choice but to buy another ticket — a paper one, that actually works. I’ve wasted so much time and money on this app, it’s ridiculous. With all the duplicate tickets I have to buy, there’s no point in renewing my flexi-season anymore. It’s cheaper just to buy paper tickets every day. ### 1/5 — Terrible app *2025-11-02* My children use this to travel to school but they get stopped all the time by ticket staff accusing them of not having tickets because the app doesn’t work. It constantly says, ‘sorry we couldn’t find your tickets’. We are constantly on edge and anxious. How is this an experience? Terrible. ### 2/5 — Unable to activate pass *2025-09-11* App reads card alright but comes up with an error trying to active a pass ### 1/5 — Doesn’t work at all *2025-05-08* Used to be fine but now it doesn’t work at all. I have contacted National Rail and the company I bought my ticket from and no-one knows how to fix it. Useless. ### 1/5 — Just not reliable *2024-10-31* A necessary app for all Smartcard users as there is nothing else but just isn’t working. Everytime I attempt to view/activate ticket it successfully reads the Smartcard and then crashes/app closes. Normally after 12+ attempts the app stays open and finally displays info on the tickets held on card. Note this is happening iPhone 11 Pro, and app deleted and reinstalled multiple times. Finally there is no means in the app to feedback bug and the app support link here on the store simply opens up the generic national rail contact page. ### 1/5 — Worst App Ever? *2024-10-16* Possibly. Absolutely horrendous user interface. Constantly bugs out, no idea if I’ve activated my ticket or not for that day. Now way to see how many days I have remaining that month once ticket is purchased. Constantly crashes. The list goes on. The RDG/National Rail need to earmark some money to sort this out. ### 3/5 — Works but still has a glitch *2024-06-19* Validating the smart card is straight forward enough, and it seems to work better than it did when first brought out. However, even when validation has been successful, it still shows an error message “sorry, we’re unable to read your Smartcard” - I know now to ignore this message because when I go through the process again, it says it has already been validated! In summary, it works but can be confusing from the messages which pop up. ### 2/5 — Fails too often *2024-04-02* Fails to give any information more times than not. Would be useful if it worked reliably ## Frequently asked questions about NationalRail Smartcard Manager ### What can I do with the National Rail Smartcard Manager app? This app allows you to manage your National Rail smartcards. You can view your existing Season Tickets and load new ones onto your card. It also enables you to activate your Flexi Season passes directly from your mobile device. ### How do I activate a Flexi Season pass with this app? You can activate your Flexi Season passes using the app by following the on-screen instructions. The app facilitates the activation process directly from your mobile device, linking it to your smartcard. ### Is there a cost to use the National Rail Smartcard Manager app? No, the National Rail Smartcard Manager app is completely free to download and use. There are no associated costs for managing your smartcards or tickets through the application. ### What types of tickets can I manage? The app specifically supports the management of National Rail Season Tickets and Flexi Season passes. You can view your current Season Tickets and load new ones, as well as activate Flexi Season passes. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.0.10 — 2022-09-20 Bug fixes and performance improvements. ### 1.0.9 — 2021-09-28 Updates and bug fixes. ### 1.0.8 — 2021-07-17 Bug fixes - including an update to the VisaTicketing SDK. ### 1.0.7 — 2021-07-13 In this update to the NationalRail Smartcard app, we have made changes to the need help section, along with a fix for a bug around Tap2Go for SWR. ### 1.0.6 — 2021-06-26 The National Rail Smartcard Manager app allows you to view and load your Season Tickets, as well as activate your Flexi Season passes using your mobile device and smartcard. 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User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-15.*