Thames Trains was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
railway company franchised (from September 1996, following the
privatisation of British RailThe privatisation of British Rail was set in train when the government enacted, on the 19th January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
, until 31 March 2004) to run regional and suburban trains from
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
Paddington stationPaddington station, also known as London Paddington, is a major National Rail and London Underground station complex in the Paddington area of central London, England....
to destinations in the
home countiesThe "Home counties" refers to the counties that border or surround London, England but not including the United Kingdom's capital city itself. There is no exact definition of the term and the composition of the 'home counties' is sometimes a matter of debate....
west of
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, to
WorcesterWorcester is a city and county town of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some 30 miles southwest of Birmingham, 29 miles north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people...
,
HerefordHereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
and
Stratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of the county town, Warwick. It is the main town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers a...
, and the
ReadingReading is a large town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London...
to Gatwick Airport service.
With effect from 1 April 2004, the now-defunct
Strategic Rail AuthorityIn existence from 2001 to 2006, the Strategic Rail Authority was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry....
(SRA) transferred the franchise for these services to First Group, which also held the
Great WesternGreat Western Trains was formed as part of the privatisation of British Rail. As with all of the original franchises, Great Western was formed as a division of British Rail prior to the franchise being let. The sector consisted of the express services out of London Paddington to the West of England...
franchise (branding it as
First Great WesternFirst Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup, which operates services in the west and south west of England and South Wales....
) running long-distance services from Paddington station.
Discussion
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Thames Trains was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
railway company franchised (from September 1996, following the
privatisation of British RailThe privatisation of British Rail was set in train when the government enacted, on the 19th January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
, until 31 March 2004) to run regional and suburban trains from
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
Paddington stationPaddington station, also known as London Paddington, is a major National Rail and London Underground station complex in the Paddington area of central London, England....
to destinations in the
home countiesThe "Home counties" refers to the counties that border or surround London, England but not including the United Kingdom's capital city itself. There is no exact definition of the term and the composition of the 'home counties' is sometimes a matter of debate....
west of
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, to
WorcesterWorcester is a city and county town of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some 30 miles southwest of Birmingham, 29 miles north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people...
,
HerefordHereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
and
Stratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of the county town, Warwick. It is the main town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers a...
, and the
ReadingReading is a large town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London...
to Gatwick Airport service.
With effect from 1 April 2004, the now-defunct
Strategic Rail AuthorityIn existence from 2001 to 2006, the Strategic Rail Authority was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry....
(SRA) transferred the franchise for these services to First Group, which also held the
Great WesternGreat Western Trains was formed as part of the privatisation of British Rail. As with all of the original franchises, Great Western was formed as a division of British Rail prior to the franchise being let. The sector consisted of the express services out of London Paddington to the West of England...
franchise (branding it as
First Great WesternFirst Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup, which operates services in the west and south west of England and South Wales....
) running long-distance services from Paddington station. First rebranded the franchise as
First Great Western LinkFirst Great Western Link was a train operating company owned by First Group that provided train services, on a franchise basis, from Paddington Station to destinations such as Greenford, Slough, Reading, Didcot, Oxford, Goring and Streatley, Henley-on-Thames, Newbury, Bedwyn, Hereford, Worcester...
, which ran for two years. Both franchises were merged into the Greater Western franchise on 1 April 2006, in accordance with the SRA policy of having only one company running train services into any one London terminus. The new franchise, which also incorporates the former
Wessex TrainsWessex Trains was the primary passenger rail operator in the South West of England. The company operated trains in the region bounded by Penzance, Cardiff, Gloucester, Worcester and Brighton...
franchise running regional services in the South-West of England, was also awarded to First Group, which runs it as First Great Western.
Thames Trains operated the train which was involved in the
Ladbroke Grove rail crashThe Ladbroke Grove Rail Crash was a rail accident which occurred on 5 October 1999 at Ladbroke Grove, London, England...
in October 1999.
Fleet
| Class |
Image |
Type |
Top speed |
Number |
Built |
| mph |
km/h |
Class 165/1 Network TurboThe British Rail Class 165 Turbo diesel multiple units were built by BREL at York Works from 1990–1992. These units are suburban trains, with an express version appearing later in the form of the Class 166 Turbo Express trains...
|
 |
diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
|
90 |
145 |
36 |
1990 - 1992 |
Class 166 Network Express TurboThe British Rail Class 166 "Network Express Turbo" diesel multiple units were built by ABB at York Works from 1992-93....
|
 |
diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
|
90 |
145 |
21 |
1992 - 1993 |
External links