Great Western Railway (train operating company) facts for kids

Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup. It runs passenger trains across the Greater Western railway network. GWR manages 197 train stations and its trains stop at over 270 locations.

GWR operates long-distance services on the Great Western Main Line. These trains travel to and from the West of England and South Wales. They also run inter-city services from London to the West Country using the Reading–Taunton line. The Night Riviera is a special sleeper service that runs between London and Penzance.

The company also provides local services. These include trains in West London and commuter services from its London station, London Paddington, to the Thames Valley area. This covers parts of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire. GWR also runs regional trains throughout the West of England and South Wales, reaching the South coast of England. Great Western Railway also helps maintain the Class 387 Electrostar trains for Heathrow Express.

The company started in February 1996 as Great Western Trains. This was part of the privatisation of British Rail, which meant the government allowed private companies to run the railways. In December 1998, it changed its name to First Great Western after FirstGroup bought all the shares. In April 2006, First Great Western, First Great Western Link, and Wessex Trains joined together under the First Great Western name. The company changed to its current name, Great Western Railway, in September 2015. It also got a new look for its trains. This change happened when a new contract started, which is set to last until June 2028.

History

An InterCity 125 train, used by the original Great Western Trains company between 1996 and 1998.

When British Rail was privatised, the Great Western train services were given to a company called Great Western Holdings. This happened in December 1995, and they started running trains on 4 February 1996. Great Western Holdings was owned by some former British Rail managers (51%), FirstBus (24.5%), and 3i (24.5%).

In March 1998, FirstGroup bought all the shares from its partners, taking full ownership. In December 1998, the train services were renamed First Great Western.

On 1 April 2004, First Great Western Link started running the services that used to be part of Thames Trains. These were local trains from Paddington to places like Slough, Henley-on-Thames, and Oxford. They also ran trains from Reading to Gatwick Airport and Basingstoke.

First Great Western Link ran the Thames Trains services from April 2004 until they became part of the Greater Western franchise in 2006.

On 1 April 2006, the Great Western, Great Western Link, and Wessex Trains services were all combined into one big franchise called Greater Western. FirstGroup won the bid to run this new, larger franchise. They decided to keep the name 'First Great Western' for all services.

In May 2011, FirstGroup decided not to extend their contract past March 2013. They wanted to negotiate a longer deal because of a big plan to add electric lines to the Great Western route. This project was worth £1 billion. The CEO, Tim O'Toole, believed they were the best company to manage these changes with a longer contract.

By not extending the original contract, FirstGroup avoided paying a large amount of money to the government. They also received extra payments from the government in 2010.

In March 2012, several companies, including FirstGroup, were chosen to bid for the new franchise. The announcement of the winner was delayed several times. In January 2013, the government stopped the current bidding process. FirstGroup's contract was extended until October 2013. Then, it was extended again until September 2015, and later until March 2019, and April 2019.

In 2014, the first-class train carriages were updated. They featured a new GWR logo without the 'First' branding. The whole company was renamed Great Western Railway (GWR) on 20 September 2015. They also introduced a new green colour scheme for their trains. This green colour was chosen to remember the original Great Western Railway company, which ran trains from 1835 to 1947. The new green look was added to trains as they were updated.

In May 2018, TfL Rail took over some services from Paddington. In December 2019, they took over more local services to Reading.

In March 2020, GWR's contract was extended again until 31 March 2023, with an option for another year.

In June 2022, the government changed GWR's franchise to a direct contract. This contract will last until 25 June 2028, with an option to extend for three more years.

GWR has been affected by the 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes. These were the first national rail strikes in the UK in 30 years. GWR workers joined in these strikes because of disagreements about pay and working conditions.

Routes

Great Western Railway runs routes west of London. These include services to south west England, Gloucestershire, Hereford, and South Wales.

Here is a simple list of regular train services during off-peak weekdays, based on the December 2023 timetables.

Intercity

Thames Valley

Bristol

West of England

Onboard Services

Pullman Dining

Great Western Railway is currently the only major UK train company that offers restaurant cars on its trains. These are available on some West Country and Wales trains travelling to or from London Paddington. Both first-class and standard-class passengers can use them. However, only first-class passengers can book seats in advance, and they get priority. Meals in the restaurant car are not included in the train ticket price.

First Class

First class interior on a GWR Intercity Express Train

GWR offers first class on all its long-distance, high-speed services. In the IET trains, first class has reclining fabric seats with tables at every seat. A customer host provides service at your seat on most journeys. Unlike the older HSTs, the IETs do not have leather first-class seats due to fire safety rules. Just like the HSTs, there are power sockets and USB charging points at every seat. There is also Wi-Fi throughout the first-class carriages, which GWR says is 'upgraded'.

Standard Class

Standard-class interior on a GWR Intercity Express Train

Standard class is available on all GWR services. Many long-distance and regional trains allow you to reserve specific seats.

Trolley Service

A trolley service is planned to operate on most IET services. There will be a trolley in each part of a ten-coach train. This is different from the older HSTs, which had buffet counters called 'Express Cafes'.

Performance

Disabled Passengers

In July 2018, a disabled woman faced issues with Great Western Railway staff. She was threatened with police action for using a disabled space for her mobility scooter. The comedian Tanyalee Davis, who has dwarfism, said she felt embarrassed when a GWR conductor announced that she was "causing problems" and delaying the train. This happened after another passenger with a young child asked her to move for a pram. GWR later stated that the incident should not have happened and that "No one travelling with us should be left feeling like this." The company aims to ensure all passengers have a comfortable journey.

Strike Action

In 2015, the new Class 800 trains were about to arrive. This led to a series of strikes by the RMT union. The union and GWR had a disagreement about who should control the train doors. First Great Western wanted drivers to operate the doors by themselves (called DOO). However, after many talks, it was agreed that conductors would stay on all IET services.

Another strike happened in early December 2016. This was part of ongoing rail strikes across the country. The RMT union held a vote for cleaners working for GWR through a company called Servest UK. 98% of them voted to strike. There were problems when the cleaning contract moved from Mitie to Servest UK. The RMT said this created a "two-tier workforce," meaning some cleaners had different pay and working conditions than others. Two 24-hour strikes were held in December, followed by a 48-hour strike in January 2017. The RMT stopped further strikes after talks improved. The disagreement was officially resolved in July 2017 when RMT members accepted a new pay deal.

Temporary Withdrawal of IETs

A Class 800 train's bogie (wheel assembly). The white part at the top is connected to the train body.

In April 2021, small cracks were found in parts of the suspension system (called yaw damper brackets) on Class 800 and 802 InterCity Express Trains (IETs). Eight trains were taken out of service, and an investigation began. On 8 May, all these trains and similar ones from other companies were stopped. Cracks were also found in the lifting pads (a part near the bogie). There was a concern that if these parts fell off, they could cause injury or even a derailment.

Only IETs that had been carefully checked and had no major cracks were allowed to run. This meant most of GWR's 93 IETs were unavailable, causing big delays to long-distance services. Class 387 trains were used for extra services from London Paddington to Didcot Parkway, and later to Swindon and Bristol Parkway. Three extra Class 387 trains were borrowed from c2c to help, mostly on services to Newbury. CrossCountry also ran a service for GWR from Swindon to Bristol Temple Meads. The few available Class 800 and 802 trains were used mainly for services west of Swindon and to Plymouth. By 13 May, plans were made to increase inspections so more trains could return to service. Six more Class 387s were borrowed from Govia Thameslink Railway in July 2021. They were not needed by their original company at the time.

Rolling Stock

Great Western Railway took over a fleet of InterCity 125 trains (which include Class 43 power cars and Mark 3 Coaches) and Class 57 locomotives with Mark 3 sleeper coaches from British Rail. In 2006, they also received Class 165 and Class 166 units from First Great Western Link, and Class 150 , Class 153 , and Class 158 units from Wessex Trains.

Inter-City Services

Class 800 Intercity Express Train

Class 800 at Oxford

Most of Great Western Railway's intercity services use a fleet of 57 Class 800 trains. These trains are part of the Hitachi A-train family. GWR uses them for most long-distance journeys between London and places like Swindon, Bristol Temple Meads, Cardiff Central, and Swansea. These trains slowly replaced the older InterCity 125 sets between autumn 2017 and spring 2019. On 28 April 2021, six Class 800s were taken out of service because cracks were found during maintenance. They were sent to Hitachi for checks.

Class 802 Intercity Express Train

Class 802 at Tiverton Parkway

GWR uses its fleet of 36 Class 802 trains for most long-distance services between London and destinations in the west, such as Paignton, Plymouth, and Penzance. The first of these trains started running on 20 August 2018.

These trains are very similar to the Class 800 trains. However, they have more powerful engines (700 kW (940 hp) per engine compared to 560 kW (750 hp)). They also have larger fuel tanks. This helps them handle the hills and long distances where there are no electric lines in Devon and Cornwall. Hitachi planned to test a Class 802 in 2022 that could also use batteries. This would help reduce pollution when trains enter and leave stations.

Sleeper Services

Class 57 + Mark 3

Class 57 locomotive at St Philip's Marsh depot

Four Class 57/6 locomotives have pulled the Night Riviera sleeper services since 2004. They replaced the older Class 47s. Sometimes, when the Class 57/6s are not available, Direct Rail Services (DRS) Class 57/3s have been rented. In 2023, a former DRS 57312 train was permanently leased by GWR.

Thames Valley and Bristol Services

Class 165/1 Networker Turbo

Class 165 on a Basingstoke service

The Class 165 "Networker Turbo" is a two- or three-coach DMU. It is used for shorter journeys in the Thames Valley area. Most of these trains are kept at Reading Traction Maintenance Depot. They are mainly used on branch lines like the Greenford branch line and Marlow branch line. They also run services between Reading and Basingstoke, and Didcot Parkway and Oxford or Banbury. Sometimes they are used for services between London and Oxford. Some Class 165s are now based at St Philip's Marsh depot in Bristol. They work on most lines in that area, including the Severn Beach line and Heart of Wessex Line. From summer 2018, they were also planned to run on services from Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour. First Great Western decided to update the Thames Turbo trains more thoroughly than planned. The trains were fitted with better lighting, new carpets, improved toilets, and a new seating layout. This update started in September 2016.

Class 166 Networker Turbo

Class 166 at Bristol Temple Meads

The Class 166 "Networker Turbo" is a three-coach DMU. It is similar to the Class 165 units but has an inside layout better suited for longer journeys. Most of these trains are now based at St Philip's Marsh depot in Bristol. They work on most lines in that area, including the Wessex Main Line and Bristol to Taunton line.

Class 387/1 Electrostar

Class 387 at Reading

The Class 387 "Electrostar" is a four-coach electric train built by Bombardier. It has a 2+2 seating layout, tables, power sockets, and free Wi-Fi. These trains can be linked together to form four, eight, or twelve-coach trains. This class started running in September 2016 on weekday peak services between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington. They use the overhead electric lines that Heathrow Express trains use. Services using this class were extended to Maidenhead in May 2017, and later to Didcot Parkway, and from Reading to Newbury.

Bombardier Transportation updated twelve of these trains by December 2020. They installed new first-class seats, Wi-Fi, luggage racks, and entertainment systems. These trains were then used for Heathrow Express services, replacing the older Class 332 trains. They started running on 29 December 2020.

In 2023, three units were moved to Great Northern.

West of England Services

Class 43 + Mark 3 HST / Class 255 Castle

Class 255 Castle train pulled by HST Class 43 powercars at Stapleton Road

Great Western Railway kept 24 power cars and 48 carriages from its old High Speed Train fleet. These form 12 'Castle' sets, each with two power cars and four carriages. They are called Class 255 sets and are used on many services between Cardiff, Exeter, and Penzance. All the power cars that were kept will get new nameplates, named after castles in the area GWR serves. These trains are being fitted with automatic doors and modern toilets. This will allow them to keep running after 2020. Because of delays in updating the Castle sets, older 'Classic' sets were used until the end of 2019.

Until 2017, GWR used 58 InterCity 125 High Speed Train sets for most of its long-distance services. Each set had eight Mark 3 coaches between two Class 43 locomotives. GWR had the largest InterCity 125 fleet. From late 2017, after the electric lines were completed from Hayes & Harlington to the west of England, Class 800 IETs slowly took over the intercity services. A few HSTs still ran during peak times until early 2019. GWR continued to use HSTs on services to Exeter, Plymouth, and Penzance until May 2019, when they were all replaced by Class 802 units.

The newest Class 43 locomotive was from 1982. After successful tests, some power cars received new engines. The MTU engine proved to be better for reliability and emissions. This led to the HST Modernisation programme. The last power cars were updated in April 2008.

GWR's High Speed Train fleet was updated between 2006 and 2008. This included new leather seats in first class, redesigned toilets, a new buffet area, and power points at seats. The company chose mostly airline seats to fit more seats per train.

After some train accidents, GWR requires its HSTs to have automatic train protection and Automatic Warning System safety systems working. If either system is faulty, the train is not used.

Class 150/2 Sprinter

Class 150/2 travelling along the Exe estuary

The fleet of 17 two-coach Class 150 Sprinter trains was taken over from Wessex Trains. The fleet had been updated by Wessex Trains in 2003. They had 2+2 seating, with a mix of 'airline' (facing the back of the seat in front) and table seating. These trains are used widely in the former Wessex area. Most units received names of local attractions or places. Two units were repainted into the old First 'Local' colour scheme, but all units are now being repainted into the new green GWR colours. As part of a national train reshuffle, eight units went to Arriva Trains Wales in December 2006. They were replaced by eight Class 158 units.

First Great Western received five extra Class 150/2 units in May 2007. This allowed three-car Class 158 trains to run on the Portsmouth-Cardiff services. Five Class 150 sets were rented from Arriva Trains Wales from March 2008 until November 2010.

Class 158 Express Sprinter

Class 158 at Bristol Temple Meads

The Class 158 is a two- or three-coach DMU. It is used on regional express services in the former Wessex Trains area. In February 2008, First Great Western announced they would create some mixed three-car Class 158 units. This was possible because five Class 150/2 units were transferred from Arriva Trains Wales. There are now ten mixed units running. Along with the one non-mixed three-car unit, this provides eleven three-car units. They run services between Portsmouth and Cardiff, and Great Malvern and Weymouth. After Class 150/1 trains arrived from London Overground and London Midland, three of the remaining five two-coach Class 158s will be changed to create two more three-coach Class 158s.

The fleet was updated starting in 2007. This included new seat covers, new lighting, new floor coverings, CCTV inside the passenger areas, and updated toilets. At the same time, the outside of the trains was repainted in the updated FGW colours. This included artwork showing different local places of interest. GWR's Class 158 trains were updated at Wabtec in Doncaster.

In 2018, the Class 158s started running alongside the first completed Class 255 Castle sets. They were used on services between Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, and Penzance. Since then, more of the Class 158 fleet has moved further west. More Class 158 sets are now working on services between Exmouth and Paignton / Barnstaple. The timetable change in December 2019 saw the Class 158s take over from the Class 143s on the Tarka Line to Barnstaple. Some of these units also work on the Cardiff / Bristol to Penzance route with the Castle sets.

Current Fleet

Family	Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Qty.	Carriages	Routes	Year Built
				mph	km/h
Commuter, regional and branch line
Sprinter	150/2		DMU	75	120	20	2	Exmouth – Paignton Exeter Central – Okehampton Plymouth – Gunnislake Liskeard – Looe Par – Newquay Truro – Falmouth Docks St Erth – St Ives	1986–1987
	158 Express Sprinter			90	145	13	2	Exmouth – Paignton Cardiff Central – Portsmouth Harbour Cardiff Central – Penzance Exeter Central - Barnstaple Bristol Temple Meads – Weymouth	1989–1992
						5	3
Networker	165 Networker Turbo					20	2	Reading – Redhill or Gatwick Airport Reading – Basingstoke Reading or Didcot Parkway – Oxford or Banbury Twyford – Henley-on-Thames Maidenhead – Marlow Slough – Windsor & Eton Central West Ealing – Greenford Bristol Temple Meads – Avonmouth or Severn Beach Great Malvern – Bristol Temple Meads – Salisbury or Weymouth Swindon – Gloucester or Weymouth Cardiff Central – Portsmouth Harbour Exmouth - Paignton Newbury - Bedwyn	1992
						16	3
	166 Networker Turbo					21	3	Bristol Temple Meads – Avonmouth or Severn Beach Bristol Parkway – Weston-super-Mare Cardiff Central – Taunton Swindon – Westbury Great Malvern – Bristol Temple Meads – Southampton Central or Weymouth Cardiff Central – Portsmouth Harbour Barnstaple – St James Park (Weekends only) Exmouth - Paignton	1992–1993
Electrostar	387		EMU	110	177	30	4	London Paddington or Reading – Didcot Parkway, Newbury, Bristol Parkway or Swindon London Paddington – Cardiff Central	2016–2017
Class 255 Castle	43 HST		Diesel locomotive	125	201	12	4	Exeter St Davids – Plymouth – Penzance	1975–1982
	Mark 3		Passenger coach			63
	Inter-City
Hitachi AT300	800 IET		BMU	125	201	36	5	London Paddington – Oxford, Bedwyn, Worcester Shrub Hill, Great Malvern, Hereford – Cardiff Central, Swansea, Carmarthen – Bristol Temple Meads, Weston-super-Mare – Cheltenham Spa, Taunton, Paignton	2014–2018
						21	9
	802 IET					22	5	London Paddington – Exeter St Davids, Paignton, Plymouth, Penzance – Oxford, Bedwyn, Worcester Shrub Hill, Great Malvern, Hereford	2017–2018
						14	9
Sleeper
Night Riviera	57		Diesel locomotive	95	152	5	Varies	2 Night Riviera sets for London Paddington – Penzance sleeper service	1964–1967 (Rebuild: 1998–2004)
	Mark 3		Passenger coach	110	177	18			1975–1988
Shunting locomotives
	08		Shunting locomotive	15	24	8	n/a	Stock movements in depots	1952–1962

Past Fleet

Family	Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Total	Withdrawn	Notes
				mph	km/h
Commuter, regional and branch line
Pacer	Class 142		DMU	75	120	12	2011	Replaced by Class 165 Networker Turbo and Class 166 Networker Turbo
	Class 143					8	2020
Sprinter	Class 150/0					2		Replaced by Class 165 Networker Turbo and Class 166 Networker Turbo Transferred to Arriva Rail North and Northern Trains
	Class 150/1					17	2018
	Class 153 Super Sprinter					14	2018–2019	Replaced by Class 165 Networker Turbo and Class 166 Networker Turbo Transferred to Abellio ScotRail and KeolisAmey Wales
Electrostar	Class 387/1		EMU	110	177	15	2019–2020, 2023	12 units transferred to Heathrow Express between 2019–2020 3 units transferred to Great Northern in 2023
	Class 387/2					6	2021–22	These trains were subleased from Great Northern in 2021, to provide cover for Class 800 and Class 802 InterCity Express Trains (IETs) units, following cracks being found on the IETs After the issues surrounding the IET trains were resolved, these units were returned to Great Northern at the end of 2021
	Class 387/3					3		These trains were transferred from c2c to provide cover for Class 800 and Class 802 InterCity Express Trains (IETs) units, following cracks being found on the IETs In June 2022 the units were withdrawn and transferred to Great Northern in July 2022
Inter-City
InterCity 125	Class 43		Diesel locomotive	125	200	91	2019	Replaced by Class 800 IET and Class 802 IET Transfer of some power cars and coaches to Abellio ScotRail
	Mark 3		Passenger coach			408
Alstom Coradia	Class 180 Adelante		DMU	125	200	14	2017	Replaced by Class 800 IET and Class 802 IET Transferred to Grand Central

A former FGW motorail carriage, seen at Penzance

Locomotive-hauled trains were used on services between Cardiff, Bristol, Taunton, and Paignton from December 2008 to November 2010. These used Virgin Trains Class 57 locomotives with Mark 2 coaches. A second set, pulled by EWS Class 67 s, was used between December 2009 and October 2010. These were stopped when enough DMUs became available. GWR also runs trains pulled by Class 57 locomotives from the Night Riviera service. These are used between Penzance and Exeter St Davids during the summer to free up other trains.

Twelve Class 142 Pacer DMUs were received by First Great Western in 2007. They started running in December that year. These trains were rented from Northern Rail. They helped cover for the updating of GWR's Sprinter trains and allowed Class 158s to be changed into three-coach sets. They were based at Exeter TMD and worked alongside the similar Class 143s trains in Devon and Cornwall. Five Class 142s were returned to Northern Rail in late 2008. The remaining seven units were returned by November 2011.

GWR's Night Riviera service also used to include the UK's last Motorail service. This allowed people to transport their cars by train. However, this service was stopped at the end of the 2005 summer season because not many people used it.

First Great Western used to rent 14 Class 180 Adelante trains. These ran on the Great Western Main Line. But because of technical problems, they were moved elsewhere. In 2012, five units were returned to First Great Western to run weekday services on the Cotswold Line. This allowed Class 165 and 166 trains to be used to increase capacity on Thames Valley services. The Class 180s left GWR in stages between June and December 2017 to join Grand Central.

The Class 150/1s in the GWR fleet were transferred to Arriva Rail North in stages, starting in August 2017. The Class 153s also moved elsewhere in stages. The last five Class 153 units with GWR were transferred to Transport for Wales in April 2019.

Future Fleet

In 2022, GWR's parent company, FirstGroup, asked train manufacturers if they could supply new bi-mode locomotives for its other company, TransPennine Express. There was also an option for more locomotives to replace GWR's Class 57 sleeper service locomotives.

On 31 May 2022, GWR announced it was looking for 30 new four-coach electric trains. These trains would be able to travel at 110 mph and run on services between London Paddington and Swindon, continuing to Cardiff.

In February 2023, GWR bought some items from the company Vivarail, which made battery trains. This included 67 old London Underground D78 Stock carriages and the rights to the Class 230 train design. GWR also hired nine Vivarail staff. They plan to test the Class 230 units on the Greenford branch line between West Ealing and Greenford.

Family	Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Carriages	Routes	Year Built
				mph	km/h
Vivarail D-Train	230		BEMU DEMU	60	97	1	3	West Ealing–Greenford	1978 (LU) 2015-2019 (Vivarail)
						3	2

Rejected Fleet

Class 769 on a trial run at Guildford

Great Western Railway had planned to operate nineteen Class 769/9 trains once they were ready. The company intended to start using them in spring 2019, but there were delays. The first train was delivered, and all were expected by the end of 2021.

These Class 769 units were initially planned for use in London and the Thames Valley. They were also meant to run on services between Oxford, Reading, and Gatwick Airport. This would mean operating on lines that are not electrified, as well as those with 25 kV AC overhead lines and 750 V DC third-rail routes. To do this, GWR's Class 769 units kept their ability to use both voltages and were also fitted with diesel engines. The trains also received new interiors and air conditioning.

The first Class 769 delivered to GWR was unit 769943, which arrived at Reading TMD in August 2020. It was expected to start service in early 2021. The Class 769 was expected to be fully introduced by GWR between June and December 2021, but this was delayed to 2022.

In December 2022, GWR announced that they would not be using the Class 769 trains. The units were returned to Porterbrook in April 2023. This decision was made to save costs, as required by the Department for Transport, and because the trains were not reliable during testing.

Livery

HST in a modified Great Western Trains colour scheme with the First Group logo at Reading

A First Great Western Class 150 in the 'Local Lines' colour scheme, used by former Wessex Trains services

Great Western Trains used a dark-green colour on the upper part of their trains and an ivory (creamy white) colour on the lower part. They also had a special 'Merlin' bird logo. When the company became First Great Western, they added fading patterns to the lower part of the trains. They also added a gold bar with the FirstGroup 'F' logo and the Great Western name.

When the Class 180 Adelante trains were delivered, they were painted in the intercity version of FirstGroup's company bus colours. This was a purple-blue base with pink and gold stripes. They also had large pink 'F's on the sides of the carriages and white highlights on the roof and around the driver's cab. The doors were painted white to follow rules for disabled access. The HST fleet was repainted to match this as they were updated. However, the colour scheme on the power cars was changed to a plain blue base with pink and gold stripes. This was because dirt built up on the large white areas.

The new Greater Western franchise meant repainting the HST fleet into FirstGroup's 'Dynamic Lines' colour scheme. This was for intercity and commuter services in the areas previously covered by First Great Western and First Great Western Link. The new colours were first put on the HST fleet as they were updated. The commuter trains also received the new colours during regular maintenance. When the company was renamed Great Western Railway in September 2015, a new GWR logo was introduced. The trains also got a new dark green colour with white stripes and grey doors.

Depots

Great Western Railway trains are kept and maintained at eight depots. Other depots at Landore (Swansea) and Old Oak Common (London) closed in 2018.

Depot	Nearest station	Allocation	Picture	Notes
North Pole	London Paddington	800 802		Operated by Agility Trains
Reading	Reading	165 166 230 387		Rebuilt to the North of its original location for the new flyover.
Stoke Gifford	Bristol Parkway	800		Operated by Agility Trains
St Phillip's Marsh	Bristol Temple Meads	08 43 150 158 165 166
Exeter TMD	Exeter St Davids	150 158
Laira	Plymouth	08 43 150 802
Long Rock	Penzance	08 43 150 57 Mark 3 Coach
Swansea Maliphant	Swansea	800		Operated by Agility Trains

Past Depots

Depot	Nearest station	Allocation	Picture	Notes
Old Oak Common	London Paddington	08 43 57		Closed 8 December 2018
Landore	Swansea	08 43		Closed for GWR in 2018

TV Documentary

Channel 5 showed two TV series about the daily challenges on the Great Western mainline. These included events at Dawlish (like the damage to the sea wall), Cheltenham race day, and rugby matches in Cardiff. The show was called The Railway: First Great Western. The last series aired in 2015. A similar series about London Paddington started in September 2017. It covered events like the reactions to the Manchester Arena and London Bridge attacks, and several days of major train disruptions.

Future of the Franchise

The franchise was originally set to end on 31 March 2020. In November 2017, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced they wanted to extend the franchise further until April 2022, with an option for two more years. A new contract was agreed on 30 March 2020. This contract runs for three years, with an option to extend it to four years.

See also

In Spanish: Great Western Railway (operador ferroviario) para niños

• Great Western Railway, a railway company that existed from 1833 to 1948
• Western Region of British Railways The nationalised division of British Rail from 1948 to 1992