Great Western Main Line

Not to be confused with West Coast Main Line.

Great Western Main Line
Maidenhead Railway Bridge carrying the line over the River Thames.
Overview
Type	Commuter rail, Higher-speed rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Greater London South East England South West England
Termini	London Paddington Bristol Temple Meads
Stations	25
Operation
Opened	30 June 1841 (complete line)
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Great Western Railway Heathrow Connect Heathrow Express Chiltern Railways CrossCountry South West Trains
Depot(s)	Reading TMD Old Oak Common TMD
Rolling stock	Class 43 "HST" Class 57 Class 150 "Sprinter" Class 153 "Super Sprinter" Class 158 "Express Sprinter" Class 159 "South Western Turbo" Class 165 "Networker Turbo" Class 166 "Networker Turbo Express" Class 180 "Adelante" Class 220 "Voyager" Class 221 "Super Voyager" Class 332 Class 360 "Desiro"
Technical
Line length	119 mi (192 km)
No. of tracks	Four (London to Didcot) Two (Didcot to Bristol)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Old gauge	7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm)
Electrification	Mk3b, Series 1 and UK Master Series 25kV 50hz AC OLE (Paddington to Airport Junction) (West Drayton to Temple Meads by 2016)
Operating speed	125 mph (201 km/h) maximum

Great Western Main Line
Legend
miles Circle & Hammersmith & City lines 0⅓ London Paddington Royal Oak Subway Junction Westbourne Park Westway West London Line 1 - Old Oak Common TMD 2 - North Pole depot 3¼ Old Oak West Junction Acton-Northolt Line Central line to Central London 3⅝ North London Line (London Overground) Central line to North Acton Western Avenue 4¼ Acton Main Line Central line to North Acton District line 5⅝ Ealing Broadway 6½ West Ealing 6⅝ Greenford Branch Line Plasser Works 7¼ Hanwell Wharncliffe Viaduct over River Brent 8¾ Brentford Branch Line (goods only) 9⅓ Southall Grand Union Canal 10⅞ Hayes & Harlington 11⅛ Airport Junction to Heathrow Airport 13⅛ West Drayton River Colne London Home counties 13⅜ Uxbridge (Vine Street) Branch Line to Colnbrook Cargo Centre see Staines and West Drayton Railway 14¾ Iver 16⅛ Langley 18⅜ Slough Slough to Windsor & Eton Line 20⅞ Burnham 22⅜ Taplow Jubilee River Maidenhead Railway Bridge over River Thames 24⅛ Maidenhead Marlow Branch Line 31⅓ Twyford Henley Branch Line River Loddon Sonning Cutting 1 mile (1.6 km) long 60 feet (18 m) deep River Kennet Waterloo to Reading Line to London North Downs Line to Gatwick Airport 35⅛ Reading East Junction 36⅓ Reading 36⅝ Reading to Basingstoke Line and Reading to Taunton line 38⅝ Tilehurst Purley Cutting 41½ Pangbourne Gatehampton Railway Bridge over River Thames 44¾ Goring & Streatley Moulsford Railway Bridge over River Thames Moulsford 48⅜ Cholsey Cholsey and Wallingford Railway (bank holidays and weekends) 52¾ Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (closed) 53⅛ Didcot Parkway 53⅝ Cherwell Valley Line to Oxford, Birmingham & Cotswold Line 56⅜ Steventon Stocks Lane, Steventon The Causeway, Steventon Wantage Tramway 60¼ Wantage Road A417 road 64⅓ Challow 66⅜ Uffington Faringdon branch Shrivenham Stratton Park Halt 76⅜ Highworth Branch (goods only) 77¼ Swindon Golden Valley Line to Cheltenham Spa and Birmingham Wootton Bassett 82⅞ South Wales Main Line 87⅝ Dauntsey Malmesbury branch Christian Malford Halt Calne branch 93⅞ Chippenham 96⅛ Thingley Junction {| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="font-size:80%; text-align:inherit; color:inherit; margin-top=-1px; margin-bottom:-1px; display:inline-table;vertical-align:bottom;" Wessex Main Line to Melksham Bradford-on-Avon and Salisbury
		Corsham
		Box Tunnel 2939 yd  2687 m
		Box (Mill Lane) Halt(1930-1965)
		Box
		Bathford Halt(1929-1965)
		Bathford Bridge over River Avon
		Wessex Main Line to Weymouth, Southampton, Brighton
	104⅝	Bathampton Junction
		Bathampton
		Hampton Row Halt
	106⅞	Bath Spa
	107⅞	Oldfield Park
		Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (closed)
	108⅞	Twerton-on-Avon
		Twerton Tunnel
		Saltford Tunnel
		Saltford
	113¾	Keynsham
		Keynsham Tunnel
		St Anne's Park
	117½	North Somerset Junction
		Junction to Bristol and North Somerset Railway (closed)
	118⅓	St Philip's Marsh TMD
	118⅓	Cross Country Route to the North
	118⅜	Bristol Temple Meads
	118⅝	Bristol West Junction
		Bristol to Exeter Line

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The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain, that runs westwards from London's Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great Western, the South Wales Main Line, diverges from the core line west of Swindon and terminates in Swansea. The term "Great Western" is also used by Network Rail and other rail transport organisations in the UK rail industry to denote a wider group of associated routes.

The core London–Bristol Temple Meads line is the original route of the pre-1948 Great Western Railway which was subsequently taken over by the Western Region of British Railways and is now part of the Network Rail system.

The line is mostly non-electrified. It was partly electrified from Paddington to Heathrow Airport in the late 1990s. In 2011, Network Rail commenced a scheme to electrify the entire main Great Western route to Bristol by 2016. This programme has however slipped.

History

See also: Great Western Railway

The line was built by the Great Western Railway and engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as a dual track line using a wider 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge and was opened in stages between 1838 and 1840. The alignment was so level and straight it was nicknamed ‘Brunel’s Billiard Table’. It was supplemented with a third rail for dual gauge operation allowing standard gauge 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) trains to also operate on the route in stages between 1854 and 1875. Dual gauge was introduced as follows: London to Reading (1 October 1861), Reading to Didcot (22 December 1856), Didcot to Swindon (February 1872), Swindon to Thingley Junction, Chippenham (June 1874), Thingley Junction to Bathampton (16 March 1875), Bathampton to Bristol (June 1874), Bristol station area (29 May 1854). The broad gauge remained in use until 1892. Evidence of the original broad gauge can still be seen at many places where bridges are a wider than usual, or where tracks are ten feet apart instead of the usual six.

The original dual tracks were widened to four track in various places between 1877 and 1899. Paddington to Southall (1 October 1877), Southall to West Drayton (25 November 1878), West Drayton to Slough (1 June 1879), Slough to east side of Maidenhead Bridge (8 September 1884), Maidenhead Bridge to Reading (4 June 1893), Reading station (1899), Reading to Pangbourne (30 July 1893), Pangbourne to Cholsey and Moulsford (?), Cholsey and Moulsford to Didcot (27 December 1892), Various short sections between Didcot and Swindon, and at Bristol.

Following the Slough rail accident in 1900 when five passengers were killed, improved vacuum braking systems were used on locomotives and passenger rolling stock and Automatic Train Control (ATC) was introduced in 1908.

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the Great Western Railway was taken into government control, as were most major railways in Britain and were reorganised after the war into the "big four" companies, of which the Great Western Railway was one. The railways returned to direct government control during World War II before being nationalised to form British Railways in 1948.

The line speed was upgraded in the 1970s to support the introduction of the InterCity 125 (HST).

In 1977 the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommended considering electrification of more of Britain's rail network, and by 1979 BR presented a range of options that included electrifying the GW Main Line from Paddington to Swansea by 2000. Under the 1979–90 Conservative governments that succeeded the 1976–79 Labour government the proposal was not implemented.

In August 2008 it was announced that a number of speed limits on the relief lines between Reading and London have been raised so that 86% of the line can be used at 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), however the time allowed between stations for trains running on the relief lines has been reduced in the December 2008 timetable to improve timekeeping.

Route

The communities served by the Great Western Main Line include: West London (including Acton, Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, Hayes, Harlington and West Drayton); Iver; Langley; Slough; Burnham; Taplow; Maidenhead; Twyford; Reading; Tilehurst; Goring-on-Thames; Streatley; Cholsey; Didcot; Swindon; Chippenham; Bath; Keynsham; and Bristol.

From London to Didcot, the line follows the Thames Valley, crossing the River Thames three times, including on the famous Maidenhead Railway Bridge. After Swindon, trains pass the Swindon Steam Railway Museum. From Wootton Bassett there are two different routes to Bristol, firstly via Box Tunnel and secondly via Bristol Parkway.

It is also possible to run via the Wessex Main Line, but this involves a reversal at Bradford Junction, so is only really suitable for multiple unit trains or via Reading to Bath via Newbury. Trains on the Great Western Main Line are sometimes diverted from Reading along the Reading to Taunton line, as far as Westbury, from where they can use the Wessex Main Line to reach either Chippenham, or Bath Spa. Beyond Bristol, some trains continue on the Bristol to Taunton Line to Weston-super-Mare or beyond.

The following routes as managed by Network Rail as part of the Great Western Main Line (Route 13): Didcot to Oxford and Worcester via the Cherwell Valley Line and Cotswold Line, Swindon to Cheltenham Spa via the Golden Valley Line, Swindon to Cardiff Central and Swansea via the South Wales Main Line, Cross Country Routes south of Birmingham and also all connecting branch lines.

Services

Main line and local services are provided by Great Western Railway (GWR). The stations served by trains between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads are: Slough, Reading, Didcot Parkway, Swindon, Chippenham, Bath Spa and Keynsham. Not all trains between London and Bristol call at Slough, Didcot and Keynsham.

Fast trains from Paddington to London Heathrow Airport are operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings as the Heathrow Express. Local services on this route are jointly operated by GWR and BAA under the Heathrow Connect name.

CrossCountry operate trains between Reading and Oxford, using the Great Western Main Line as far as Didcot and South West Trains operate a limited number of trains between Bath and Bristol.

Great Western Railway also operate a train between London Paddington – Cardiff Central every 30 minutes, with hourly extensions to Swansea. At Swansea/Cardiff there is a connecting Arriva Trains Wales boat train to/from Fishguard Harbour for the Stena Line ferry to Rosslare Europort in Ireland. An integrated timetable is offered between London Paddington and Rosslare Europort with through ticketing available. Daytime and nocturnal journeys are offered in both directions daily (including Sundays). Additionally, 2–3 Great Western Railway trains continue to Pembroke Dock on weekends during the Summer season to connect with ferry services to Ireland.

Infrastructure

Between London and Didcot there are four tracks, grouped by speed with the "relief" lines on the north side of the "main" lines. The only stations that have fast line platforms in use are at London Paddington, Slough, Maidenhead, Twyford, Reading and Didcot Parkway. Between Didcot and Royal Wootton Bassett there are a series of passing loops lines to allow fast trains to overtake slower ones. This section is also signalled for bi-directional running on each line but this facility is usually only used during engineering working or when there is significant disruption to traffic in one direction.

The line is currently not electrified except for the 12 miles section of 25 kV AC overhead between Paddington and Airport Junction (the junction with the line to London Heathrow Airport near Hayes).

The line speed is 125 miles per hour (201 km/h). The relief lines from Paddington to Didcot are currently limited to 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) as far as Reading, and then 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) to Didcot. Lower restrictions apply at various locations. It is one of only two Network Rail-owned lines to be equipped with the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, the other being the Chiltern Main Line.

Planned developments

Main article: 21st Century upgrade of the Great Western Main Line

The Great Western is currently undergoing a £5 billion modernisation by Network Rail.

Reading railway station has undergone a major redevelopment with new platforms, a new entrance, footbridge and lifts which completed a year ahead of schedule in July 2014.

Swansea railway station is to undergo renovation which will include an enlarged concourse, a new entrance, a new partition wall between concourse and platforms together with a new cafe and more shops.

A major renewal programme is underway from bases at Reading and Taunton.

Electrification west of Airport Junction

As part of Crossrail the Great Western was already planned to be electrified from Airport Junction to Maidenhead but, following a number of announcements and delays the government announced in March 2011 that the line would be electrified between London and Cardiff together with the section linking Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads. In July 2012, the UK Government announced that the final portion of the Great Western from Cardiff to Swansea would be electrified.

In addition to allowing Crossrail services with the new Class 345 EMUs to be used, the electrification will also accommodate the new Hitachi Super Express high speed trains: the Class 800s, the Class 801s and the AT300s. These will gradually replace the InterCity 125 sets currently used for the long-distance services.

Great Western Railway will also acquire Class 387 and Class 365 EMUs; the trains are currently used by Thameslink and Great Northern but will be cascaded after the arrival of the new Class 700 trains to be used on the Thameslink routes, although an additional 8 Class 387 sets are also being ordered. The Class 165 and Class 166 DMUs currently used by First Great Western for Thames Valley services will displaced to services on the lines around Cardiff and Bristol, and the coastal routes around Devon and Cornwall.

Other proposals

Network Rail plans to install European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) in-cab signalling on the Great Western line: this is a pre-requisite for the Super Express trains to run at 140 mph (225 km/h). Some or all of the resignalling work will be done during the electrification work.

Further capacity improvements are also scheduled at Swindon, adding to recent changes and the new Platform 4.

Crossrail services are planned to terminate at Reading. Some of the current suburban services into London Paddington are planned to be transferred to the new Crossrail service, which will in turn free up some surface-level capacity at London Paddington.

Other more distant aspirations include resignalling and capacity improvements at Reading; the provision of four continuous tracks between Didcot and Swindon (including a grade-separated junction at Milton, where the down (westbound) relief line switches from the north side of the line to the south); and resignalling between Bath and Bristol to enable trains to run closer together.

Access to Heathrow Airport from the west remains an aspiration and there is a proposed future link to Heathrow Airport directly from Reading under the Heathrow Airtrack scheme which would use a route south of the Great Western Main Line. Plans for electrification of the line will make it easier to access Heathrow from Reading given that lack of electrification between Reading station and Heathrow Airport Junction near West Drayton station was a limiting factor. There are plans for a direct link for services from the west on the Great Western Main Line, via new tunnels between Heathrow and Langley, to London Heathrow Airport.

Network Rail intends to replace the ATP system with ETCS – Level 2 from 2017 to 2035 along with the introduction of the new IEP trains.

Signalling Solutions is to resignal the 12 miles from Paddington to West Drayton, including the Airport branch, as part of the Crossrail project.

Calls for station reopenings

There are calls for the reintroduction of a station at Corsham due to recent growth of the town. The original station was closed to passengers in 1965.

A local group is campaigning for the reopening of Saltford station between Bath and Bristol, to coincide with electrification.

There have also been calls to reopen the former Wantage Road station. Oxfordshire County Council include a proposal for a new station to serve for Wantage and Grove in their 2015-2031 local transport plan.

Major Incidents

• Slough rail accident - 16 June 1900 - An express train from Paddington to Falmouth Docks ran through two sets of signals at danger and collided with a local train heading for Windsor. Five passengers were killed and 35 seriously injured.
• Ealing rail crash - 19 December 1973 - A train from Paddington to Oxford derailed after a loose battery box cover on the Class 52 "Western" locomotive hauling the train struck lineside equipment, causing a set of points to move under the train. Ten passengers were killed and 94 injured.
• Southall rail crash - 19 September 1997 - An InterCity 125 service from Swansea to Paddington, operated by Great Western Trains, failed to stop at a red signal and collided with a freight train entering Southall goods yard. Seven people were killed and 139 were injured. The incident severely damaged public confidence in the safety of the rail system. It was found that the train's AWS was faulty, and the driver had been distracted (he had bent down to pack his bag). Great Western Trains was fined £1.5 million for violations of health and safety law in connection with the accident.
• Ladbroke Grove rail crash - 5 October 1999 - A Thames Trains service from Paddington to Bedwyn passed a signal at danger. The signal protected points between the one-way lines to the west and the bidirectional lines into Paddington. Because of this the train ran the wrong way down the line and was hit head-on by a First Great Western HST service from Cheltenham Spa to Paddington at a closing speed of approximately 130 miles per hour (210 km/h). 31 people died, including the drivers of both trains, with more than 520 people injured. Thames Trains was fined £2 million for violations of health and safety law in connection with this accident. Network Rail pleaded guilty to charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in relation to the accident. It was subsequently fined £4 million and was also ordered to pay £225,000 in costs.

External links

• Paddington, Reading General, Didcot and Milton (British Railways in the 1960s Sectional Appendix Extract) (via The Internet Archive)
• Reading, Main Line West and Bedwyn (British Railways in the 1960s Sectional Appendix Extract) (via The Internet Archive)