News

The number of people to have passed through a railway apprenticeship scheme is enabling a train operator to staff an entire station, Great Western Railway has revealed today. In support of National Apprentice Week, the rail company is to run Bristol Parkway Station for a day with current and former apprentices.

Rail Minister Paul Maynard has today travelled on a special train service to mark the role of community rail and to visit the proposed site of a new station at Wilton.

Great Western Railway’s Managing Director has been named as Industry Leader of the Year at a top rail awards ceremony in London. Mark Hopwood, MD of GWR since December 2008, was named as the recipient of the special award at last Friday night’s Rail Business Awards 2017.

Great Western Railway says it will be able to continue to operate direct services to Bedwyn and Frome next year, as work on its new fleet of Intercity Express Trains begins in Italy. With electrification of the line extending as far as Newbury the new trains, capable of running on both diesel and electric, will mean that GWR is able to continue to operate direct services to Bedwyn, Hungerford and Kintbury, promising more seats on bigger, better, brand new trains for customers.

Planning consent for a new rail depot at Exeter has been submitted by Network Rail on behalf of GWR [today]. This submission forms part of a wider programme of rail improvements to increase rail capacity in the South West, including new and refreshed trains and station improvements.

Over 7,000 extra seats are being provided to and from Cardiff’s Principality Stadium this Saturday as Wales take on England in the Six Nations. Wales play at the Principality Stadium on Saturday 11 February against England, with kick off at 16.50.

St Philips Marsh Depot in Bristol has been recognised in the GWR Excellence Awards for their contribution to the community. Awarded in the Keeping our Communities Prospering category, the depot raised over £20,000 for local charity Springboard last Summer when they opened their doors to the general public in celebration of 40 years of the High Speed train.

West Berkshire Council in partnership with Great Western Railway (GWR) has been awarded just over £6 million pounds to revamp passenger facilities at Newbury Station. The £6,051,000 scheme will also improve connections between rail and walking, cycling and public transport, creating the railway station as a gateway to the town and helping to ensure future demand for travel is met while encouraging sustainable transport. GWR Regional Development Manager Tom Pierpoint said: “GWR is delighted that we will be able to improve Newbury Station and make it a gateway for the town. “This deal will deliver improvements for our passengers at a time when we are undergoing the greatest upgrade to trains and track in a generation. The project will complement the Market Street development and will provide better access to the station for those arriving on foot, cycle and public transport. “We also intend to provide office space for start-up businesses, which will be a great opportunity to be so well connected to the GWR network, developing and strengthening the local economy.”

With the Six Nations set to start this weekend, former England and Wales Rugby Internationals David Flatman and Tom Shanklin take a trip to the Severn Estuary to discuss England vs France and Italy vs Wales as part of a series of videos being released by Great Western Railway.

Parking at Kemble Station is set to double by the summer after work began on a new car park. The £1.4 million works are due to complete by mid-Summer, and will provide 333 additional spaces at a new, separate car park.

400,000 low cost tickets are now available as train operator Great Western Railway launches its January sale. Hurry now to take advantage of limited low cost £5, £10 or £15 fares to travel across the Great Western network.

Over 13,000 more seats will be available on GWR rail services today following the completion of Christmas engineering work in London and the Thames Valley.