Massive increase in train seats this morning as GWR delivers new trains.
Great Western Railway (GWR) provided more than 3,400 extra trains seats through Swindon this morning with the continued introduction of new Intercity Express Trains (IET) into passenger service.
From today GWR has introduced 16 more Intercity Express Train services from Swindon to London Paddington, and 16 going west towards Bristol and South Wales on top of the existing IET services that were launched last October.
Each train has as many as 24% more seats than the High Speed Train it replaces.
GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said:
“Today marks a massive step towards delivering the capacity improvements we have promised, and the biggest fleet upgrade in a generation.
“I am delighted to see even more IETs enter service, enabling us to make further improvements throughout our network, and supporting the communities we serve.
“Let me also take this opportunity to thank our passengers for their patience while travelling during the Christmas period, as Network Rail continued its programme to modernise the Great Western.”
Following the successful completion of Network Rail’s Christmas engineering works, the addition of new trains mark a significant milestone in the modernisation of the Great Western.
The trains are being built by the 900-strong workforce at Hitachi’s North East factory in Newton Aycliffe, as part of the Government’s £5.7bn Intercity Express Programme.
In total 36 x 5 carriage trains and 21 x 9 carriage are being built with all trains due in service by December 2018, and a significant timetable change in January 2019 realising the full capacity and frequency benefits the new trains will bring. Journey times from Bristol will be slashed by up to 17 minutes, and by up to 14 minutes from Swansea.
New electric only Class 387 Electrostar trains are also now in operation under electric power between Didcot, Reading, and station stops towards London Paddington – with some services running with as many as 12 carriages.
Network Rail Western route managing director Mark Langman said:
“This is another major step forward in the biggest ever transformation on the Great Western Mainline as we deliver more trains, more seats and better journeys for communities across the route.
“This will boost local communities and provide a better service for passengers travelling in Didcot, Reading, across the Thames Valley and west London.
“It has been a real team effort as Network Rail and GWR staff worked tirelessly to get to this stage. It is an example of track and train working together for the benefit of the passenger and really does herald an exciting time on the railway.”
With the provision of all electric services to Didcot customers travelling towards Oxford will need to change at Didcot Parkway for a shuttle service to Oxford/Banbury. Customers travelling towards Reading will need to change at Didcot Parkway for services towards London Paddington.
