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8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the First Great Western site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about First Great Western, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your First Great Western, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Infobox Rail companies |bgcolor=FFFFFF|image_filename=FgwNewcoloursatPAD.jpg|widthpx=300px|franchise=Great Western
1996 – 31. March 2006
Greater Western
1. April 2006 – 2016|logo_filename=GreatWesternLogo.png|nameforarea=region|regions=South West England, Thames Valley, [Cotswolds for 43 [High Speed Train Sets
14 British Rail Class 180 sets
36 British Rail Class 165 sets
21 British Rail Class 166 sets
28 British Rail Class 158 sets
15 British Rail Class 153 sets
17 British Rail Class 150 sets
12 British Rail Class 142 sets
7 British Rail Class 143 sets
4 British Rail Class 57 diesel locomotives|stations=210 operated and 275 called at|parent_company=First Group [List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup, which operates services in the west and south west of England and South Wales.

On 1 April 2006, First Great Western, First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains combined into the new Greater Western Franchise. First were announced as the operator of the combined franchise in December 2005 for a 10-year period.

First Great Western (1998 - 2006) In 1998, the bus operator First Group acquired Great Western Trains, along with its subsidiary North Western Trains (which was rebranded First North Western), and rebranded it with its present name.

In 2004–2005, 22.3 million passenger journeys were made on First Great Western, and passengers travelled 2,718 million kilometres, an average journey length of 75 miles (121 kilometres).

Livery The first version of the First Great Western livery (also known as cigarette pack by enthusiasts) was a modified version of the Great Western livery, with fader vinyls over the ivory (color), it also introduced a gold bar containing the First Group "F" and Great Western logos. Initially the "Intercity" branding was retained with the new livery. The power cars carried the First Group Logo.

When the Class 180 Adelante units were delivered, they were painted in the intercity version of First Group corporate livery (known as Barbie). This consisted of a blue base, with purple and gold bars and large pink "F"s. The doors were painted white to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The HST fleet was repainted to match as they went through overhaul, however the livery on the power cars has been altered, following problems with dirt build up on the large white areas. Original First Barbie - Revised First Barbie - Final version of First Barbie - retrieved 8/9/2006

The rolling stock used on the Night Riviera sleeper service retained the original green Great Western livery.

The expanded First Greater Western (2006 - present) On 1 April 2006, First Great Western, First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains combined into the new Greater Western franchise. Three companies — First Group plc, National Express Group PLC, and Stagecoach Group— were short-listed to bid for this new franchise. On 13 December 2005 it was announced that First Group had won the franchise.The new franchise has kept the name First Great Western. Originally, First planned to subdivide its services into the following three categories: Following feedback from staff and stakeholders, the decision was taken to re-brand and re-livery all services as just 'First Great Western'. - Page from the franchise site confirming the abandonment of sub brands

Intercity routes First Great Western operate InterCity services to and from Paddington station. These are typically of the following frequency:

Nearly all high-speed trains on the Great Western network stop at Reading railway station. Swindon railway station is currently served by all trains to Bristol & South Wales, with Didcot Parkway railway station stops by one train per hour on each route. Cardiff Central, Newport railway station and Bristol Parkway are served by all South Wales services, meaning a train departs from London for Bristol every 15 minutes. Almost all trains from London Paddington to Plymouth railway station call at Taunton railway station, with some services also stopping at Newbury railway station, Pewsey railway station, Westbury railway station and Castle Cary railway station. Once a day in each direction (early morning to London and late evening from) HST services also call at local stations between Bristol and Taunton, including Nailsea & Backwell, Yatton for Clevedon, Highbridge & Burnham on Sea and Bridgwater.

First Great Western also provides a limited number of intercity services to Paignton, Newquay (summer Saturdays and Sundays only), Carmarthen, Pembroke Dock (summer Saturdays only), Oxford, Worcester, and Hereford. First Great Western withdrew its services to Fishguard Harbour in 2003.

First Great Western operate a number of List of named passenger trains, including:

Intercity services are announced at stations fitted with the Great Western Customer Information System as the 'First Great Western High Speed' services

Commuter routes First Great Western operate commuter services from London Paddington to destinations such as Slough, Reading, Berkshire, Didcot, Oxford, Newbury, Berkshire, Bedwyn, Hereford, Worcester and Banbury. Train services are also provided from Reading to Basingstoke, Gatwick Airport via Guildford and Dorking Deepdene railway station, Bristol to Newport and Cardiff, and from Oxford to Bicester Town.

The Thames Valley routes were initially privatised in the mid 1990s and sold to the managers who had operated the trains under the nationalised British Rail. They later passed the company onto the Go Ahead Group, who operated them as Thames Trains. The franchise was taken over by First Group in April 2004 as part of plans to create a single franchise at Paddington. For two years, the trains were operated under the First Great Western Link banner.

The new 'super' franchise came into effect on 1st April 2006, and the Thames commuter routes, Inter City and Local services were combined to create "Greater Western", with all trains bearing the "First Great Western" name.



Local routes First Great Western run the majority of local trains in the South West.

Local trains run on a range of north-south routes from Cardiff, Gloucester and Worcester in the north to Weymouth, Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton in the south. Many of these services run via Bristol, which acts as the hub of the network. The company also runs the local routes and branch lines in Devon and Cornwall, such as the Newquay and St Ives, Cornwall holiday lines, and the Devon network of branches to Exmouth, Paignton and Barnstaple. When First acquired the local franchise in 2006, it considered starting the Cardiff–Portsmouth Harbour trains from Rhoose Cardiff International Airport Station, calling also at Barry before Cardiff Central—however this option was not adopted.

For a fuller description of the routes operated by First Great Western, see the following links.

The Tarka, Riviera and Avocet lines operate as a network known internally as the 'Devon Metro'

s are permitted in the Quiet Carriage. Note also the glowsticks on the partition for emergencies.The company operated the last Motorail service, as part of the London Paddington–Penzance Night Riviera overnight sleeper service, this was withdrawn at the end of the summer season in 2005 due to low usage.

Management and operations First Great Western have three major depots: Old Oak Common, two miles from Paddington station; Laira in Plymouth; and St Phillips Marsh, near Bristol Temple Meads railway station, with smaller depots at Penzance, Landore and Exeter.

The current Managing Director of First Great Western is Andrew Haines, who replaced Alison Forster in September 2007 after criticisms of the way the service was run.. Other directors are Glenda Lamont (Customer Service), Graham Boot-Handford (Engineering), Ben Caswell (Finance), Kevin Gale (Trains), Tom Stables (Commercial Services) and Dawn Murphy (Human Resources). The non-executive chairman is Chay Blyth. Previous Managing Directors have included Chris Kinchin-Smith, Mike Carroll (who is now Managing Director of First Info, a subsidiary of First Group) and Dr Mike Mitchell (now Director General of Railways at the Department for Transport).

Performance The latest performance statistics released by the Office of Rail Regulation place First Great Western at the bottom of the table in terms of performance. The PPM measure for First Great Western's High Speed services for the last quarter of the financial year 2006/7 were at 75.6%, down 3% on last year, and well below the sector level. London and Thames Valley services were slightly better, at 85.6%, also down, 1%, on last year for the same period. However, the figures for London and Thames Valley sharply fall when only the peak services are considered; the same figures (PPM) are only 69.5%, down over five percent compared with the same figures last year.

Not of delays are attributable to FGW. In Sept 2007 the ORR defended its position to allow Network Rail an additional 2 months to fix infrastructure problems before imposing enforcement action and fines due to their performance . The ORR said the First Great Western train service "continues to suffer from very high levels of delays attributed to Network Rail" and had described Network Rail's performance as being "exceptionally disappointing".

Rolling stock Class 43 High Speed Train First Great Western use their large fleet of 43 HST sets to operate most long distance services from Paddington to destinations such as Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Cheltenham, Plymouth and Penzance. Not all of the fleet is leased, with some sets being bought outright by First.

A typical HST set comprises two engines (one at each end) and passenger coaches A-H. In a standard configuration, all coaches will be used. Coach A is the 'Quiet Coach' where passengers are asked to 'respect their fellow passengers' when using mobile phones, personal stereos etc. This coach features 63 seats (forward and rear facing, some around tables), the train manager's office, wheelchair area and 1 toilet (at the opposite end to the office). Coaches B, C and D are 'Standard Coaches' featuring 76 seats (forward and rear facing, some around tables) and 2 toilets (one at either end). Coach E is the 'Disabled/Family Coach' and features 75 seats around a greater number of tables (forward and rear facing), 1 standard toilet and 1 disabled toilet (one at either end) and a wheelchair area. Coach F is the 'Buffet Coach'. This coach features 17 First Class seats (1+2 configuration), with all around tables. There is no toilet. Coaches G and H each feature about 47 First Class seats (forward and rear facing, all around tables). In coach G there is a wheelchair area. 2 First Class toilets are located in these coaches, one at either end of the coach.

HST refurbishment In 2005 First Great Western announced that the High Speed Train fleet was to be re-engined and refurbished. It is expected that there will be two fleets of HST, with some to be refurbished into a high density layout of mostly airline seats for services in the M4 corridor to Bristol and Cardiff, and to improve acceleration the buffet cars will be removed. The remainder will be refurbished with new seating (leather in First Class) and at-seat power points. Buffets will be retained for long distance services to Swansea and the West Country. The contract to carry out the refurbishment of the coaches was awarded to Bombardier of Derby, with the first refurbished set due to enter service in November 2006.

The powercars are receiving new MTU Friedrichshafen engines. These are being fitted by Brush Traction of Loughborough and the program is underway with the first re-engined powercar (43175) entering service in July 2006 following fitment of Automatic Train Protection. These powercars are easily identified as they carry a temporary blue livery and have new headlight clusters. The new engines are claimed to be 15% more efficient.

On the 17th January 2006, First Great Western Officially Launched the first of the new refurbished HST carriages. Coach E is the High Density layout and contains only 2 tables in the whole of the carriage.

Also there are new leather seats in First Class on a 2 by 1 Layout; this is a first for any UK operator.

On the 21st February 2007 the first refurbished HST set entered service. It was then withdrawn from service within a few weeks due to a problem with the centre doors. This one has since been put back in service and others are joining the fleet all the time.

There has been criticism of aspects of the new coaches. The high-density layout is the most controversial aspect, with some commentators claiming that its only motivation is to compress passengers onto overcrowded services, with a reduced seat pitch of 32 inches instead of the introduction of more trains. FGW have also removed two toilets, their accommodation now being used for catering storage and luggage space. There has also been criticism, especially in the First Class carriages, of the reduced widths of the aisles, which have meant that passengers have not been able to use wheelchairs.

Class 142 12 of these units are coming from Northern Rail to work the Devon branches, only to be used to strengthen other services or as two units coupled together.Curiously, British Rail withdrew them from these branches in 1982 due to excessive wheel wear.

Class 143 First Great Western inherited the small fleet of 7 two-coach Class 143 Pacer railbuses from Wessex Trains following the franchise merger in April 2006. They are currently used on suburban services around Bristol, particularly on the Severn Beach Line, some sets were meant to be moving to Exeter depot in December 2006 to operate the Exmouth, Barnstaple and Paignton 'Devon Metro' services, but the move never weant ahead due to National Rail objections. Class 142 pacers will be used on the 'Devon Metro' from December 2007 to cover for units being refreshed. The current livery is an advertising livery for Bristol.

Class 150 The fleet of 17 Two coach Class 150 Sprinter units were inherited from Wessex Trains as part of the Greater Western franchise shuffle. The fleet was refurbished by Wessex Trains in 2003 with 2+2 seating arranged in a mixture of 'airline' (face to back) and table seating. The fleet is widespread throughout the former Wessex area and carries a maroon livery with advertising vinyls for South West Tourism. Each unit is sponsored by a district, town or attraction and carries a unique livery. Several are also named. Work has commenced to repaint the fleet into the new First 'Local' livery as the contract with South West Tourism runs out. The new livery consists of a blue body, with pink doors and 3 lines of place names in First Group corporate colours. As part of a national fleet shuffle eight units went to Arriva Trains Wales on the 10 December 2006, and were replaced with 8 Class 158 units. Details of the units that went can be found under First Great Western#Stock Cuts. The fleet will receive an internal 'refresh' during 2007 or 2008 with a fully refreshed fleet in operation by September 2008. 150244 and 150249 are the first two to be repainted into the Dynamic Lights local lines livery and both enteredservice on 26 January 2007.

Class 153 The Class 153 is a diesel railcar converted from a Class 155 two coach unit in the early 1990s. First Great Western have 15 which are used to strengthen services and on some of the quieter branch lines although stock shortages often see them operate on their own on busier routes. Each railcar carries one of three promotional liveries, these being for the Heart of Wessex Line, the Scenic Branches of Devon and Cornwall, and the St Ives and Looe lines. Two railcars were refurbished in early 2006 by Wessex Trains shortly before the franchise merger. They will all receive an internal refresh by September 2008. Up to seven railcars are expected to leave First Great Western in the ongoing fleet review. This now appears to be shelved as FGW are losing 12 Class 158's to Northern.

Class 158 The Class 158 is a two-coach DMU (one 3 coach) used on regional services in the former Wessex Trains area. The fleet is currently in the process of a major reshuffle with units being swapped with Arriva Trains Wales, Central, TransPennine Express, First ScotRail and Northern during the early part of the franchise. All of the three car hybrid sets have been disbanded and all but one of the three-car ex-TransPennine sets initially replacing them have been transferred away to South West Trains, resulting in services requiring three coaches now usually being run by two-coach units, and suffering heavy overcrowding. The fleet also varies dramatically in condition, Wessex Trains refurbished a handful of units in 2005 but some units (especially the ex-TransPennine Express ones) are in very poor condition internally. The former TransPennine units also contain a small section of declassified first class seating in one vehicle. The fleet is currently being refurbished. First Great Western will lose 12 Class 158's in December 2007 to Northern. Class 142 pacers will replace these.

Class 166 The Class 166 is a three coach DMU used on Paddington to Bedwyn and Oxford Services. The Class 166s can also be found on Reading to Basingstoke, North Downs Line and other routes. They are mainly found at Reading and are based at a Depot in Reading. Their main destinations are Reading, Berkshire, Oxford, London Paddington, Great Malvern and Hereford. All Class 166 units are receiving a First Great Western Neon Dynamic Lines livery which was applied to 166220 first in October.

Class 180 Adelante multiple units.The fourteen Class 180 ‘Adelante’ diesel multiple units were built by Alstom and entered service in 2002. They are used for semi-fast services requiring 125mph operation, however they will be replaced with shortened HSTs on most of their current duties.

These sets comprise of 5 coaches A-E, with all (unlike the HST coaches) being used in a typical setup. A 750hp Cummins QSK-19 engine is fitted under the floor of each coach, driving the wheels through a Voith torque converter. A is the 'Quiet Coach', B is the 'Refresca Coach' (the buffet coach, although the buffet is much smaller and more modern than those on HSTs). Therefore, this coach has a much greater number of Standard Class seats than the small number of First Class seats featured on the HST buffet coach. Coach C is the 'Standard Coach', D the 'First Class Coach' and E the 'Audio Coach'. This setup is unusual in that only one of the coaches features audio entertainment (unlike Virgin Trains' coaches) and that the First Class coach is sandwiched in between two Standard Class coaches (as opposed to being at the front or rear of the train like First's HST sets or Virgin Trains' sets).

The entire fleet was to be withdrawn by the end of 2007, due to their poor reliability, this has now been put back until the HST Refresh programme has finished..

DMU Refurbishment FGW will be refurbishing its DMU fleet based in the West region in an 11m pound investment . The refurbishment will include improvements to the saloon, vehicle performance and driver environment. CCTV will be also be fitted. At the same time, the vehicles will be fitted with the new FGW livery.

The Class 158s are being sent to Wabtec in Doncaster for refurbishment.

The Classes 143 and 150 and will be refurbished by Pullman Rail at Cardiff Canton.

The updated trains will carry the new Local Lines livery and be fitted with new seats, lighting, laminated windows, and new grab handles.The Class 150s and 143s will be refurbished at Pullman Rail's Cardiff Canton facility. These will also carry the new Local Lines Livery and will receive similar changes to their interiors as the class 158s. The Class 153s refurbishment wll be carried out at Wabtec EastleighThe first 158 has now been released from Wabtec and is in service now. Several more 158's are at Wabtec and two 153's are at Eastleigh being refurblished.

Livery The new franchise will involve revinyling the HST fleet into First Group’s new 'dynamic lines' livery for Intercity services. The Class 165 and 166 Turbos are also receiving this livery. A second livery will be applied to the DMU fleet. This is based on the names of places served by the franchise, similar to the livery used by Wessex Trains.

The first pictures of the 150244 in its new livery were released when the train moved from Laira TMD,Plymouth to Exeter St Davids.

Current fleet {| class="wikitable"|----- bgcolor=#f9f9f9! rowspan="2" |Class! rowspan="2" |Image! rowspan="2" |Type! colspan="2" |Top speed! rowspan="2" |Number! rowspan="2" |Routes operated! rowspan="2" |Built|----- bgcolor=#f9f9f9!mph!km/h|-|British Rail Class 43 (HST) (2 per train)||diesel locomotive||[diesel locomotive||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit|

|[Passenger Rolling stock|125|200|About 300|All Intercity Routes|1972 - 1988|}

Controversy First Great Western consulted on a new timetable due to be introduced in December 2006. Campaigners accused the company of cutting evening commuter services, but First Great Western denied this and said there had been significant improvements under the new franchise.

In December 2006/January 2007 First Great Western were responsible for a great number of cancellations and delays each day, mainly attributed to shortages in train crew or a lack of serviceable trains, leaving some branch lines with just bus services, and some areas with little service at all.

From 1 January-10 January 2007 First Great Western removed all trains from the St Ives and Looe branch lines in Cornwall (which normally have a class 153 each in winter), so that they could use them for extending services around Bristol. First Group announced on 6 September 2007 changes to their management structure, apparently designed to strengthen the FGW commuter services. Anthony Smith, head of the rail users council, Passenger Focus, commented, "A fresh management approach is welcome. Clearly, looking at the passenger satisfaction scores for First Great Western, the train company…have a lot to do."

In 2004-2005, 79.6% of trains arrived on time (defined as within 10 minutes of their scheduled arrival time). Posters displayed at stations as required by Passenger Charter On 22 December 2006, First Great Western InterCity service was declared the worst in Britain for delays, according to figures from the Office of Rail Regulation, with more than one in four trains running late. First was also the only train company actually to achieve a year-on-year fall in performance results.

At the same time, Network Rail, the Infrastructure provider, has been heavily criticised by the rail regulator (the ORR) for their performance on Great Western Routes, being described as "exceptionally disappointing". In September 2007 they were given a further 2 months to improve performance before enforcement action and fines would be imposed.

References See also

External links
{{s-ttl|rows=3|title=Operator of Greater Western franchise|years=2006 - present-->|-|-
{{Infobox Rail companies |bgcolor=FFFFFF|image_filename=FgwNewcoloursatPAD.jpg|widthpx=300px|franchise=Great Western
1996 – 31. March 2006
Greater Western
1. April 2006 – 2016|logo_filename=GreatWesternLogo.png|nameforarea=region|regions=South West England, Thames Valley, [Cotswolds for 43 [High Speed Train Sets
14 British Rail Class 180 sets
36 British Rail Class 165 sets
21 British Rail Class 166 sets
28 British Rail Class 158 sets
15 British Rail Class 153 sets
17 British Rail Class 150 sets
12 British Rail Class 142 sets
7 British Rail Class 143 sets
4 British Rail Class 57 diesel locomotives|stations=210 operated and 275 called at|parent_company=First Group [List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup, which operates services in the west and south west of England and South Wales.

On 1 April 2006, First Great Western, First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains combined into the new Greater Western Franchise. First were announced as the operator of the combined franchise in December 2005 for a 10-year period.

First Great Western (1998 - 2006) In 1998, the bus operator First Group acquired Great Western Trains, along with its subsidiary North Western Trains (which was rebranded First North Western), and rebranded it with its present name.

In 2004–2005, 22.3 million passenger journeys were made on First Great Western, and passengers travelled 2,718 million kilometres, an average journey length of 75 miles (121 kilometres).

Livery The first version of the First Great Western livery (also known as cigarette pack by enthusiasts) was a modified version of the Great Western livery, with fader vinyls over the ivory (color), it also introduced a gold bar containing the First Group "F" and Great Western logos. Initially the "Intercity" branding was retained with the new livery. The power cars carried the First Group Logo.

When the Class 180 Adelante units were delivered, they were painted in the intercity version of First Group corporate livery (known as Barbie). This consisted of a blue base, with purple and gold bars and large pink "F"s. The doors were painted white to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The HST fleet was repainted to match as they went through overhaul, however the livery on the power cars has been altered, following problems with dirt build up on the large white areas. Original First Barbie - Revised First Barbie - Final version of First Barbie - retrieved 8/9/2006

The rolling stock used on the Night Riviera sleeper service retained the original green Great Western livery.

The expanded First Greater Western (2006 - present) On 1 April 2006, First Great Western, First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains combined into the new Greater Western franchise. Three companies — First Group plc, National Express Group PLC, and Stagecoach Group— were short-listed to bid for this new franchise. On 13 December 2005 it was announced that First Group had won the franchise.The new franchise has kept the name First Great Western. Originally, First planned to subdivide its services into the following three categories: Following feedback from staff and stakeholders, the decision was taken to re-brand and re-livery all services as just 'First Great Western'. - Page from the franchise site confirming the abandonment of sub brands

Intercity routes First Great Western operate InterCity services to and from Paddington station. These are typically of the following frequency:

Nearly all high-speed trains on the Great Western network stop at Reading railway station. Swindon railway station is currently served by all trains to Bristol & South Wales, with Didcot Parkway railway station stops by one train per hour on each route. Cardiff Central, Newport railway station and Bristol Parkway are served by all South Wales services, meaning a train departs from London for Bristol every 15 minutes. Almost all trains from London Paddington to Plymouth railway station call at Taunton railway station, with some services also stopping at Newbury railway station, Pewsey railway station, Westbury railway station and Castle Cary railway station. Once a day in each direction (early morning to London and late evening from) HST services also call at local stations between Bristol and Taunton, including Nailsea & Backwell, Yatton for Clevedon, Highbridge & Burnham on Sea and Bridgwater.

First Great Western also provides a limited number of intercity services to Paignton, Newquay (summer Saturdays and Sundays only), Carmarthen, Pembroke Dock (summer Saturdays only), Oxford, Worcester, and Hereford. First Great Western withdrew its services to Fishguard Harbour in 2003.

First Great Western operate a number of List of named passenger trains, including:

Intercity services are announced at stations fitted with the Great Western Customer Information System as the 'First Great Western High Speed' services

Commuter routes First Great Western operate commuter services from London Paddington to destinations such as Slough, Reading, Berkshire, Didcot, Oxford, Newbury, Berkshire, Bedwyn, Hereford, Worcester and Banbury. Train services are also provided from Reading to Basingstoke, Gatwick Airport via Guildford and Dorking Deepdene railway station, Bristol to Newport and Cardiff, and from Oxford to Bicester Town.

The Thames Valley routes were initially privatised in the mid 1990s and sold to the managers who had operated the trains under the nationalised British Rail. They later passed the company onto the Go Ahead Group, who operated them as Thames Trains. The franchise was taken over by First Group in April 2004 as part of plans to create a single franchise at Paddington. For two years, the trains were operated under the First Great Western Link banner.

The new 'super' franchise came into effect on 1st April 2006, and the Thames commuter routes, Inter City and Local services were combined to create "Greater Western", with all trains bearing the "First Great Western" name.



Local routes First Great Western run the majority of local trains in the South West.

Local trains run on a range of north-south routes from Cardiff, Gloucester and Worcester in the north to Weymouth, Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton in the south. Many of these services run via Bristol, which acts as the hub of the network. The company also runs the local routes and branch lines in Devon and Cornwall, such as the Newquay and St Ives, Cornwall holiday lines, and the Devon network of branches to Exmouth, Paignton and Barnstaple. When First acquired the local franchise in 2006, it considered starting the Cardiff–Portsmouth Harbour trains from Rhoose Cardiff International Airport Station, calling also at Barry before Cardiff Central—however this option was not adopted.

For a fuller description of the routes operated by First Great Western, see the following links.

The Tarka, Riviera and Avocet lines operate as a network known internally as the 'Devon Metro'

s are permitted in the Quiet Carriage. Note also the glowsticks on the partition for emergencies.The company operated the last Motorail service, as part of the London Paddington–Penzance Night Riviera overnight sleeper service, this was withdrawn at the end of the summer season in 2005 due to low usage.

Management and operations First Great Western have three major depots: Old Oak Common, two miles from Paddington station; Laira in Plymouth; and St Phillips Marsh, near Bristol Temple Meads railway station, with smaller depots at Penzance, Landore and Exeter.

The current Managing Director of First Great Western is Andrew Haines, who replaced Alison Forster in September 2007 after criticisms of the way the service was run.. Other directors are Glenda Lamont (Customer Service), Graham Boot-Handford (Engineering), Ben Caswell (Finance), Kevin Gale (Trains), Tom Stables (Commercial Services) and Dawn Murphy (Human Resources). The non-executive chairman is Chay Blyth. Previous Managing Directors have included Chris Kinchin-Smith, Mike Carroll (who is now Managing Director of First Info, a subsidiary of First Group) and Dr Mike Mitchell (now Director General of Railways at the Department for Transport).

Performance The latest performance statistics released by the Office of Rail Regulation place First Great Western at the bottom of the table in terms of performance. The PPM measure for First Great Western's High Speed services for the last quarter of the financial year 2006/7 were at 75.6%, down 3% on last year, and well below the sector level. London and Thames Valley services were slightly better, at 85.6%, also down, 1%, on last year for the same period. However, the figures for London and Thames Valley sharply fall when only the peak services are considered; the same figures (PPM) are only 69.5%, down over five percent compared with the same figures last year.

Not of delays are attributable to FGW. In Sept 2007 the ORR defended its position to allow Network Rail an additional 2 months to fix infrastructure problems before imposing enforcement action and fines due to their performance . The ORR said the First Great Western train service "continues to suffer from very high levels of delays attributed to Network Rail" and had described Network Rail's performance as being "exceptionally disappointing".

Rolling stock Class 43 High Speed Train First Great Western use their large fleet of 43 HST sets to operate most long distance services from Paddington to destinations such as Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Cheltenham, Plymouth and Penzance. Not all of the fleet is leased, with some sets being bought outright by First.

A typical HST set comprises two engines (one at each end) and passenger coaches A-H. In a standard configuration, all coaches will be used. Coach A is the 'Quiet Coach' where passengers are asked to 'respect their fellow passengers' when using mobile phones, personal stereos etc. This coach features 63 seats (forward and rear facing, some around tables), the train manager's office, wheelchair area and 1 toilet (at the opposite end to the office). Coaches B, C and D are 'Standard Coaches' featuring 76 seats (forward and rear facing, some around tables) and 2 toilets (one at either end). Coach E is the 'Disabled/Family Coach' and features 75 seats around a greater number of tables (forward and rear facing), 1 standard toilet and 1 disabled toilet (one at either end) and a wheelchair area. Coach F is the 'Buffet Coach'. This coach features 17 First Class seats (1+2 configuration), with all around tables. There is no toilet. Coaches G and H each feature about 47 First Class seats (forward and rear facing, all around tables). In coach G there is a wheelchair area. 2 First Class toilets are located in these coaches, one at either end of the coach.

HST refurbishment In 2005 First Great Western announced that the High Speed Train fleet was to be re-engined and refurbished. It is expected that there will be two fleets of HST, with some to be refurbished into a high density layout of mostly airline seats for services in the M4 corridor to Bristol and Cardiff, and to improve acceleration the buffet cars will be removed. The remainder will be refurbished with new seating (leather in First Class) and at-seat power points. Buffets will be retained for long distance services to Swansea and the West Country. The contract to carry out the refurbishment of the coaches was awarded to Bombardier of Derby, with the first refurbished set due to enter service in November 2006.

The powercars are receiving new MTU Friedrichshafen engines. These are being fitted by Brush Traction of Loughborough and the program is underway with the first re-engined powercar (43175) entering service in July 2006 following fitment of Automatic Train Protection. These powercars are easily identified as they carry a temporary blue livery and have new headlight clusters. The new engines are claimed to be 15% more efficient.

On the 17th January 2006, First Great Western Officially Launched the first of the new refurbished HST carriages. Coach E is the High Density layout and contains only 2 tables in the whole of the carriage.

Also there are new leather seats in First Class on a 2 by 1 Layout; this is a first for any UK operator.

On the 21st February 2007 the first refurbished HST set entered service. It was then withdrawn from service within a few weeks due to a problem with the centre doors. This one has since been put back in service and others are joining the fleet all the time.

There has been criticism of aspects of the new coaches. The high-density layout is the most controversial aspect, with some commentators claiming that its only motivation is to compress passengers onto overcrowded services, with a reduced seat pitch of 32 inches instead of the introduction of more trains. FGW have also removed two toilets, their accommodation now being used for catering storage and luggage space. There has also been criticism, especially in the First Class carriages, of the reduced widths of the aisles, which have meant that passengers have not been able to use wheelchairs.

Class 142 12 of these units are coming from Northern Rail to work the Devon branches, only to be used to strengthen other services or as two units coupled together.Curiously, British Rail withdrew them from these branches in 1982 due to excessive wheel wear.

Class 143 First Great Western inherited the small fleet of 7 two-coach Class 143 Pacer railbuses from Wessex Trains following the franchise merger in April 2006. They are currently used on suburban services around Bristol, particularly on the Severn Beach Line, some sets were meant to be moving to Exeter depot in December 2006 to operate the Exmouth, Barnstaple and Paignton 'Devon Metro' services, but the move never weant ahead due to National Rail objections. Class 142 pacers will be used on the 'Devon Metro' from December 2007 to cover for units being refreshed. The current livery is an advertising livery for Bristol.

Class 150 The fleet of 17 Two coach Class 150 Sprinter units were inherited from Wessex Trains as part of the Greater Western franchise shuffle. The fleet was refurbished by Wessex Trains in 2003 with 2+2 seating arranged in a mixture of 'airline' (face to back) and table seating. The fleet is widespread throughout the former Wessex area and carries a maroon livery with advertising vinyls for South West Tourism. Each unit is sponsored by a district, town or attraction and carries a unique livery. Several are also named. Work has commenced to repaint the fleet into the new First 'Local' livery as the contract with South West Tourism runs out. The new livery consists of a blue body, with pink doors and 3 lines of place names in First Group corporate colours. As part of a national fleet shuffle eight units went to Arriva Trains Wales on the 10 December 2006, and were replaced with 8 Class 158 units. Details of the units that went can be found under First Great Western#Stock Cuts. The fleet will receive an internal 'refresh' during 2007 or 2008 with a fully refreshed fleet in operation by September 2008. 150244 and 150249 are the first two to be repainted into the Dynamic Lights local lines livery and both enteredservice on 26 January 2007.

Class 153 The Class 153 is a diesel railcar converted from a Class 155 two coach unit in the early 1990s. First Great Western have 15 which are used to strengthen services and on some of the quieter branch lines although stock shortages often see them operate on their own on busier routes. Each railcar carries one of three promotional liveries, these being for the Heart of Wessex Line, the Scenic Branches of Devon and Cornwall, and the St Ives and Looe lines. Two railcars were refurbished in early 2006 by Wessex Trains shortly before the franchise merger. They will all receive an internal refresh by September 2008. Up to seven railcars are expected to leave First Great Western in the ongoing fleet review. This now appears to be shelved as FGW are losing 12 Class 158's to Northern.

Class 158 The Class 158 is a two-coach DMU (one 3 coach) used on regional services in the former Wessex Trains area. The fleet is currently in the process of a major reshuffle with units being swapped with Arriva Trains Wales, Central, TransPennine Express, First ScotRail and Northern during the early part of the franchise. All of the three car hybrid sets have been disbanded and all but one of the three-car ex-TransPennine sets initially replacing them have been transferred away to South West Trains, resulting in services requiring three coaches now usually being run by two-coach units, and suffering heavy overcrowding. The fleet also varies dramatically in condition, Wessex Trains refurbished a handful of units in 2005 but some units (especially the ex-TransPennine Express ones) are in very poor condition internally. The former TransPennine units also contain a small section of declassified first class seating in one vehicle. The fleet is currently being refurbished. First Great Western will lose 12 Class 158's in December 2007 to Northern. Class 142 pacers will replace these.

Class 166 The Class 166 is a three coach DMU used on Paddington to Bedwyn and Oxford Services. The Class 166s can also be found on Reading to Basingstoke, North Downs Line and other routes. They are mainly found at Reading and are based at a Depot in Reading. Their main destinations are Reading, Berkshire, Oxford, London Paddington, Great Malvern and Hereford. All Class 166 units are receiving a First Great Western Neon Dynamic Lines livery which was applied to 166220 first in October.

Class 180 Adelante multiple units.The fourteen Class 180 ‘Adelante’ diesel multiple units were built by Alstom and entered service in 2002. They are used for semi-fast services requiring 125mph operation, however they will be replaced with shortened HSTs on most of their current duties.

These sets comprise of 5 coaches A-E, with all (unlike the HST coaches) being used in a typical setup. A 750hp Cummins QSK-19 engine is fitted under the floor of each coach, driving the wheels through a Voith torque converter. A is the 'Quiet Coach', B is the 'Refresca Coach' (the buffet coach, although the buffet is much smaller and more modern than those on HSTs). Therefore, this coach has a much greater number of Standard Class seats than the small number of First Class seats featured on the HST buffet coach. Coach C is the 'Standard Coach', D the 'First Class Coach' and E the 'Audio Coach'. This setup is unusual in that only one of the coaches features audio entertainment (unlike Virgin Trains' coaches) and that the First Class coach is sandwiched in between two Standard Class coaches (as opposed to being at the front or rear of the train like First's HST sets or Virgin Trains' sets).

The entire fleet was to be withdrawn by the end of 2007, due to their poor reliability, this has now been put back until the HST Refresh programme has finished..

DMU Refurbishment FGW will be refurbishing its DMU fleet based in the West region in an 11m pound investment . The refurbishment will include improvements to the saloon, vehicle performance and driver environment. CCTV will be also be fitted. At the same time, the vehicles will be fitted with the new FGW livery.

The Class 158s are being sent to Wabtec in Doncaster for refurbishment.

The Classes 143 and 150 and will be refurbished by Pullman Rail at Cardiff Canton.

The updated trains will carry the new Local Lines livery and be fitted with new seats, lighting, laminated windows, and new grab handles.The Class 150s and 143s will be refurbished at Pullman Rail's Cardiff Canton facility. These will also carry the new Local Lines Livery and will receive similar changes to their interiors as the class 158s. The Class 153s refurbishment wll be carried out at Wabtec EastleighThe first 158 has now been released from Wabtec and is in service now. Several more 158's are at Wabtec and two 153's are at Eastleigh being refurblished.

Livery The new franchise will involve revinyling the HST fleet into First Group’s new 'dynamic lines' livery for Intercity services. The Class 165 and 166 Turbos are also receiving this livery. A second livery will be applied to the DMU fleet. This is based on the names of places served by the franchise, similar to the livery used by Wessex Trains.

The first pictures of the 150244 in its new livery were released when the train moved from Laira TMD,Plymouth to Exeter St Davids.

Current fleet {| class="wikitable"|----- bgcolor=#f9f9f9! rowspan="2" |Class! rowspan="2" |Image! rowspan="2" |Type! colspan="2" |Top speed! rowspan="2" |Number! rowspan="2" |Routes operated! rowspan="2" |Built|----- bgcolor=#f9f9f9!mph!km/h|-|British Rail Class 43 (HST) (2 per train)||diesel locomotive||[diesel locomotive||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit||[diesel multiple unit|

|[Passenger Rolling stock|125|200|About 300|All Intercity Routes|1972 - 1988|}

Controversy First Great Western consulted on a new timetable due to be introduced in December 2006. Campaigners accused the company of cutting evening commuter services, but First Great Western denied this and said there had been significant improvements under the new franchise.

In December 2006/January 2007 First Great Western were responsible for a great number of cancellations and delays each day, mainly attributed to shortages in train crew or a lack of serviceable trains, leaving some branch lines with just bus services, and some areas with little service at all.

From 1 January-10 January 2007 First Great Western removed all trains from the St Ives and Looe branch lines in Cornwall (which normally have a class 153 each in winter), so that they could use them for extending services around Bristol. First Group announced on 6 September 2007 changes to their management structure, apparently designed to strengthen the FGW commuter services. Anthony Smith, head of the rail users council, Passenger Focus, commented, "A fresh management approach is welcome. Clearly, looking at the passenger satisfaction scores for First Great Western, the train company…have a lot to do."

In 2004-2005, 79.6% of trains arrived on time (defined as within 10 minutes of their scheduled arrival time). Posters displayed at stations as required by Passenger Charter On 22 December 2006, First Great Western InterCity service was declared the worst in Britain for delays, according to figures from the Office of Rail Regulation, with more than one in four trains running late. First was also the only train company actually to achieve a year-on-year fall in performance results.

At the same time, Network Rail, the Infrastructure provider, has been heavily criticised by the rail regulator (the ORR) for their performance on Great Western Routes, being described as "exceptionally disappointing". In September 2007 they were given a further 2 months to improve performance before enforcement action and fines would be imposed.

References See also

External links
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