21st-century modernisation of the Great Western main line

Network Rail planned to spend £5 billion on modernising the Great Western Main Line, its South Wales branch and other associated lines. The modernisation plans were announced at separate times but their development time-scales overlap in the 2010s. The work included electrification, resignalling, new rolling stock and station upgrades. According to Network Rail, the modernisation started in June 2010 and was due to end in 2017. , electrification was complete as far west as Cardiff Central, and also from Reading to Newbury.

The project has been subject to repeated delays. In November 2016 the government announced that several major elements of the electrification programme would be indefinitely deferred because costs had tripled. The four sections that are delayed are:

* Oxford to Didcot Parkway
* Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads
* Thingley Junction, near Chippenham, to Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads
* Thames Valley branches to Henley and Windsor
The Swansea to Cardiff section was cancelled altogether in 2017.

Under the Intercity Express Programme (IEP), 21 electric Class 801 trains were ordered as replacements for the ageing InterCity 125 diesels. In May 2016, owing to delays in the modernisation project, it was confirmed that the new trains would be built as 'bi-mode' Class 800s instead, meaning they can run on diesel fuel and electric overhead wire.

Historical background

At the start of the 21st century, the Great Western Main Line and the Midland Main Line were the last of the major main line routes in the UK using diesel as the main source of locomotive power. When the announcement was made in July 2009 to electrify the Great Western (along with the Liverpool-Manchester line), it represented the first big rail electrification project in the UK for 20 years. The South Wales Main Line section of the GWML is set to be the first electrified cross-country railway line in Wales.

The plan to upgrade the rolling stock on the Great Western was included in the IEP announced in 2007, a Department for Transport (DfT) led initiative to replace the ageing fleet of InterCity 125 and InterCity 225 train sets then in use on much of the UK rail network.

Electrification

Status

Passenger timetables introduced electric running from Paddington to Didcot in January 2018, and to Swindon and as far west as Bristol Parkway in January 2019. The same month saw electric services between Reading and Newbury. Electric running to Newport commenced in December 2019 and to Cardiff in January 2020. Work continues between Swindon and Chippenham.

Earlier work

Prior to 2009, the only electrified portion of the Great Western was between London Paddington and Airport Junction (west of ). This portion is equipped with a 25 kV AC overhead system which was implemented in 1997 in readiness for the Heathrow Express service commencing in early 1998. Electrification was extended from Airport Junction to under the Crossrail scheme. Further electrification west of Maidenhead was announced by the DfT separately, though the work west of Airport Junction (to take Crossrail to Maidenhead) and west of Maidenhead is likely to be undertaken as one scheme.

July 2009 announcement

The UK government first considered electrifying the Great Western between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads in a first phase, then electrifying the rest of the line between and at a later date. However, in July 2009, the Department of Transport under the then Labour Government (in the run-up to the 2010 general election), announced that there would be a £1bn programme to electrify the whole of the Great Western from London to Swansea as well as to Bristol Temple Meads. The Labour government claimed that the investment would pay for itself over a 40-year period.

The scheme announced by the government on 23 July 2009 stated that "work will begin immediately on the electrification of the Great Western Main Line between London, Reading, Oxford, Newbury, Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea, to be completed within eight years" (2016/2017). The proposed electrified route included:
* the Great Western Main Line between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads via Swindon, , and ;
* the South Wales Main Line from Swindon to Swansea via the Severn Tunnel;
* the connecting line from to Bristol Temple Meads;
* the section of the Cherwell Valley Line connecting Didcot Parkway with ; and
* the section of the Reading to Taunton line connecting with .

Estimates showed that the Hitachi Super Express trains could reduce journey times from London Paddington to Swansea by 19 minutes.

In an effort to minimise disruption during the electrification works, Network Rail developed new "factory engineering trains" to facilitate the process of installing overhead lines. There are three types of train: the first train to install pylons, followed by a train to hang the wires and finally a train to check the installation. The system was expected to be able to install of electrification in an eight-hour shift. The vehicles were supplied by German firm Windhoff.

In its initial survey, Network Rail identified 113 structures – mainly bridges and tunnels – which required modernisation. In subsequent surveys this increased to 137. The largest structure, the Severn Tunnel, has good clearances and is relatively easy to electrify.

Review and announcements after May 2010 general election

After the 2010 UK general election in May 2010, the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition placed all major government capital expenditure, including the Great Western electrification scheme on hold pending a return-on-investment review. In November 2010, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond gave the go-ahead for the lines from Oxford via Didcot to London and Newbury to London to be electrified in the next six years. Extension from Didcot to Swindon, Bath, Bristol and to South Wales would be dependent on a further assessment due in 2011 of the costs and implementation requirements of the IEP.

On 1 March 2011, Hammond announced that rail electrification from Didcot Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central would go ahead. The section linking Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads would also be electrified.

In March 2012, Amey plc was awarded a £700 million contract to undertake the electrification works.

In July 2012, the UK Government announced that the final portion of the Great Western from Cardiff to Swansea would be electrified. In addition, as part of the Electric Spine project, the line between Reading and Basingstoke would also be electrified at 25 kV AC OHL. The overhead electrification of the branches to Henley, Marlow and Windsor were also added to the scope of the project. However, the Marlow electrification has been postponed for the foreseeable future due to difficulties at Bourne End.

The new NR Series 1 overhead line equipment, designed and manufactured by Furrer+Frey, is a TSI compliant OLE design specified to allow multiple pantograph operation at 140 mph operation and is being installed using Amey plc's High Output Plant System (HOPS) and other conventional techniques. This is designed to allow Adjacent Line Operation (ALO) where works can be carried out while trains operate on adjacent tracks. The HOPS has five sections, each of which handles a different aspect of the installation – these can be coupled together to work as one unit, or separated to work independently. The train will be maintained at the High Output Operations Base (HOOB) in Swindon, on the site of former sidings. HOPS will mix and lay of concrete per night, and all equipment and personnel will arrive at the site on board.

The HOPS train was operational by 2014, but had not reached full productivity due to teething problems. By 2015, completion of the electrification project had been delayed, reportedly 1 year behind schedule, with completion expected in 2017. Costs of the electrification were reported to have tripled from an estimated £640M to £1.74bn.

Reviews after May 2015 general election

2015

In June 2015, the International Railway Journal reported: "Britain's secretary of state for transport, Mr Patrick McLoughlin has asked Sir Peter Hendy to review Network Rail's 2014–2019 capital investment programme, known as CP5, and report back in the autumn". The report stated that costs had tripled from the £874M original estimate to £2.8bn, and was £1.2bn higher than the estimate made a year ago. The main part of the programme will go ahead as planned and should be delivered by March 2019, but the Cardiff to Swansea section will be delayed, to some time between 2019 and 2024.

Revised dates for the completion of electrification work were published in early 2016, with electrification to Cardiff via Bristol Parkway, and the connection to Newbury planned by December 2018; the branch to Oxford from Didcot by June 2019; and the branch to Bristol Temple Meads from Wootton Bassett sometime between February 2019 and April 2020.

2016

In November 2016, the government announced that electrification work on the sections from Oxford to Didcot Parkway, Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads, Thingley Junction (near Chippenham) to Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads, and branches lines to Henley and Windsor had been indefinitely deferred. For Oxford and Bristol, the deferral was due to imminent resignalling and remodelling of the existing track layout.

2017

In July 2017, it was announced that the Cardiff-Swansea electrification project had been cancelled and that bi-mode trains would be used on the route.

Resignalling

The Great Western Main Line was equipped with colour light signalling common to the rest of the United Kingdom. At the time of the Ladbroke Grove rail crash (1999), the ATP (Automatic Train Protection) warning system was under trial. In response to that incident, it became a requirement for all First Great Western trains to be fitted with ATP.

When the Department for Transport wrote the specification for the new trains for the IEP in November 2007, it was stated that the Great Western Main Line would be upgraded to ERTMS/ ETCS level 2 in-cab signalling and trackside infrastructure. Some or all of the resignalling work would be carried out alongside the electrification work. Signalling Solutions would resignal the 12 miles from Paddington to , including the Airport branch, as part of the Crossrail project.

Thames Valley

In November 2008, Westinghouse (subsequently known as Invensys Rail, and now part of Siemens Rail Automation) was awarded a £20M contract for a 30-month programme of signalling enabling work. Over a series of 12 commissionings, Invensys Rail would re-lock the existing Reading Station and Spur interlockings to three new WESTLOCK interlocking units, re-control the remaining 18 relay interlockings, and move signalling and telecommunications control from Reading Station to the new Thames Valley Signalling Centre at Didcot. The work was due to be completed in December 2010.

The Thames valley signalling centre was to eventually replace older signalling control in the entire English Western region. The London area was due to switch over at the end of 2011, followed by the old Slough PSB (Power Signal Box) area. Attention would then be given to abolishing Oxford, Swindon A, Bristol PSBs and the 1990s Swindon B IECC. This would be followed by the elimination of the 1980s PSBs at Westbury and Exeter, and the 1970s Plymouth PSB, and the 1960s PSB at Gloucester as well as substantial semaphore signalling in Cornwall.

South Wales

The first phase of a £400M, ten-year resignalling scheme in South Wales by Network Rail was carried out on a stretch between Port Talbot and Bridgend (termed Port Talbot East) in 2006 and 2007. The works provided a new turnback facility in both directions at Port Talbot Parkway if required. The renewals replaced an old British Railways Western Region NX panel installation, dating from 1963. Further signalling renewals were programmed for the Newport area, Cardiff and Port Talbot West.

The first phase of the Newport Area remodelling and resignalling began in 2009 and was expected to be completed by the end of 2010. The first phase covered the line between Patchway and Marshfield to the west of Newport. A new South Wales Control Centre, built on the eastern end of Canton Depot in Cardiff, opened in Spring 2009. When the Newport Area resignalling was completed in 2011, the Newport signalbox would be closed. Control would pass to the South Wales Control Centre for other parts of the South Wales network as resignalling progressed.

Rolling stock

Long distance inter-city services

Until May 2019, services from London Paddington to South West England and South Wales were served by Class 43 "InterCity 125" train sets. The Intercity 125 trains were built between 1975 and 1982 and due to their age were replaced by Class 800 and Class 802 "AT300" units from the Hitachi A-train family. The "Intercity 125" trains, now operating in shortened formations on services around Cardiff, Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth are one of the fastest trains on the network with the ability to operate at up to . The new AT300 units have a top speed of but will be capable of with minor modifications. The upgrading of the signalling on the Great Western to in-cab signalling is one pre-requisite to allow the new trains to run at the higher speed. In the 2010 GWML RUS, Network Rail stated that linespeeds in excess of west of Reading would be "reviewed in line with electrification and resignalling opportunities as ERTMS becomes deployed across the RUS area" after Control Period 4 (2014–2019).

The new AT300 units now used on Great Western inter-city services are bi-modal units that are capable of running on lines with and without overhead wires. This is because of the deferment of the electrification project. Despite the initial limit of 125 mph, the increased acceleration and operational efficiency are expected to decrease the journey time from London to Bristol Temple Meads by 22 minutes. These new trains bring an estimated 15% increased capacity during the morning peak hours. The bi-mode trains will allow inter-city services to operate from London directly to locations in South Wales and South West England, to which electrification does not extend under the current electrification proposals, like Carmarthen, Worcester, Gloucester, Cheltenham and the regions to the southwest of Bristol and Newbury. Majority of the fleet are Class 800 units deferred from the Intercity Express Programme which run alongside the Class 802 units, which are essentially a more powerful variant of the Class 800 which are able to cope better with the gradients in Devon and Cornwall.

New servicing facilities for the new fleet have been developed at the London North Pole Depot, the Filton Triangle rail depot in Stoke Gifford and at Maliphant sidings in Swansea.

Thames Valley commuter services

Thames Valley commuter services from London Paddington to Reading and Didcot Parkway are all operated by a fleet of 33 Class 387 four-car trains, having replaced majority of the Class 165 "Network Turbo" and Class 166 "Network Express Turbo" three-car DMUs which are capable of operating at . Due to the 387 units replacing the 165 and 166 units on these services, services which previously locally from Paddington to Oxford now operate short to Didcot Parkway due to the electrification not running on the Cherwell Valley Line between Didcot and Oxford. It was originally planned that Networker trains, electric versions of the Class 165/166s previously operated by Govia Thameslink Railway would cascade from Great Northern services to the Thames Valley, but this did not go ahead as planned and the units remained in operation with Govia Thameslink until their withdrawal in 2021. The 387 units replacing the 165 and 166 units has allowed majority of the units to be transferred to St Philip's Marsh depot for use on services in the Bristol and South West area (see Bristol Metro scheme below).

Crossrail

The western section of Crossrail, to be known as the Elizabeth Line when opened in 2022, runs in part on the Great Western line. It will have 70 Class 345 trains which are formed of 9 carriages and can carry 1,500 passengers. These electric multiple units can achieve speeds of up to on the surface sections of the route and up to in the tunnels. These trains were built by Bombardier Transportation at its Derby Litchurch Lane Works.

Station renovation and enhancements

Several stations along the Great Western are undergoing redevelopment or have recently been upgraded to cope with growing passenger numbers and to ease rail traffic congestion.

Bristol Temple Meads

Bristol Temple Meads will be expanded into Digby Wyatt's 1870s extension to the original train shed, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1840 as the terminus for the Great Western Main Line. This part of the 'Old Station' building is currently in use as a car park, but will be remodelled as terminating platforms for services to London Paddington. To achieve rail access to the existing old platforms the Bristol power box, opened in 1970 and controlling 114 route miles of track, will need to be decommissioned and demolished.

Bristol Parkway

Bristol Parkway had a new third platform (Platform 4) completed in 2007 to provide a new platform for trains departing to London and Birmingham and to make services more reliable between London and south Wales. A new fourth platform has been built on the south side of the station.

Reading

On 10 September 2008, Network Rail unveiled a £400M regeneration and reconfiguration of Reading station and surrounding track, incorporating an overpass to the west of the station; with freight and passenger trains able to transit from the Reading to Taunton Line and Reading to Basingstoke Line to the 'Relief' lines via an underpass beneath the 'Mains' lines, replacing the conventional at-grade crossing of the 'Mains' lines via points, with the aim of alleviating delays due to slow-moving freight services passing through the station. By 2014 the total cost had risen to more than £800M.

As well as the reconfiguration of the track, the terminal platforms for services to/from London Waterloo will be altered and the Cow Lane bridge under the tracks has been made two-way and now includes a cycle path. There will be improvements that will provide capacity for at least four extra trains in each direction every hour.

The station received:
* Five new platforms to ease overcrowding
* A new foot-bridge between platforms
* New escalators and lifts
* A new northern entrance for the station, to serve the north side of the town and Caversham, and provide a link through the station between Reading town centre and the Thames.

These plans provide for the future Crossrail and possible Airtrack services at Reading station, building a railway that will be fit for at least the next thirty years. Also, the improvements will allow six new freight trains each day – this could take around 300 lorries a day off the roads.

While much of the work was carried out in 2010, trains to Devon and Cornwall ran from London Waterloo instead of Paddington, using the South Western Main Line via Basingstoke then the West of England Main Line and Wessex Main Lines. Trains to Bristol, South Wales and Cheltenham were diverted via the Chiltern Main Line (from London to Banbury) where they reversed and returned via Oxford to Didcot Parkway, South Oxfordshire to re-adopt the Great Western Main Line.

As of February 2015, the regeneration and modernisation of Reading Station is complete. The station now has 15 platforms, each serving their own specialist destination and purpose. The new platforms allow more frequent trains to run through Reading and allow more passengers to join longer trains. The entire Reading Redevelopment project will be completed by 2017.

Didcot Parkway

An improvement programme for the forecourt of began in September 2012 and ran for two years. Features included:
* Larger taxi rank with covered waiting area
* Dedicated drop-off and pick-up area
* Short-stay waiting bays
* Disabled parking with step-free access
* Secure cycle parking and motorcycle parking
* Pedestrian piazza with seating and a glazed atrium and walkways
* Extra bus stops with electronic real-time information
* An improved East Car Park
* Better security with CCTV and new lighting
* New drainage to alleviate flooding
* Completion of a cycle route serving the station

In 2018, a new multi-storey car park was built at Didcot Parkway, on the site of the original car park. It provides 1800 spaces to cater for the station's role as a park and ride facility for the surrounding area.

Newport

In 2009, an upgrade to Newport station was started to enable the station to cope with the expected passenger traffic associated with the 2010 Ryder Cup. A new passenger bridge and two new terminal buildings were constructed, with each platform being served by a lift. The new bridge is clad in ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), the material which protects the Eden Project in Cornwall, despite which the roof initially gave problems with leaking. The new development at the station includes a new multi-story car park and a new bus station will be developed outside, replacing the existing Newport bus station. The new north and south concourses opened on 13 September 2010. The development was criticised by ''Rail'' columnist Barry Doe for being at the wrong end of the station, having a leaking roof, a lack of seating and generally poor design.

Cardiff Central

Extra platform capacity at Cardiff Central will be introduced in the form of a new bay platform (platform 5) for services between Cardiff and Maesteg along the GWML and one new through platform to the south of the station (platform 8) for the Cardiff urban services to cater for up to 16 trains per hour. This will bring the number of platforms from 7 to 10. Redevelopment of Cardiff Central bus station outside the railway station commenced in 2008.

London Paddington

Between 2009 and 2015, a new Crossrail station was to be built under London Paddington, serving as a connection to National Rail services and London Underground. Services were due to start in 2018.

Network Rail had planned to demolish the arched section to the north-east of Paddington station, known as Span 4. Span 4 was an extension completed in 1916 and the roof had since become dangerous. An internal blanket was erected in the 1990s to protect people from falling glass. Span 4 was to be replaced by an office block over the rails but it was later decided that the structure would be restored. The restoration of Span 4 took place between 2009 and 2010, and it re-opened in late 2011, looking notably brighter than the other three spans of the station.

Port Talbot Parkway

Work on modernising Port Talbot Parkway station began in Autumn 2014. The old ticket office was demolished and a new footbridge built over the platforms. The footbridge will features a new ticket office and step free access to the platforms provided by lifts.

Severn Tunnel Junction

Severn Tunnel Junction serves as a Park and Ride station for commuters from southern Monmouthshire to Bristol, Newport and Cardiff and there is a local action group – the Severn Tunnel Action Group (STAG) – who are campaigning to enhance the Junction's status as a transport hub for the southern Monmouthshire area. As of January 2010, Network Rail have remodelled the tracks around the station, re-opened Platform 4 and modernised the parking and passenger facilities. The junction where the Gloucester to Newport Line joins the South Wales Main Line has been moved west of the station and now joins the main line with high-speed turnouts.

Swansea

A £7.6M modernisation of Swansea station began in 2011 and was completed in June 2012. The renovation work included enlargement of the concourse, cleaning of the front of the station with a new entrance, replacement of the partition wall between concourse and platforms with a glazed wall, a new café and more shops.

Developments on associated lines

Crossrail

Crossrail is a major rail scheme, under construction since 2009, to provide a new east-west railway connection under Central London. The western portion of the line will connect with the Great Western Main Line to the west of Paddington. With electrification of the Great Western extended westwards past Reading, the Department of Transport stated that Crossrail will terminate at Reading. Some of the suburban services using the GWML into London Paddington will be transferred to Crossrail, which will free up capacity at the surface level station at Paddington.

Connection to Heathrow Airport: Western Rail Access Programme

The Western Rail Access Programme is a scheme under development by the DfT, Network Rail and local authorities near Heathrow Airport to develop a direct rail link to the airport from the west. At present passengers travelling from the west of Airport Junction need to change trains at either Hayes and Harlington or Paddington which are to the east of the junction. The proposed link will consist of a tunnel connecting a new junction between Langley and Iver stations to Terminal 5. The new link will enable direct rail services between Reading and the airport.

With the confirmed electrification of the Great Western Main Line west of Airport Junction, local authorities in the Thames Valley identified a case to be made for introducing a service to Heathrow Airport from Reading via the Great Western, which would also serve Maidenhead and Slough.

On 12 July 2012, Transport Secretary Justine Greening announced that a new rail link connecting Slough and Heathrow had been given the go-ahead and would be operational by 2021. However, as of December 2020, Network Rail was still conducting consultations and construction work had yet to begin.

MetroWest

MetroWest is a project to improve the rail services in Greater Bristol. It was first proposed at First Great Western

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