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Operator of GWR and South Western Railways says proposal fails to reassure investors. Britain's biggest train operator FirstGroup has rejected a £1.2bn takeover proposal from a US private equity firm, after its board determined the offer was too low. The bus and rail company said it had carefully reviewed the proposal from I Squared Capital, which first became public last month, but concluded that the 118p a share cash offer significantly undervalues FirstGroup's continuing operations and its future prospects.
(Permalink) FirstGroup GWR I Squared Capital South Western Railway |
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Scottish transport giant FirstGroup has outlined its plans to return £500 million to investors after confirming that current trading remains on track.
(Permalink) FirstGroup GWR Lumo West Coast Partnership |
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The late Victorian horse-drawn tram at the Dundee Museum of Transport was rescued from a garden summer house not far from my home.
(Permalink) Dundee City Tramways Dundee Museum of Transport GWR |
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Disruption to Scotland-London rail services due to cracks in trains is expected to continue for weeks.
(Permalink) Cancellations Class 800 GWR Hairline cracks Hitachi LNER |
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Passengers on Britain's intercity rail services face a third day of disruption as engineers continued to check high-speed trains for cracks. Trains between London and the south-west and between London and Scotland on the East Coast line are affected.
(Permalink) Cancellations Class 800 GWR Hairline cracks Hitachi LNER |
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Rail passengers in parts of the UK are continuing to experience delays after a number of high-speed trains have been removed from service due to hairline cracks.
(Permalink) Cancellations Class 800 GWR Hairline cracks Hitachi LNER |
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Hitachi apologises after cracks found in some of its trains lead to services being cancelled. [See also item on 27/04/2021 and the Railway Magazine of 03/05/2021.]
(Permalink) Cancellations Class 800 GWR Hairline cracks Hitachi LNER  Clayhills Yard: Saturday's 07:52 & 09:52 LNER Azuma trains parked up at Clayhills due to cracks being found in the Class 800 bogies. |
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Rail passengers are being told to cancel travel plans after a number of high-speed Scotland-London trains had to be taken out of service as a 'precautionary measure' when hairline cracks were found.
(Permalink) Cancellations Class 800 GWR Hairline cracks Hitachi LNER |
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Cracks were discovered during routine maintenance of two Hitachi 800 trains.
(Permalink) Class 800 GWR Hairline cracks Hitachi |
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GWR passengers have seen the highest increases for 'walk-up' tickets, but they also benefit from the cheapest day returns.
(Permalink) GWR Ticketless |
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Great Western Railway (GWR) has received the first train in the UK able to run on overhead and third-rail electric lines, as well as under its own diesel power. The first of 19 Class 769 Flex trains, which are being supplied by Porterbrook Leasing, the new trains are expected to be introduced on services.
(Permalink) GWR Tri-mode |
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Marking 75 years since the end of World War 2, when hostilities in the Far East ceased, Great Western Railway (GWR) is to honour Gurkha VC hero Tul Bahadur Pun by naming one of their Intercity Express Trains after him. Tul Bahadur Pun was just 21 years old and serving as a rifleman in the Indian Army when his bravery and courage earned him the Victoria Cross.
(Permalink) GWR |
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A train has been named after Captain Tom Moore in honour of his fundraising achievements during the Covid-19 crisis.
The war veteran has raised £29m for the NHS by walking 100 laps around his garden. The Great Western Railway (GWR) intercity express train 800025 will go into service carrying its new name on Thursday, Captain Tom's 100th birthday. GWR said the high-speed train would carry key workers to and from work. (Permalink) Covid-19 GWR |
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Balfour Beatty has completed the work to electrify the 77km Bristol-Cardiff rail line on the Great Western Railway (GWR) line.
(Permalink) Electrification GWR |
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The fastest ever train ride from Bristol to London took place yesterday (Tuesday, September 24), setting a new modern speed record for the journey.
A special service from Temple Meads to Paddington took just 71 minutes with Great Western Railway (GWR), making it the quickest time since the introduction of the 125mph railway speed limit in the 1970s. GWRs bullet-style Intercity Express Train, which has been in service since October 2017, now operates on all of GWRs long-distance routes. (Permalink) GWR  Steam - Museum of the Great Western Railway: The man himself. Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The impressive waxwork on display at the Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon on 20 March 2013.  Royal Oak Junction: The up 'Bristol Pullman' held at signals alongside Royal Oak station in September 1969, with a class 47 hauled train in the background.  Bristol Temple Meads: A British Rail InterCity 125, about to leave Bristol Temple Meads station in 1985 with a service to London Paddington. |
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Former GWR sheds demolished to make way for new HS2 station.
(Permalink) GWR HS2 Old Oak Common Shed  Old Oak Common: Part of the carriage sidings at Old Oak Common, seen on a quiet mid-week afternoon in July 2005. The locomotive manoeuvring empty stock in the centre of the picture is First Great Western SleeperJohn Furnevel 21/07/2005 |
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Schoolchildren will soon be making the platform announcements at railway stations across the West.
Research by Great Western Railway found that people were more likely to pay attention if a child was speaking. Pupils from Victoria Park Primary School in Bristol were invited by GWR to record a series of public information messages. The announcements will be heard at Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway, Bath Spa and Weston-super-Mare. (Permalink) GWR |
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Leasing company Porterbrook has awarded Bombardier Transportation an £11m contract to modify 12 Class 387 Electrostar electric multiple-units for use on the Heathrow Express shuttle service between London Paddington and the airport.
Last year the airport owner outsourced the operation of the non-franchised premium service to GWR under a contract running to 2028. GWR is to form a dedicated airport fleet by modifying 12 of the EMUs it currently operates on London commuter services, equipping them with ETCS Level 2 as well as improved seating, additional luggage space, on-board TV and fast wi-fi. Engineering and design work will take place at Bombardiers Derby site, with fitment at its Ilford depot by December 2019. (Permalink) GWR Heathrow Express |
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More than 10,000 extra seats will be available to Great Western Railway passengers on January 2, compared with the same number last year.
(Permalink) Class 800 GWR Great Western Railway |
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The West Somerset Railway has announced that it has submitted proposals to Great Western Railway to run shuttles next Summer.
The proposals could see shuttle trains connecting Taunton and Bishops Lydeard on peak days during Summer 2019. This bid has been made to GWRs Customer & Communities Improvement Fund and is in competition with hundreds of others from around the Great Western Network. (Permalink) GWR West Somerset Railway  Minehead: Driver to photographer: Did you get my good side? D1010 Western Campaigner is ready at Minehead to return railtour passengers along the WSR to pick up their HST for Paddington.  Bishops Lydeard: An immaculate looking D6575 with a train at Bishops Lydeard on 2 September 2012.  Blue Anchor: 4160 arriving at Blue Anchor on the West Somerset Railway on 24 March. |
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Emerging from the clouds of steam engulfing platform nine and three-quarters, the gleaming Hogwarts Express commands a special place in the hearts of Harry Potter fans.
Yet there was a time when the only place this engine could call home, was a south Wales scrapyard where it lay rotting among the hulks of a bygone era. That is because the train that entranced millions of Potter viewers and now sits proudly in Warner Brothers Studios, was once earmarked to be dismantled for the furnace. Written off, abandoned and forgotten for 17 years, this lowly engine's final destiny was the furnace rather than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and wizardry. But the story of humble GWR 5972 Olton Hall, is as enchanting as any told by JK Rowling. (Permalink) GWR Olton Hall  Leavesden Studios: GWR 4-6-0 5972 'Olton Hall' aka 'Hogwarts Castle' all 'steamed up' at the recreation of Kings Cross platform 9 and three quarters in the Warner Brothers studios at Leavesden, Watford.  National Railway Museum York: B12 no 61572 stands alongside 5972 Olton Hall at York Railfest in 2004. The B12 is the last surviving inside cylinder 4-6-0, while no 5972 is the locomotive that became closely associated with ...  Borwick: 5972 Hogwarts Castle, rarely ventures out from Carnforth but headed the Wizards Express to York on 7th June 2014. The loco is due to go on static display for several years at Harry Potte ... |
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Thirty-two of 36 five-car Class 800s in traffic with GWR.
(Permalink) Class 800 GWR Great Western Railway |
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FirstGroup chief executive Tim O'Toole has stepped down with 'immediate effect', after the bus and train operator reported a huge full-year loss.
The company, which owns Great Western Railway (GWR), said it lost £327m in the year to 31 March, compared with a profit of £152.6m last year. The group's chairman said the results 'fell short of our ambitions'. FirstGroup shares are down by about 12% following the announcements. Apart from Great Western Railway, the group also runs South Western Railway (SWR), the Heathrow Airport Connect service and First Bus in the UK, as well as the Greyhound bus business in the US. It employs about 100,000 people. (Permalink) GWR  Didcot Parkway: GWR 800 031 taking the line to Oxford on diesel power at Didcot on 8th March 2018. I didn't see any Class 180 Adelantes on this visit and so I assume the Class 800s have taken over their duties and a ...  Windsor and Eton Riverside: Contrasting front ends at Windsor and Eton Riverside on 27th January 2018, with 458522 and 707013 at the buffers. These two classes of five-car EMUs appear to be working turn and turn about on these L ...  Scarborough: The 0947 First TransPennine service to Liverpool Lime Street boarding at Scarborough station platform 4 on the morning of 3 April 2008. |
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Four new trains have been taken out of service on the Great Western Railway network after their launch was plagued by issues.
The first destined for Wales from London - the 08:15 BST to Cardiff was cancelled on Monday. Issues included water leaking from air conditioning systems on to commuters. A GWR spokesman said the new Intercity Express Trains have received a software upgrade to fix issues and will return to service soon. (Permalink) GWR |
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Broken air conditioning and a 41-minute delay have overshadowed the launch of the UK's new fleet of high-speed trains.
The Hitachi 800 engine will be faster and carry more passengers and will run on GWR for the next 27 years. But passengers on the first Bristol to London service arrived late and some had to dodge drips as water leaked from an air conditioning unit. (Permalink) GWR |
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The first two Angel Trains High Speed Train Class 43 power cars transferring from Great Western Railway to ScotRail have arrived north of the border.
Former GWR 43021 and 43132 took four Mk 3s from Doncaster to Craigentinny on September 1. They will be used for training purposes. The power cars will be retained by SR. They left four Mk 3s at Wabtec Rail, Doncaster, for refurbishment. (Permalink) Angel Trains Class 43 GWR HST ScotRail |
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The first Great Western Railway High Speed Train will go off-lease on August 31, Angel Trains has confirmed to RAIL.
Power cars 43021 David Austin - Cartoonist and 43132 We Save the Children - Will you? will leave GWR, along with Trailer First (TF) 41032, Trailer Standards (TS) 42045-047, 42207 and 42561. Owned by Angel Trains, these are the first HST vehicles to be withdrawn by GWR, and they are destined for ScotRail. The coaches will be moved to Wabtec Rails Doncaster facility for modifications, overhaul and refurbishment which includes fitting plug doors to the coaches to enable them to be in operation beyond January 1 2020. ScotRail will introduce HSTs on routes serving its seven cities from next year. All will be leased from Angel, with 54 power cars to be refurbished by Wabtec at its Brush Traction Loughborough site, and 121 Mk 3s to pass through Doncaster. The project will be completed in May 2019, with 17 five-coach and nine four-coach sets entering traffic. (Permalink) GWR Great Western Railway High Speed Train  Swansea: 43018 and 43015 are rear power cars on the 07.58 and 07.28 First Great Western HST services to London Paddington seen stabled at Swansea platforms 3 and 4 on 16 July. 43015 is in the process of being ...  Penzance: With a few hundred yards to go, a First Great Western HST approaches the end of its journey, Penzance station, on 22 April 2012, having travelled all the way (ecs) from the carraige sidings at Long Ro ...  Old Oak Common: View west over the yards at Old Oak Common in July 2005 from the wall along the south side of the Grand Union Canal. A First Great Western HST is about to leave the carriage sidings on an empty stock ... |
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Test trains for the new fleet of Intercity Express Trains on the Great Western Railway (GWR) in the South West have left Japan, heading for the UK.
The new train is for use on the line linking Paddington to Exeter and Cornwall via Reading and Newbury. It is part of what GWR describes as the 'biggest fleet upgrade in a generation', aimed at reducing journey times and increasing capacity. The Class 802 fleet is due to enter passenger service next summer. (Permalink) Class 802 GWR Great Western Railway Hitachi |
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Hitachi Rail Europe announced on February 15 that production has begun at Hitachi Rail Italys Pistoia plant on the first of 36 class 802 inter-city trains for Great Western Railway (GWR).
In 2015 GWR placed a £361m order through leasing company Eversholt Rail for 22 five-car and seven nine-car trains. An option for seven additional nine-car sets was subsequently exercised in August 2016. The trains will be introduced on services from London Paddington to Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance from December 2018. (Permalink) Class 802 Eversholt Rail GWR Great Western Railway Hitachi |
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Electric GWR trains have started running for the first time.
GWR said four Bombardier Electrostar sets running as two eight-car formations launched the service between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington today, with the first train leaving Paddington at 07.15. The inaugural up service left Hayes three minutes later. The launch marks a notable landmark in the often controversial project to electrify the Great Western Main Line, although the first electric trains are relying on overhead equipment which was installed almost 20 years ago for Heathrow Express. There are hopes that the new electric services can be extended to Maidenhead and then on to Reading by 2017, which is also set to become the western terminus of the Elizabeth line the following year. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) Electrification GWR  Paddington: View over Paddington station in April 2011 with a First Great Western HST about to depart.  Paddington: Looking back towards the station concourse from the footbridge at Paddington in July 2005.  Paddington: Castle class 4-6-0 no 5079 Lysander getting ready to leave Paddington in 1959 with the 'Torbay Express'. |
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Franchised passenger operator Great Western Railway and leasing company Eversholt Rail confirmed an order for an additional seven electro-diesel trainsets from Hitachi Rail Europe on August 3.
The new trainsets will be built at Hitachi Rail Italy's Pistoia plant. They are in addition to the 57 trainsets which Hitachi is providing for GWR from 2017 under the government's Intercity Express Programme, and GWR's separately-financed order for a further 29 trainsets to enter service in 2018. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) GWR Hitachi  |
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Passengers travelling through London Paddington are facing continued disruption after a train derailment.
Network Rail said the empty train had passed a red signal outside the station, activating an automatic derailment on Thursday. Overhead power lines also came down. Operator GWR expects to run only half its normal service on Friday morning. Network Rail said a limited service would run to and from London Paddington until the end of Friday. (Permalink) Derailment GWR Network Rail Paddington |
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A railway operator has been told not to mislead people by suggesting it is publicly owned in its advertising.
A poster produced by Great Western Railway (GWR) stated that 'the railway belongs to the region it serves'. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled this was misleading because it was likely to make people think it was owned by the public. A GWR spokesman said the firm was 'disappointed' by the ruling but apologised if the advert was not clear. (Permalink) GWR  Poster: Old GWR poster 'Speed to the West - Cornwall Devon Somerset Wales'. |
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The prosecution of heritage operator West Coast Railways and one of its drivers has been delayed again.
Swindon Crown Court had been due to hear pleas on Friday 18 March in response to health and safety charges brought by the Office of Rail and Road. The case had been brought after a WCR steam-hauled special overran signals at Wootton Bassett Junction near Swindon in March last year. The locomotive came to a stand on the Great Western Main Line, having narrowly missed a collision with a GWR High Speed Train. (Permalink) GWR WCR Wootton Bassett Junction |
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Disruption of train services to Heathrow Airport is continuing for a second week, after the Heathrow Express Class 332 fleet was withdrawn for urgent safety checks a week ago.
Heathrow Connect trains are being used to provide Heathrow Express, while the Connect service, which provides local trains between London Paddington, Hayes and Heathrow, remains suspended. Some additional GWR services have been provided, and are calling at stations between London and Hayes. Heathrow Express has reduced its fares to compensate for the lack of on-board WiFi and power sockets. No firm date has been announced for the end of the crisis. The National Rail Enquiries site says until 'at least 8 March', while the Heathrow Express site suggests that the present emergency arrangements could continue until the 10th. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) GWR Heathrow Express  Heathrow: A Heathrow Express ready to depart for Paddington from Heathrow Terminal 3 on 1 June 2013.  Leeds: Next train to Skipton. A Northern class 333 EMU waits in the sunshine at Leeds on 22 April 2009.  Ealing Broadway: In addition to the 'Heathrow Express' there is also a stopping service running between Paddington and Heathrow Airport using class 360 emus and branded 'Heathrow Connect'. On 4 June 2011 unit 360202 a ... |
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Hitachi announced on December 22 that the AT300 trainsets ordered for Great Western Railway are to be manufactured at Hitachi Rail Italy's plant at Pistoia in Italy.
GWR and leasing company Eversholt Rail signed the £361m contract for the trainsets in July, before Hitachi's acquisition of AnsaldoBreda was completed in November. (Permalink) GWR Hitachi |
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Rebranded Great Western Railway (GWR) trains have been unveiled by the firm formerly known as First Great Western.
By re-adopting the historical name, the company hopes to 'rediscover the pioneering spirit' of the service that first ran on the line. Three of its trains have been decked out in green and start running later. Managing director Mark Hopwood said the rebrand was a 'historic milestone', to recall what Isambard Kingdom Brunel first achieved in 1833. (Permalink) GWR Poster: Old GWR poster 'Speed to the West - Cornwall Devon Somerset Wales'.  Worcester Shrub Hill: An Ian Allan Railtour stands at platform 2 at Worcester Shrub Hill on 8 August 1965. The special had arrived from Paddington via Oxford and returned via Swindon and the GWR main line, hauled by preser ... |
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Thanks to the Friends of Swindon Railway Museum, the STEAM Museum has now acquired a painting produced by internationally acclaimed artist and muralist Ken White.
The oil on canvas painting, entitled The Rivet Hotters, depicts a group of GWR rivet hotters gathered round a brazier, making their toast at lunchtime. The Rivet Hotters is one of many paintings in Ken's collection that reflect the time he spent at the famous Swindon Railway Works as a rivet hotter and later as a signwriter. (Permalink) GWR Swindon Swindon Railway Museum Steam - Museum of the Great Western Railway: The man himself. Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The impressive waxwork on display at the Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon on 20 March 2013. |
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Work has begun to repair a heritage railway line embankment in Gloucestershire which collapsed in January 2011.
The embankment just north of Winchcombe on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (GWR) suffered a landslip caused by bad weather. The volunteer group which operates the line has now embarked on the £670,000 repair project. The work is expected to take about four months to complete. (Permalink) GWR Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway Landslide Winchcombe  Winchcombe: Stanier 8F 2-8-0 running in its Turkish Rail configuration as No. 45160 at Winchcombe on 29 December. Due to landslips, the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is only running steam-hauled services b ...  Winchcombe: EE Type 3 37215 brings up the rear on a service leaving Winchcombe for Gotherington where G&WR services are temporarily terminating whilst a landslip is dealt with. The locomotive is in excellent cond ... |
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Three people had a miraculous escape after their car crashed through a railway bridge on to the track below, in front of an on-coming steam train.
Two cars collided on the bridge that crossed over the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway (GWR) near the village of Southam, Gloucestershire, at around 1.30pm. One of the cars fell 20 feet onto the track below the bridge on Southam Lane and landed on its roof. The train that was travelling along the line managed to stop before hitting the car. No injuries were reported. (Permalink) Crash GWR Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway  Winchcombe: Bulleid West Country Pacific no 34007 Wadebridge passing Winchcombe in June 2007 with a Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway special from Toddington sporting the Atlantic Coast Express h ... |
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Following the opening of phase one of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link this commission was asked to look into merits of building a north-south link. The report asserts that establishing high speed links would be worthwhile. Compared with many countries Britain is poorly served by high speed links. One should remember that many mainlines lines were provided in Britain during the Victorian period; generally more than in other countries. Our situation is somewhat different therefore.
One has to hope that if the Government decides to establish new links this is not done by the usual cheap method; run faster trains on lines which were not designed for such high speeds. Lines with bends, steep gradients and multiple junctions. Further if new lines are not built local traffic must be removed from existing lines. Whilst arguably much of the West Coast Main Line from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Liverpool and Manchester could be upgraded, (there is less local traffic), the route from there on to the south is congested. In Scotland an independent Motherwell to Glasgow link (perhaps two more lanes on the M74 and its controverial extension) would be worthwhile along with some form of North-South connection. A separate Kirknewton to Edinburgh section may also be required due to local traffic (or perhaps platforms at local stations should be put onto new passing loops as on much of the former GWR). Perhaps the greatest challenge is removing all the curves from Carstairs to Lockerbie and the English equivalents. (Permalink) GWR |
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