Great Western Main Line
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The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in England, which includes routes westwards from London to South Wales, Cornwall and other districts. It corresponds to the principal routes of the pre-1948 Great Western Railway which were subsequently taken over by the Western Region of British Railways and are now part of the Network Rail system.
The original Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington station to Temple Meads station in Bristol. Main line trains also serve Oxford and Worcester (diverging at Didcot), and Gloucester and Cheltenham (diverging at Swindon. A little further west a route diverges at Wootton Bassett to Cardiff and Swansea via the Severn Tunnel, known as the South Wales Main Line.
The main line between Paddington and Bristol is capable of supporting 125mph operation, having been upgraded during the 1970s to support the introduction of the Intercity 125 (HST). It is one of only two lines in the UK to be equipped with the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, the other being the Chiltern Main Line.
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[edit] Train services
Main line services are provided by First Great Western, which also provides local services around London, Bristol and Exeter, and on branch lines in England. Local services in Wales are provided by Arriva Trains Wales. Virgin Trains operate between Reading and Oxford, and between Bristol and Penzance. South West Trains operate a limited number of trains between Bath and Bristol, and between Exeter and Penzance, as do Central Trains between Newport and Cardiff.
[edit] Electrification
The line is electrified at 25 kV AC overhead between Paddington and the junction with the line to Heathrow Airport near Hayes.
Further electrification of the route would be difficult, since the size of the Severn Tunnel is too small to fit in overhead electric lines and without an extension to South Wales there would be insufficient traffic. Privatisation of the railways has also brought rail electrification in Britain to a virtual stop. However, electrification is planned to be extended from Hayes to Maidenhead (and possibly Reading) in connection with the Crossrail scheme.
[edit] Route
The main line was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and opened in stages by the Great Western Railway between 1838 and 1841. It was originally a 7 ft 0¼ in (2140 mm) broad gauge railway.
From London to Didcot the line follows the Thames valley. On this section there are four tracks, grouped by speed with the "relief" lines on the north side of the "main" lines. Most smaller stations only have platforms on the relief lines. Between Didcot and Wooton Bassett there are a series of loop lines to allow fast trains to overtake slower ones. This section is also signalled for bi-directional running on each line but this is usually only used during engineering working or due to significant disruption to traffic in one direction.
At Wooton Bassett the two different routes to Bristol - via Box and via Bristol Parkway allow flexibility. A third arrangement is to run via the Wessex Main Line but this involves a reversal at Bradford Junction so is only really suitable for multiple unit trains. A further diversionary route is available from Reading to Bath via Newbury.
In addition to Box Tunnel, there are several significant engineering works. The railway crosses the Thames on bridges at Maidenhead, Gatehampton and Moulsford. There is also a large viaduct near Hanwell - the Wharncliffe Viaduct - and a deep cutting near Reading - the Sonning Cutting.
Communities served: London (including Acton, Ealing, Hanwell) - Southall - Hayes - Harlington - West Drayton - Iver - Slough - Langley - Burnham - Taplow - Maidenhead - Twyford - Reading - Tilehurst - Goring-on-Thames - Streatley - Cholsey - Didcot - Swindon - Chippenham - Bath - Keynsham - Bristol
[edit] See also
- Greenford branch
- Slough to Windsor & Eton Line
- Marlow Branch Line
- Heathrow Express
- Heathrow Connect
- Crossrail
[edit] Sights visible from the line
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
- River Thames
- Didcot Power Station
- Great Western village, Swindon
- Severn Bridge
| Main line railways in Great Britain: | |
|---|---|
| High-speed main lines: | Channel Tunnel Rail Link |
| 'Classic' main lines: | Cross-Country Route East Coast Main Line Great Eastern Main Line Great Western Main Line Midland Main Line West Coast Main Line |
| Railway lines in South-West England and the "Great Western" zone : | |
|---|---|
| Main lines: | Cross-Country Route • Great Western Main Line Bristol-Taunton line • Cherwell Valley Line • Cornish Main Line • Gloucester-Newport Line • Exeter-Paignton "Riviera" Line • Reading-Plymouth line • South Wales Main Line • Wessex Main Line • West of England Main Line |
| Commuter lines: | Severn Beach Line Slough-Windsor & Eton Line |
| Rural lines: | Exeter-Barnstaple "Tarka" Line • Exeter-Exmouth "Avocet" Line • Golden Valley Line • Heart of Wessex Line • Henley Branch Line • Looe Valley Line • Marlow Branch Line • Par-Newquay "Atlantic Coast" Line • St Ives Bay Line • Tamar Valley Line • Truro-Falmouth "Maritime" Line |
