Great Western Railway (Train Operating Company) - CGreat Western Railway (Train Operating Company) - C Great Western Railway Rolling Stock Great Western Railway inherited a fleet of InterCity 125 sets (Class 43 power cars and Mark 3 Coaches) and Class 57 locomotives and Mark 3 sleeper coaches from BR. In 2006, it inherited a fleet of Class 165 and Class 166 units from First Great Western Link, and a fleet of Class 150, Class 153 and Class 158 units from Wessex Trains. Great Western Railway Inter-City Services
Most Great Western Railway intercity services are operated by a fleet of 57 Class 800 trains from the Hitachi A-train family. GWR operates most of its long-distance services between London and destinations such as Swindon, Chippenham, Bath Spa, Bristol Temple Meads, Newport, Cardiff Central, Swansea, Carmarthen, Cheltenham Spa, Oxford, Worcester Shrub Hill and Hereford, using these trains, which gradually replaced the older InterCity 125 sets between autumn 2017 and spring 2019. On 28 April 2021, six Class 800s were withdrawn from service due to cracks being found during maintenance and were sent to Hitachi for inspection
GWR operates most long-distance services between London and destinations in the west of the network (such as Paignton, Newquay, Plymouth and Penzance) using its fleet of 36 Class 802 trains, the first of which was introduced on 20 August 2018. These trains are almost identical to the Class 800 trains, except they have a higher engine operating power—700 kW (940 hp) per engine as opposed to 560 kW (750 hp)—and are fitted with larger fuel tanks to cope with the gradients and extended running in diesel mode on the long unelectrified stretches in Devon and Cornwall. Hitachi planned to test a tri-mode Class 802 in 2022 fitted with batteries in an attempt to reduce emissions entering and leaving stations. Great Western Railway Sleeper Services
Four Class 57/6 locomotives have hauled the Night Riviera sleeper services since 2004 when they replaced Class 47s. Due to poor availability of the 57/6s, Direct Rail Services (DRS) Class 57/3s have been hired from Direct Rail Services. in 2023, former DRS 57312 was placed on permanent lease with GWR. Great Western Railway Thames Valley and Bristol Services
The Class 165 "Networker Turbo" is a two- or three-coach DMU used on shorter-distance services in the Thames Valley area, with the majority based at Reading Traction Maintenance Depot. They are mainly used on branches such as the Greenford branch line, Slough–Windsor & Eton line, Marlow branch line and Regatta Line. They are also used on services between Reading and Basingstoke, Didcot Parkway and Oxford or Banbury and sometimes services between London and Oxford. Some are (and eventually all will be) based at St Philip's Marsh depot in Bristol, where they work on the most of the lines in the area including the Severn Beach line, Heart of Wessex Line, Golden Valley line and Bristol to Exeter line. From summer 2018, they are due to run on Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour services too. In response to its Remedial Plan Notice, First Great Western undertook a more thorough refurbishment of the Thames Turbo fleet than originally planned:
This refurbishment started in September 2016.
The Class 166 "Networker Turbo" is a three-coach DMU, similar to the Class 165 units but with an internal layout more suitable for longer-distance services. They are now mostly based at St Philip's Marsh depot in Bristol, where they currently work on most of the lines in the area including the Wessex Main Line, Severn Beach line, Heart of Wessex Line, Golden Valley line and Bristol to Taunton line.
The Class 387 "Electrostar" is a four-coach EMU built by Bombardier, with a 2+2 seating layout, tables, power sockets and free Wi-Fi. It can be operated in four, eight- and twelve-coach formations. The class began to enter service in September 2016 on weekday peak services between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington, using the overhead electrical equipment used by Heathrow Express. Services using the class were extended to Maidenhead in May 2017 and later to Didcot Parkway, and from Reading to Newbury. Bombardier Transportation at Ilford Depot had modified twelve of these trains by December 2020, installing new first-class seating, Wi-Fi, luggage racks and on-board entertainment, to be used on Heathrow Express services. Rebranded as "Heathrow Express", and refurbished with Heathrow Express moquette, they replaced the existing Class 332, entering service on 29 December 2020. In 2023 3 units were cascaded to Great Northern. Great Western Railway West of England Services
Great Western Railway will be retaining 24 power cars and 48 carriages from its former High Speed Train fleet to form 12 'Castle' 2+4 sets. They are branded as Class 255 sets and will be for use on multiple services between Cardiff, Exeter and Penzance. All power cars being retained will have new nameplates, named after castles from across the area that GWR serve. The sets are progressively being fitted with automatic doors and controlled emission toilets, to allow their operation beyond 2020, at Doncaster Works. Due to a delay in refurbishing the Castle sets, slam door 2+4 sets known as 'Classic' sets were used until the end of 2019. Until 2017, GWR operated the vast majority of its long-distance services with a fleet of 58 InterCity 125 High Speed Train sets, each consisting of eight Mark 3 coaches sandwiched between two Class 43 locomotives. GWR operated the largest InterCity 125 fleet, owning five sets outright, the rest were leased from Angel Trains and Porterbrook. From 2009 to 2012 (when Class 180s were reintroduced on the Cotswold line) all the company's intercity services were worked by HSTs except the Night Riviera sleeper service between London Paddington and Penzance. From late 2017, following the completion of electrification from Hayes & Harlington to the west of England, intercity services gradually became operated by Class 800 IETs, although a few peak services remained operated by HSTs until early 2019. GWR continued to use HSTs on services to Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance until May 2019, when they were all withdrawn in favour of Class 802 units. The youngest Class 43 locomotive dated from 1982. After a successful trial by Angel Trains and FGW in 2004, two power cars received new MTU engines while two received new Paxman VP185s, fitted by Brush Traction of Loughborough. The MTU engine proved the better option, both for reliability and for emissions, resulting in FGW, Brush and Angel Trains starting the HST Modernisation programme. The last power cars to be re-engineered were released in April 2008, while several other companies' HSTs have now all undergone a similar programme. GWR's High Speed Train fleet were refurbished by Bombardier in Derby and Ilford between 2006 and 2008, with leather seats introduced in first class, redesigned toilets, a redesigned buffet, and at-seat power points. The company opted for mainly airline seats, giving more seats per train. Following the Southall and Ladbroke Grove rail crashes, GWR requires its HSTs to have automatic train protection and Automatic Warning System safety systems in operation. If either is faulty, the train is not used.
The fleet of 17 two-coach Class 150 Sprinter units was inherited from Wessex Trains as part of the Greater Western franchise shuffle. The fleet had been refurbished by Wessex Trains in 2003, with 2+2 seating arranged in a mixture of 'airline' (face to back) and table seating. The fleet is widespread throughout the former Wessex area, and carried a maroon livery with advertising vinyls for South West Tourism. Each unit was sponsored by a district, town or attraction and carried a unique livery. Most received names of attractions, places and branch lines. Two units were repainted into the new First 'Local' livery, but all units are now due to receive the new green GWR livery. As part of a national fleet shuffle, eight units went to Arriva Trains Wales on 10 December 2006, and were replaced with 8 Class 158 units. First Great Western received five extra Class 150/2 units in May 2007 as part of its Remedial Plan Notice, to enable three-car Class 158 trains to operate on the Portsmouth-Cardiff services. Five Class 150 sets were hired from Arriva Trains Wales from March 2008 until they were returned in November 2010.
The Class 158 is a two- or three-coach DMU used on regional express services in the former Wessex Trains area. In February 2008, as part of its Remedial Plan Notice, First Great Western announced that it would form some hybrid three-car Class 158 units in March 2008, made possible by the transfer of five Class 150/2 units from Arriva Trains Wales. There are now ten hybrid units in operation and, combined with the non-hybrid three-car unit, this provides eleven three-car units to operate services between Portsmouth and Cardiff, Great Malvern and Weymouth. After the introduction of Class 150/1 trains from London Overground and London Midland, three of the remaining five two-coach Class 158s will be reformed to provide two further three-coach Class 158s. The fleet was refurbished in a programme begun in 2007, which included fitting of reupholstered seats, new lighting and floor coverings, CCTV within the passenger saloons, and refurbished toilets. At the same time, the exteriors of the vehicles were repainted in the updated FGW livery, including artwork depicting various local places of interest. GWR's Class 158 vehicles were refurbished at Wabtec in Doncaster. In 2018, the 158s began running alongside the first completed Class 255 Castle set on services between Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance. Since then, more of the 158 fleet has gradually started to move more west with more 158 sets working services between Exmouth and Paignton / Barnstaple. The timetable change in December 2019 saw the start of the 158s taking over the 143s on the Tarka Line to Barnstaple primarily, with some of the units also working on the Cardiff / Bristol to Penzance route alongside the Castle sets. Great Western Railway Overview Great Western Railway Franchise(s): InterCity Great Western 4 February 1996 – 31 March 2006 Greater Western 1 April 2006 – 25 June 2028 Main Region(s): Greater London, South East England, South West England, Wales Great Western Railway Other Region(s): East MidlandsWest Midlands Great Western Railway Fleet Size: 12 Class 43 HST Castle sets 5 Class 57 diesel locomotives for 2 Night Riviera sleeper sets 19 Class 150 Sprinter units 18 Class 158 Express Sprinter units 36 Class 165 Networker Turbo units 21 Class 166 Networker Turbo units 30 Class 387 Electrostar units 57 Class 800 IET units 36 Class 802 IET units Great Western Railway Stations Called At: over 270 Great Western Railway Stations Operated: 198 Great Western Railway Parent Company: FirstGroup Reporting Mark: GW Great Western Railway Predecessor: First Great Western Link Wessex Trains Great Western Railway Technical Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge Great Western Railway Electrification: 25 kV 50 Hz AC OHLE Great Western Railway Length: 1,323.0 mi (2,129.2 km) | |||||
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