Great Western News

South Western Railway unveils ‘virucidal’ sanitiser
South Western Railway and Great Western Railway have announced the trial of a powerful sanitising treatment which kills 99.99 per cent of viruses and bacteria on surfaces for extended periods of time.

Great West Way unveils new feature video
The work features drone footage offering a bird’s-eye view of many of the destinations on the touring route, as well as popular attractions and the different modes of travel visitors are encouraged to use.

Great Western Railway launches mobile booking across network
Customers can now go from booking to boarding in just a matter of minutes, and without the need for a paper ticket, as Great Western Railway launches mobile ticketing across its network.
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Great Western Railway to bring The Welshman to London route
Great Western Railway is to launch The Welshman today, one of 59 daily train services between Cardiff and London Paddington, to mark the re-opening of the Severn Tunnel. Taking the number of direct daily services from Cardiff to London Paddington back to 29 a day, the 07:28 service from Swansea will be named Y Cymro – The Welshman.

ABB on track for rail electrification
ABB and UK Power Networks Services have joined forces in a consortium to deliver a turnkey project for the creation of 30 new traction power substations (25-0-25 kV) for Network Rail’s Great Western Electrification Programme.

First Great Western brings Wi-Fi to train fleet
First Great Western has announced a time scale for the implementation of free Wi-Fi on board its High Speed Train fleet and Night Riviera Sleeper services. In October First Great Western pledged to increase Wi-Fi provision as part of its new, 23-month franchise.

Great Western Railway clock is lovingly restored
A 19th century Great Western Railway clock has been lovingly restored to its former glory by Network Rail after it stopped working two years ago.

New Great Western franchise to deliver new express trains
The new 15 year Great Western franchise will see passengers benefit from new express trains, additional capacity, smart card ticketing and passenger satisfaction targets as part of proposals being put forward by Rail Minister Theresa Villiers.

Arriva welcomes shortlisting for Great Western rail franchise
Arriva welcomed the naming of its G.W. Trains Ltd as one of the shortlisted companies announced today by the Department for Transport to have pre-qualified to bid for the Great Western rail franchise.

Great Western Society to be honoured with nameplate
First Great Western is set to recognise the Great Western Society’s 50th anniversary with a special train naming ceremony.
Rail growth strategy for the Great Western launched for consultaion
Rail demand on the Great Western is set to grow by 31% in 2019 and further investments in longer trains, more services and infrastructure will be vital to meet the boom, a draft proposal by the rail industry unveils today.

£1.2 billion boost for English rail and metro services
THE UK Government’s recent announcement of £1.1 billion to electrify the Great Western main line and the route between Liverpool and Manchester, via Newton-le-Willows, masked a series of announcements of rail-related plans—adding up to a further £1.2 billion—in the English regions.