GREAT Western Railway is once again preparing significant changes on its network.
Since 2014, the Great Western Main Line has been electrified, between London Paddington and Cardiff Central, and from Reading to Newbury. Planned electrification from Didcot Parkway to Oxford, from Chippenham Junction to Bristol Temple Meads via Bath Spa, and from Cardiff Central to Swansea, which were all part of the original wiring plans, were cancelled on cost grounds as the Great Western electrification project expenses soared.
On October 16, 2017, the first Hitachi Intercity Express Trains (IETs) entered traffic, and the subsequent introduction of 93 IETs enabled GWR to remove High Speed Trains from long-distance services from London in May 2019. But that wasn’t the end of the HSTs. Due to the delays to the GWML electrification, the planned cascade of diesel trains west was affected, with GWR deciding to operate a small fleet of short-formed HSTs in the west country to cover for diesel multiple units being forced to continue on routes that should have been electrified.
A fleet of 11 four-coach sets, later increased to 16, was modified, with sliding doors and controlled emission toilets fitted to the Mk.3s allowing them to meet accessibility standards. These entered traffic on the Cardiff-Penzance, Cardiff-Taunton, Worcester-Bristol and Plymouth-Penzance routes.
Delays in electrification saw 21 Class 801/3 electric multiple units originally ordered for GWR instead delivered as bi-mode ‘800/3s’, thus improving their flexibility. The IET fleet includes 36 Class 802s ordered separately from the Intercity Express Programme Class 800s.
Another fleet ordered was the Class 769/9 tri-modes. Based on Porterbrook’s Flex, which took redundant Class 319s and converted them to bi-mode by fitting a diesel engine, the GWR version took the project on a step by keeping both the overhead and third-rail electrification capabilities, but added the diesel power. The 19 four-car sets were destined for the Thames Valley and Gatwick Airport routes and would allow for the cascade of DMUs west. However, due to various delays, these trains never entered traffic and were returned to Porterbrook earlier in 2023 when their lease expired.
Also on the Thames Valley, MTR Elizabeth Line (MTREL) took over the inner suburban services as the Heathrow Connect service. GWR now operates alongside MTREL eastwards from Reading, with its Class 387/1 fleet used on electric services to Didcot Parkway. These changes freed Electrostars to serve Cardiff Central too.
In charge through all the changes has been GWR managing director Mark Hopwood. A well known rail enthusiast, he joined GWR in January 2008. He held a similar role at South Western Railway on an interim basis for 12 months from January 2020 but remained at GWR.
met him in GWR offices adjacent to London Paddington on November 21. Typically for someone so hands-on, he’d been dealing with ‘operational issues’ prior to the interview. He speaks with passion and enthusiasm for the railway, about what has been achieved and what is to come. And there is
