Great Western Railway (train operating company)

Great Western Railway

A GWR High Speed Train passing Dawlish
Overview
Franchise(s):	InterCity Great Western 4 February 1996 – 31 March 2006 Greater Western 1 April 2006 – 30 March 2019
Main region(s):	London, Thames Valley, South West England, South Wales
Other region(s):	West Midlands
Fleet size:	119 Class 43 for 54 High Speed Train sets 4 Class 57 diesel locomotives 8 Class 143 Pacer sets 45 Class 150 Sprinter sets 12 Class 153 Super-Sprinter sets 16 Class 158 Express Sprinter sets 36 Class 165 Network Turbo sets 21 Class 166 Network Express Turbo 5 Class 180 Adelante sets 8 Class 387 Electrostar sets
Stations called at:	over 270
Stations operated:	208
Route km operated:	2129.2
National Rail abbreviation:	GW
Parent company:	FirstGroup
Website:	www.gwr.com
Route map

Route map

Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup. It manages 208 stations and its trains call at over 270. GWR operates long-distance inter-city services along the Great Western Main Line to South West England and South Wales, as well as the Night Riviera sleeper service between London and Penzance. It also provides commuter/outer-suburban services from its London terminus at Paddington to West London, the Thames Valley region including Berkshire, parts of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and also provides regional services throughout the West of England to the South coast of England.

The company began operating in February 1996 as Great Western Trains, as part of the privatisation of British Rail. In December 1998 it became First Great Western after FirstGroup bought out its partners' shares in Great Western Holdings. In April 2006, First Great Western, First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains were combined into the new Greater Western franchise and brought under the First Great Western brand. The company adopted its current name and a new livery in September 2015 to coincide with the start of an extended franchise that is due to run until 30 March 2019.

As part of the privatisation of British Rail, the Great Western InterCity franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising to Great Western Holdings in December 1995 and began operations on 4 February 1996. Great Western Holdings was owned by some former British Rail managers (51%), FirstBus (24.5%) and 3i (24.5%).