FIRST GREAT WESTERN

'First Great Western' is the operating name of 'First Greater Western Ltd',^[1] a British train operating company owned by First Group, 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.^[2]

Contents

First Great Western (1998 - 2006)

Livery

The expanded First Greater Western (2006 - present)

Intercity routes

Commuter routes

Local routes

Management and operations

Performance

Rolling stock

Class 43 High Speed Train

HST refurbishment

Class 180

Class 143

Class 150

Class 153

Class 158

Class 166

DMU Refurbishment

Other types

Current fleet

Greater Western franchise (2006 - present)

Stock cuts

News reports

The stock cuts

Controversy

Worst British train service

Livery

DMU livery change

Notes

See also

External links

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 121 kilometres.

Livery

The first version of the First Great Western livery (also known as fag packet by enthusiasts) was a modified version of the Great Western livery, with fader vinyls over the ivory, 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^[3]
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.^[4]
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.^[2]
The new franchise has kept the name First Great Western. Originally, First planned to subdivide its services into the following three categories:^[6]

★ First Great Western Express - the original First Great Western route: London Paddington–Bristol–South Wales/Cornwall.

★ First Great Western Link - former Thames Trains services, that were merged into First Great Western before the Greater Western Franchise started. Local/commuter trains close to London.

★ First Great Western Local - former Wessex Trains services: regional trains in the south-west in and around Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall.
Following feedback from staff and stakeholders, the decision was taken to re-brand and re-livery all services as just 'First Great Western'.^[7]

Intercity routes

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

★ Half-hourly to Cardiff Central via Bristol Parkway with an hourly continuation to Swansea

★ Half-hourly to Bath Spa & Bristol Temple Meads

★ Hourly to Exeter & Plymouth, with five trains daily running beyond Plymouth to Penzance in Cornwall.

★ Roughly every two hours to Cheltenham & Gloucester.
Nearly all high-speed trains on the Great Western network stop at Reading. Swindon is currently served by all trains to Bristol & Swansea, with Didcot stops by one train per hour on each route. Cardiff Central, Newport 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 Paddington to Plymouth call at Taunton, with some services also stopping at Newbury, Pewsey, Westbury and Castle Cary. 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 named passenger trains, including:

★ The Bristolian (London-Bristol)

★ Cathedrals Express (London-Hereford)

★ Cheltenham Spa Express (London-Cheltenham)

★ Cornish Riviera Express (London-Penzance)

★ The Golden Hind (London-Penzance)

★ The Mayflower (London-Plymouth)

★ Night Riviera (London-Penzance "sleeper")

★ The Red Dragon (London-Swansea)

★ The Royal Duchy (London-Penzance)

★ The Saint David (London-Swansea)
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, Didcot, Oxford, Newbury, Bedwyn, Hereford, Worcester and Banbury. Train services are also provided from Reading to Basingstoke, Gatwick Airport via Guildford and Dorking Deepdene, 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.

★ 'Routes'

★
★ Great Western Main Line

★
★ Greenford Branch Line

★
★ Cotswold Line

★
★ North Downs Line

★
★ Henley Branch Line ("Regatta Line")

★
★ Cherwell Valley Line

★
★ Oxford to Bicester Line

★
★ Slough to Windsor & Eton Line

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 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.

★ 'Main Lines:'

★ Great Western Main Line (London-Bristol-Exeter-Plymouth-Penzance)

★ South Wales Main Line (Bristol-Cardiff-Swansea-West Wales)

★ Wessex Main Line (Bristol-Bath-Salisbury-Southampton)

★ West Coastway Line (Southampton-Portsmouth-Brighton)

★ 'Branch Lines:'

★ Atlantic Coast Line (Par-Newquay)

★ Avocet Line (Exeter-Exmouth)

★ Golden Valley Line (Swindon-Gloucester)

★ Heart of Wessex Line (Westbury-Weymouth)

★ Looe Valley Line (Liskeard-Looe)

★ Maritime Line (Truro-Falmouth)

★ Riviera Line (Exeter-Paignton)

★ Severn Beach Line (Bristol-Avonmouth-Severn Beach)

★ St Ives Bay Line (St. Erth-St. Ives)

★ Tamar Valley Line (Plymouth-Gunnislake)

★ Tarka Line (Exeter-Barnstaple)
The Tarka, Riviera and Avocet lines operate as a network known internally as the 'Devon Metro'^[8]

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; Laira in Plymouth; and St Phillips Marsh, near Bristol Temple Meads, with smaller depots at Penzance, Landore and Exeter.
The current Managing Director of First Great Western is Alison Forster. 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 Sir 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.^[9]

Rolling stock

Class 43 High Speed Train

First Great Western use their large fleet of 43 HST sets^[10] 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.^[11]
The powercars are receiving new MTU engines. These are being fitted by Brush Traction of Loughborough^[12] and the program is underway with the first re-engined powercar (43175) entering service in July 2006 following fitment of ATP. These powercars are easily identified as they carry a temporary blue livery^[13] and have new headlight clusters.

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 some criticism over certain aspects of the new coaches. The high-density layout being the most controversial as some elements of the media claim this is just to squash people onto their overcrowded services. Although the move will reduce overcrowding, it has been asked why First do not introduce more services.. They have also removed two toilets, now used for catering storage and luggage space. There have also been issues with reduced widths of the aisles, especially in the First Class carriages meaning disabled passengers have not been able to use their wheelchairs on-board.

Class 180

The fourteen Class 180 ‘Adelante’ diesel multiple units^[10] were built by Alstom and entered service in 2002^[15] are used for semi-fast services requiring 125mph operation, however they will be replaced with shortened HSTs on most of their current duties.^[16] It is expected that these units will be redeployed to fellow FirstGroup franchise Transpennine Express in order to operate the proposed Manchester to Glasgow express services. It has also been mooted that some may be sent to First ScotRail for an enhanced Glasgow - Edinburgh service. There are now many stories that First Great Western would like to retain these units though.
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).

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, but were to be moving to Exeter depot in December 2006 to operate the Exmouth, Barnstaple and Paignton 'Devon Metro' services. This appears to have been shelved as First Great Western will be receiving more units from Transpennine Express then previously thought. There has also been unconfirmed reports of Network Rail objections. 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 Stock Cuts. The fleet will receive an internal 'refresh' during 2007. 150244 and 150249 are the first two to be repainted into the Dynamic Lights local lines livery and both entered
service 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. It is unknown if this will be extended to the remaining vehicles. Up to seven railcars are expected to leave First Great Western in the ongoing fleet review.

Class 158

The Class 158 is generally two-coach DMU used on longer distance 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 former Central units on hire from Northern) are in very poor condition internally. The former TransPennine units also contain a small section of declassified first class seating in one vehicle.
The reformed 158/9s were recently transformed back to their old 158 numbers. Below are the transformations:
158867 + (158868) = 158961
158751 + (158749) = 158962
158748 + (158749) = 158963
158815 + (158816) = 158964
158817 + (158816) = 158965
158864 + (158865) = 158966
158866 + (158865) = 158967
158869 + (158868) = 158968

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, 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.

DMU Refurbishment

The Class 158s will be sent to Wabtec in Doncaster for refubishment following completion of the South West Trains fleet
The Classes 143, 150 and 153 will be refurbished by Pullman Rail at Cardiff Canton ^[17]

Other types

★ Class 57 locomotive - Used for sleeper srvices and emergency HST hauling.

★ Class 165 - Two- or three-coach Turbo DMU used on commuter services to London (ex First Great Western Link)

★ Class 360 - Four-coach EMU (being strengthened to five coaches) used on Heathrow Connect services (ex First Great Western Link, joint operation with BAA)

Current fleet

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built
			mph	km/h
(2 per train)		diesel locomotive	125	200	116[18]	All Intercity Routes except Night Riviera Sleeper	1976 - 1982 2005 (Refurbished)
Class 57/6		diesel locomotive	95	152	4	Sleeper Service: London Paddington - Penzance Emergency HST Hauling	1997 - 2004
Class 143 ''Pacer''		diesel multiple unit	75	120	7	Bristol Local services	1989 - 1992
Class 150/2 ''Sprinter''		diesel multiple unit	75	120	17	Local services in Cornwall and Devon St Erth - St Ives (Summer) Par - Newquay Liskerd - Looe Truro - Falmouth Plymouth - Gunnislake Avocet Line Riviera Line Tarka Line	1984 - 1987
Class 153 ''Super Sprinter''		diesel multiple unit	75	120	11	Local services in Cornwall and Devon Bristol - Weymouth St Erth - St Ives (Winter) Liskeard - Looe	1991 - 1992
Class 158 ''Express Sprinter''		diesel multiple unit	90	145	21 (an additional 15 to move to Northern)	Cardiff - Portsmouth/Brighton Bristol - Penzance Bristol - Worcester and Great Malvem Cornish and Devon Mainline Local Services	1989 - 1992
Class 165/1 ''Network Turbo''		diesel multiple unit	90	145	36	Local Services out of Paddington	1992
Class 166 ''Network Express Turbo''		diesel multiple unit	90	145	21	Reading - Basingstoke Reading - Gatwick Local services out of Paddington	1992 - 1993
Class 180 ''Adelante''		diesel multiple unit	125	200	14	London Paddington - Bristol Temple Meads via Bath Spa London Paddington - Exeter via Pewsey London Paddington - Cardiff Central London Paddington - Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa (via the Golden Valley Line) London Paddington - Hereford	2000 - 2001
Mk3 Coach		Passenger Rolling stock			About 300	All Intercity Routes	1972 - 1988

Greater Western franchise (2006 - present)

Stock cuts

In addition First have been unable to obtain extra stock for local services, as the DfT is refusing to underwrite the additional leasing costs (as required under the franchise regime) after forcing the leasing companies to supply Pacers at a dramatically reduced rate. It is likely that some Turbos will be put into store, having been displaced on longer runs by HSTs.
Services from Oxford to Bicester Town/Islip and Banbury/Heyford were also reduced sharply, despite some public protests in Bicester and Heyford.
''(Sources - The September 29, 2002 – January 11, 2003 Thames trains timetable, the 11 December – 10 June 2006 F.G.W.L. timetable and June 11, 2006 – December 10, 2006 F.G.W.L. timetable. The Bicester Advertiser and Banbury Guardian newspapers carried intermittent articles on the protests through-out mid 2005.).''

News reports

★ On 3 January 2007 the BBC Spotlight news (South West) reported of overcrowding on First great Western's local trains and that passengers wanted more trains, however the stock cuts are likely to make the problems worse.^[19]

The stock cuts

On 10 December 2006 (The start of the winter timetables) First Great Western saw a reduction in their local DMU fleet, as 8 class 150s went off lease, and were handed to Arriva Trains Wales. The sets which went were: 150230/236/240/241/242/251/253/254. This leaves First Great Western with 17 Class 150 sets.
153302/308/355/374 were placed into store at Eastleigh.
158863 passed on loan to First ScotRail in December 2006.
Hybrid 3-car 158 units 158961 - 158968 were disbanded, with all units returning to their original 2-car formations (158745/746/748/749/751,158815/16/17 and 158865-158869 inclusive). None of these have entered storage, as yet.

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.

★ From 2-5 January, FGW decided to shorten some of the local DMU fleet to try and cut down on the amount of cancellations and lack of serviceable trains.

★ On 9 January 2007 First Great Western announced some timetable changes, in response to customer complaints about overcrowding on local trains^[20]

★ On 22 January commuters on the Bath-Bristol service staged a protest about overcrowding, issuing participants with imitation tickets printed with "Ticket type: standing only", "Class: cattle truck", "Destination: to hell and back", "Price: up 12%". The company threatened protestors with criminal prosecution and fines of £5,000, but staff failed to enforce ticket requirements.^[21]

★ On 24 January, Alison Forster, FGW's Managing Director apologised to its customers about its recent problems.^[22] She has also prompted a debate in the House of Commons following the timetable changes [1].
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." ^[23].

Worst British train service

In 2004-2005, 79.6% of trains arrived on time (defined as within 10 minutes of their scheduled arrival time).^[24]
★ 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.^[25]
First was also the only train company actually to achieve a year-on-year fall in performance results.
It was named as "Worst Late Western," and the following Uncyclopedia page sums this up: [2]

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.^[26] A second livery will be applied to the DMU fleet. This is based on the names of places served by the franchise, much like the old Wessex liveries.^[27]
The first pictures of the 150244 in its new livery were released when the train moved from Laira TMD,Plymouth to Exeter St Davids^[28]

DMU livery change

The Applying of the new 'local lines' livery is taking place on Lane 4 of the shed at Laira TMD.

★ The 150219 was going to be the first to have the new livery, but had to be pulled out, due to train shortages.

★ 150244 'The West Cornwall Experience' entered Laira on 31 December 2006, and left on 12 January 2007 to Exeter St Davids. Entered service on 24 January.

★ 150249 entered Laira on 14 January 2007, and left on 21 January to Exeter St Davids.
Of the trains that have been updated no interior changes have been made.
Only these 2 trains have been updated so far. The Class 158 fleet refurbishment will begin at the end of July. The refurbishments will take place at Wabtec, Doncaster.
The updated trains will carry the new Local Lines livery and be fitted with new seats, lighting, laminated windows, and new grab handles. All will have CCTV installed.
The Class 150s, 153s and 142s will be refurbishment 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.

Notes

1. Copyright page of the FGW website detailing the company's legal name (retrieved 15/07/06)
2. BBC News report on the Greater Western franchise being awarded
3. HST power car in 'Fag Packet' livery - the coaches are in Barbie (Retrieved 09 October 06)
4. Original First Barbie - Revised First Barbie - Final version of First Barbie - retrieved 8/9/2006
5. BBC News report on the Greater Western franchise being awarded
6. First Group press release detailing sub brands
7. [http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/franchise/en/AdynamicNewBrand.php - Page from the franchise site confirming the abandonment of sub brands
8. Devon County Council document referring to these lines as the Devon Metro (retrieved 27/07/06)
9. ORR - rail performance data
10. First Great Western fleet page - High Speed (retrieved 18/07/06)
11. Bombardier press release (retrieved 15/07/06)
12. Angel Trains press release about the first production MTU powercars (retrieved 15/07/06)
13. Photo of 43175 in its blue livery on 19/07/06 (retrieved 27/07/06)
14. First Great Western fleet page - High Speed (retrieved 18/07/06)
15. Alstom Product page for the Class 175 and Class 180 family (retrieved 18/07/06) - Please note that there are 14 units and not 40 as this link claims
16. Michael Foster MP confirms the replacement of Adelantes on some routes (retrieved 18/7/06)
17. Details of the refurbishment - Retrieved 27-Jun-07
18. InterCity 125 Group fleet list
19. A news report about overcrowsing on trains, however stock cuts are taking place.
20. First Great Western announces changes to timetables on 9th January
21. Statement by Don Foster Liberal Democrat MP for Bath in Parliamentary debate on 24 January 2007
22. "24jan_alison_forster_letter" Alison Forster, apologises to its customers about its problems in December 2006/ January 2007
23. ''The Guardian'', 7 September 2007 page 34
24. Posters displayed at stations as required by Passenger Charter
25. Report on poor service
26. Photo of Turbo in FGW Express livery (Retrieved 10 October 06)
27. An official mock up is on page 6 of this PDF
28. A Fotopic album of the new DMU livery on 150244

See also

★ First Great Western Link

★ Great Western Main Line

★ Night Riviera

★ Wessex Trains

External links

★ First Great Western

★ Edited version of First Great Western's Passenger's Charter

★ Forum run by First Great Western passengers, with no connection to the company

★ Blog about some of the current issues with First Great Western

★ Blog protesting against First Great Western's poor services

★ Railways Online Article on the Franchise

★ SRA announcement of the parties qualified to bid

★ FGW press release on the 2007 HST refurbishment

★ Story reporting FGW poor performance

★ Second story reporting FGW poor performance





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