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Great Western Trains was formed as part of the privatisation of British Rail
Privatisation of British Rail

The privatisation of British Rail was the result of the Railways Act 1993 introduced by John Major's Conservative Party government. The operations of the British Railways Board were broken up and sold off....
. As with all of the original franchises, Great Western was formed as a division of British Rail
British Rail

British Railways , which later traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the Rail transport in Great Britain from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until Privatisation of British Rail in stages from 1994 to 1997....
 prior to the franchise being let. The sector consisted of the express services out of London Paddington to the West of England
West of England

The West of England is a loose term given to the area surrounding the City and County of Bristol, England.It is increasingly used - e.g. by the West of England Partnership - as a synonym for the former Avon area....
 (Bristol
Bristol

Bristol is a City status in the United Kingdom, unitary authority area and Ceremonial counties of England in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff....
, Exeter
Exeter

Exeter Exeter was the most south-westerly Roman fortified settlement in Roman Britain and has existed since time immemorial. Exeter Cathedral, founded in 1050 is Anglicanism....
, Penzance
Penzance

Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, UK.Granted various Royal Charters from 1512 onwards and Incorporation in 1614, it has a population of 20,255 and is currently Penwith's principal town....
) and South Wales
South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west....
 (Cardiff
Cardiff

Cardiff is the Capital , largest city and most populous Unitary authority#Wales in Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sport institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of Welsh Assembly Government ....
). Instead of being franchised to an existing private company, the franchise was awarded to Great Western Holdings
Great Western Holdings

Great Western Holdings was a company created to bid for the Great Western rail franchise in the United Kingdom. The company consisted of 51 per cent management buyout 24.5 per cent FirstGroup and 24.5 per cent 3i....
 (51 per cent management buyout, 24.5 per cent FirstBus and 24.5 per cent 3i
3i

3i Group PLC is a leading venture capital and private equity firm. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index....
).






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Great Western Trains was formed as part of the privatisation of British Rail
Privatisation of British Rail

The privatisation of British Rail was the result of the Railways Act 1993 introduced by John Major's Conservative Party government. The operations of the British Railways Board were broken up and sold off....
. As with all of the original franchises, Great Western was formed as a division of British Rail
British Rail

British Railways , which later traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the Rail transport in Great Britain from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until Privatisation of British Rail in stages from 1994 to 1997....
 prior to the franchise being let. The sector consisted of the express services out of London Paddington to the West of England
West of England

The West of England is a loose term given to the area surrounding the City and County of Bristol, England.It is increasingly used - e.g. by the West of England Partnership - as a synonym for the former Avon area....
 (Bristol
Bristol

Bristol is a City status in the United Kingdom, unitary authority area and Ceremonial counties of England in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff....
, Exeter
Exeter

Exeter Exeter was the most south-westerly Roman fortified settlement in Roman Britain and has existed since time immemorial. Exeter Cathedral, founded in 1050 is Anglicanism....
, Penzance
Penzance

Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, UK.Granted various Royal Charters from 1512 onwards and Incorporation in 1614, it has a population of 20,255 and is currently Penwith's principal town....
) and South Wales
South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west....
 (Cardiff
Cardiff

Cardiff is the Capital , largest city and most populous Unitary authority#Wales in Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sport institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of Welsh Assembly Government ....
). Instead of being franchised to an existing private company, the franchise was awarded to Great Western Holdings
Great Western Holdings

Great Western Holdings was a company created to bid for the Great Western rail franchise in the United Kingdom. The company consisted of 51 per cent management buyout 24.5 per cent FirstGroup and 24.5 per cent 3i....
 (51 per cent management buyout, 24.5 per cent FirstBus and 24.5 per cent 3i
3i

3i Group PLC is a leading venture capital and private equity firm. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index....
). It was one of the first two to be privatised after South West Trains). The company was named Great Western Trains Ltd. The name is derived from that of the earlier Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a History of rail transport in Great Britain that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales....
, which served a similar, but larger, area.

Livery

The livery for Great Western Trains consisted of an ivory lower half and green top half, with the merlin
Merlin (bird)

The Merlin is a smallish falcon that breeds in northern North America, Europe and Asia. In North America it was once and sometimes still is colloquially called "pigeon hawk" though being a falcon it is not very closely related to true hawks....
 and 'InterCity' logos, later repaints omitted the InterCity logo