All GWR articles

  • Class 175 DMU (Photo GWR)
    Rail Business UK

    Class 175 DMUs to enter service with GWR this year

    2025-03-12T11:38:00Z

    UK: The fleet of 10 two-car and 16 three-car Alstom Class 175 diesel multiple-units owned by Angel Trains and previously used by Transport for Wales until 2023 is to begin entering service with Great Western Railway in Devon and Cornwall later this year, with all expected ...

  • Rail Innovation Exhibition 2025 (Photo Railway Gazette) (25)
    Rail Business UK

    Spring has sprung for GWR passengers

    2025-02-20T11:00:00Z

    UK: A new design of seat cushion incorporating small metal springs instead of foam is to be fitted in the first class area of a Great Western Railway Class 166 diesel multiple-unit this month, with roll-out across the rest of the class planned. Mattress and furniture ...

  • Ashley Down station event Bristol
    Rail Business UK

    Ashley Down station opens as part of Bristol’s ‘quiet rail revolution’

    2024-09-30T14:00:00Z

    UK: Trains returned to Ashley Down for the first time in 60 years on September 28 when Great Western Railway began serving the newly rebuilt station north of Bristol. Ashley Down is located in north Bristol between Stapleton Hill and Filton Abbey Wood, on the site ...

  • GWR Turbo DMU refreshed interior (Photo Jack Boskett, GWR)
    Rail Business UK

    Gemini completes £10m GWR Turbo fleet refresh

    2024-09-12T11:00:00Z

    UK: Gemini Rail Services in Wolverton has completed a £10m three-year internal refresh of Great Western Railway’s fleet of Class 165/166 Turbo regional and suburban diesel multiple-units. The 57 two and three-car DMUs leased from Angel Trains have had a comprehensive interior makeover, including new floors ...

  • GWR IET blur (Photo GWR)
    Rail Business UK

    GWR expands Long Weekender ticket availability

    2024-07-03T04:00:00Z

    UK: Great Western Railway has expanded the range of routes where it offers the Long Weekender ticket, which was launched earlier this year to exploit changes in travel patterns. Passengers can use Long Weekender tickets to depart at any time on Friday or Saturday and return ...

  • Docklands Light Railway
    Rail Business UK

    Technology tackles train surfers and bicycle thieves

    2024-04-10T04:00:00Z

    UK: The Docklands Light Railway is to be equipped with technology which can detect ‘train surfers’ illegally clinging to the back of its automated trains or between vehicles. The system is being deployed by Telent, which has extensive experience of integrating CCTV, internet-of-things sensors and smart ...

  • Bristol Temple Meads named UK's first 'Station Innovation Zone' (Photo Network Rail)
    Rail Business UK

    SMEs selected for Bristol Temple Meads innovation zone

    2024-03-27T11:00:00Z

    UK: Connected Places Catapult, Network Rail and Great Western Railway have selected three SMEs to receive funding of up to £75 000 for technology trials in the Station Innovation Zone at Bristol Temple Meads. Chrome Angel Solutions applies ‘serious games’ technology to tackle performance, safety and ...

  • Class 230 battery multiple-unit (Photo GWR)
    Rail Business UK

    Battery train trial equipment installed

    2024-02-09T15:47:00Z

    UK: Great Western Railway is testing a Class 230 battery multiple-unit on the national network between Long Marston, Evesham, Honeybourne and Moreton-in-Marsh, ahead of trials of the train and FastCharge technology on the Greenford branch in west London. In February 2022 GWR signed an agreement with ...

  • GWR Cornwall smartcard ticket
    Rail Business UK

    Pay-as-you-go in Cornwall

    2023-11-30T09:00:00Z

    UK: Smartcard-based pay-as-you-go payment has been introduced on journeys between Penzance and Par.  

  • full
    Rail Business UK

    Live broadcast: Britain’s railways in a state of flux

    2023-11-15T12:00:00Z

    UK: Britain’s rail sector is in a state of flux. In Railway Gazette Group’s forthcoming interactive live broadcast on November 22, a panel of industry leaders will assess the outlook in the wake of the scrapping of the remaining legs of High Speed 2, ongoing pressure ...

  • Portway Park and Ride opening
    Rail Business UK

    Bristol’s Portway Park & Ride station opens

    2023-08-01T11:00:00Z

    UK: Passenger services at Portway Park & Ride station near Avonmouth on the Bristol to Severn Beach line began August 1, following a formal inauguration by Transport Secretary Mark Harper, Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees and Mayor of the West of England Combined Authority Dan Norris ...

  • Marsh Barton opening event (Photo GWR)
    Rail Business UK

    Exeter’s Marsh Barton station opens

    2023-07-05T09:00:00Z

    UK: Marsh Barton station in Exeter on the line to Newton Abbot opened to passengers on July 4, following an inauguration ceremony the previous day. The £16m station was developed by Devon County Council in collaboration with Network Rail and GWR, with additional funding from ...

  • Reading Green Park station opening (Photo GWR)
    Rail Business UK

    Reading Green Park station opens

    2023-05-31T15:11:00Z

    UK: Passenger trains began serving the new Reading Green Park station on the Reading to Basingstoke line on May 27, following an inauguration ceremony two days previously. The station’s development was undertaken by Reading Borough Council, Network Rail and train operator Great Western Railway, with the ...

  • Coronation travel advice leaflet
    Rail Business UK

    Crowns, chocolates, a named train and planning ahead as rail industry prepares for the coronation

    2023-05-03T14:38:00Z

    UK: Additional services, longer trains and queuing systems are planned to handle the crowds who are expected to travel to events marking the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey on May 6 and the concert to be held in Windsor the following day.

  • GWR Class 802 IET Penzance TM01
    Rail Business UK

    Class 802 maintenance moves to Plymouth as quest for better availability goes on

    2023-04-24T11:43:00Z

    UK: Great Western Railway, Eversholt Rail and Hitachi Rail are to extend their maintenance partnership covering 36 Class 802 inter-city trainsets, with work to be transferred to the GWR depot at Laira in Plymouth.

  • Devizes (Photo: Mike Faherty/CC BY-SA 2.0)
    Rail Business UK

    Devizes station would need to be part of wider rail plan

    2023-04-17T05:00:00Z

    UK: The construction of a Devizes Gateway station at Lydeway is unlikely to represent value for money as a standalone project, but it could be viable as part of a wider rail improvement programme, a study has concluded. The feasibility study undertaken by Wiltshire Council, Devizes ...

  • Vivarail Class 230
    Rail Business UK

    GWR buys Vivarail battery train assets to secure Greenford trial

    2023-02-16T11:27:00Z

    UK: Great Western Railway has agreed contracts to buy Vivarail’s battery train related assets, saying this will secure the future of planned trials of the technology in London. The deal announced on February 16 includes intellectual property, rolling stock and equipment relating to the development of ...

  • Great Western Railway has announced an agreement to lease 19 Class 769 Flex electro-diesel multiple-units from Porterbrook Leasing.
    Rail Business UK

    GWR fleet to shrink further as it abandons Class 769 introduction

    2022-12-23T05:12:00Z

    UK: Great Western Railway is to hand back all 19 of the Class 769/9 multi-system ‘Flex’ multiple-units to leasing company Porterbrook in April 2023.

  • Chiltern Mainline - Bham Moor Street 2014 TM2
    Rail Business UK

    Rail leaders frustrated as DfT tightens grip and cuts loom

    2022-12-22T05:07:00Z

    UK: Rail Business UK has taken soundings from across the train operating companies, Network Rail and from sources close to the Department for Transport, finding a bleak outlook. Industry leaders fear having to implement stark cuts to rail provision, even if the industrial relations issues plaguing the sector can be resolved.

  • Exeter St Davids Station Samaritans volunteers
    Rail Business UK

    UK railway news round-up

    2022-12-22T04:46:00Z

    This week’s round-up of business news from the UK railway industry.