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First Great Western
Last edited by
railwayadam
• 3 months ago
First Great Western was FirstGroup’s Great Western train operator, running long-distance, commuter and regional services from London Paddington to the Thames Valley, South Wales, the West Country and the South West before rebranding as GWR in 2015.
Founded
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Status
Historic (ended 2015)
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Operator Code
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Also known as:
FGW
First Great Western was the FirstGroup-operated train company on the former Great Western routes. The name was adopted in December 1998 after FirstGroup took full control of Great Western Holdings, and it remained in use until the business was rebranded as Great Western Railway in September 2015.
It ran the principal services from London Paddington to South Wales, the West of England and the South West, and also covered a large commuter and regional network in the Thames Valley and surrounding areas after the Greater Western franchise was created in April 2006. That franchise combined the earlier Great Western, Great Western Link and Wessex operations under a single management structure.
The company was associated above all with the later years of the High Speed Train on the Great Western main line. Its core long-distance services were worked by HSTs, while its local and regional network used diesel and electric multiple units across a wide range of stopping, suburban and cross-regional routes. In practical terms, First Great Western brought together several different types of railway: inter-city services, outer-suburban commuter traffic and regional branch line operations.
Its significance lies in scale rather than novelty. It was one of the larger post-privatisation operators, responsible for a geographically broad franchise and for the transition period before electrification and the arrival of the Intercity Express Programme fleet. During its later years it also became closely associated with the Dawlish sea wall disruption of 2014 and the wider rebuilding of the route afterwards. FirstGroup said in 2015 that passenger volumes had grown by 25 per cent since 2006.
For enthusiasts, First Great Western is generally remembered as the Great Western operator of the final full HST era before the 2015 GWR rebrand and the later introduction of the Hitachi fleet.
It ran the principal services from London Paddington to South Wales, the West of England and the South West, and also covered a large commuter and regional network in the Thames Valley and surrounding areas after the Greater Western franchise was created in April 2006. That franchise combined the earlier Great Western, Great Western Link and Wessex operations under a single management structure.
The company was associated above all with the later years of the High Speed Train on the Great Western main line. Its core long-distance services were worked by HSTs, while its local and regional network used diesel and electric multiple units across a wide range of stopping, suburban and cross-regional routes. In practical terms, First Great Western brought together several different types of railway: inter-city services, outer-suburban commuter traffic and regional branch line operations.
Its significance lies in scale rather than novelty. It was one of the larger post-privatisation operators, responsible for a geographically broad franchise and for the transition period before electrification and the arrival of the Intercity Express Programme fleet. During its later years it also became closely associated with the Dawlish sea wall disruption of 2014 and the wider rebuilding of the route afterwards. FirstGroup said in 2015 that passenger volumes had grown by 25 per cent since 2006.
For enthusiasts, First Great Western is generally remembered as the Great Western operator of the final full HST era before the 2015 GWR rebrand and the later introduction of the Hitachi fleet.
Videos featuring First Great Western
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