Title: Great Western main line - Wikipedia
Headings: Great Western main line
Great Western main line
Contents
History
Heritage
Route
Services
Infrastructure
Tunnels, viaducts and major bridges
Line-side monitoring equipment
Planned developments
Electrification from Airport Junction to the west
Other proposals
Calls for station reopenings
Major incidents
Rolling stock
Commuter trains
High Speed Trains
Sleeper Trains
Notes
See also
References
Sources
Further reading
External links

Content: Great Western main line - Wikipedia
Great Western main line
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English railway line linking London and Bristol
Not to be confused with West Coast Main Line or West of England line. Great Western main line
Maidenhead Railway Bridge carrying the line over the River Thames. Overview
Status
Operational
Owner
Network Rail
Locale
Greater London
South East England
South West England
Termini
London Paddington
Bristol Temple Meads
Stations
25
Service
Type
Commuter rail, Higher-speed rail
System
National Rail
Operator (s)
Great Western Railway
TfL Rail
Heathrow Express
Chiltern Railways
CrossCountry
South Western Railway
Depot (s)
North Pole
Reading
St Philip's Marsh depot
Rolling stock
Class 158
Class 159
Class 165
Class 166
Class 220
Class 221
Class 345
Class 387
Class 800
Class 802
History
Opened
30 June 1841 (complete line)
Technical
Line length
118 mi 19 ch (190.28 km)
Number of tracks
Four (London to Didcot)
Two (Didcot to Bristol)
Track gauge
4 ft 8
+
1⁄2 in ( 1,435 mm)
Old gauge
7 ft 1⁄4 in ( 2,140 mm)
Electrification
25 kV 50 hz AC OLE
Operating speed
125 mph (201 km/h) maximum
Signalling
AWS, TPWS, ATP
Route map
( Click to expand – Interactive map)


























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































The Great Western main line (GWML) is a main line railway in England, that runs westwards from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads. It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the original route of the first Great Western Railway which was merged into the Western Region of British Railways in 1948. It is now a part of the national rail system managed by Network Rail with the majority of passenger services provided by the current Great Western Railway franchise. The line has recently been electrified along most of its length. The eastern section from Paddington to Hayes & Harlington was electrified in 1998. Work to electrify the remainder of the route started in 2011 with an initial aim to complete the work all the way to Bristol by 2016, but in that year the section through Bath to Bristol Temple Meads was deferred with no date set for completion because costs had tripled. Contents
1 History
1.1 Heritage
2 Route
3 Services
4 Infrastructure
4.1 Tunnels, viaducts and major bridges
4.1.1 Line-side monitoring equipment
5 Planned developments
5.1 Electrification from Airport Junction to the west
5.2 Other proposals
5.3 Calls for station reopenings
6 Major incidents
7 Rolling stock
7.1 Commuter trains
7.2 High Speed Trains
7.3 Sleeper Trains
8 Notes
9 See also
10 References
10.1 Sources
11 Further reading
12 External links
History
See also: