Great Western Railway (train operating company)
First Great Western, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup, which has services in the west and south west of England and South Wales. It also runs the Night Riviera overnight train between London and Penzance.
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| Franchise(s): |
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| Main {{{nameforarea}}}(s): | London, Thames Valley, South West England, South Wales | ||
| Other {{{nameforarea}}}(s): | West Midlands, South East England | ||
| Stations called at: | over 270 | ||
| Stations operated: | 197 | ||
| Route km operated: | 2129.2 | ||
| National Rail abbreviation: | GW | ||
| Parent company: | FirstGroup | ||
| Web site: | www.gwr.com | ||
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Near the end of January 2010, First Great Western said that an £8,000,000 refresh programme to their fleet of Class 166 Turbo DMU trains would happen. In February 2021, GWR announced to purchase Class 319 “FLEX” units to replace the 158, 387, 165 and 166.
History
The company began operating on 4 February 1996 as Great Western Trains, as part of the privatisation of British Rail, and in December 1998 became First Great Western[2] after FirstGroup bought the company. On 1 April 2006, First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains were combined into First Great Western. On 20 September 2015, FirstGroup started to operate an extended franchise that is due to run until 30 March 2019.
Train services
First Great Western runs most passenger train services on the Great Western main line.
Rolling stock
- 119 Class 43 for 52 High Speed Train and 1 Castle set
- 4 British Rail Class 57 diesel locomotives
- 8 British Rail Class 143 Pacer sets
- 19 British Rail Class 150 Sprinter sets
- 12 British Rail Class 153 Super-Sprinter sets
- 16 British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter sets
- 36 British Rail Class 165 Network Turbo sets
- 21 British Rail Class 166 Network Express Turbo
- 45 British Rail Class 387 Electrostar sets
- 57 British Rail Class 800 "InterCity Express Trains" sets
Great Western Railway (train Operating Company) Media
Great Western Railway network
An InterCity 125 as operated by the original Great Western Trains franchise in 1996-1998
First Great Western Link operated the Thames Trains franchise from April 2004 until it was absorbed into the Greater Western franchise in 2006.
First class interior on a GWR Intercity Express Train
Standard-class interior on a GWR Intercity Express Train
bogie. The white casting at the top is attached to the body and has the triangular yaw damper bracket on the left and the lifting pad is at the top of the square fixture to the right.
Class 800 at Oxford
Class 802 at Tiverton Parkway
Class 57 locomotive at St Philip's Marsh depot
Class 165 on Basingstoke service
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Related pages
References
| Preceded by Great Western Trains |
Operator of Great Western franchise 1998 – N/A |
Succeeded by TBA |
| Preceded by Intercity (British rail) |
Operator of Greater Western franchise 2006 – present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by 'First Great Western Link' Thames franchise | ||
| Preceded by 'Wessex Trains' Wessex franchise |
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