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First 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.

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.

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 75 miles (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.

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.

The rolling stock used on the Night Riviera sleeper service retained the original green Great Western livery and has done until now.

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. The new franchise has kept the name First Great Western. Originally, First planned to subdivide its services into the following three categories:

• 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'.

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 & South Wales, 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-Cardiff/Swansea)
• The Royal Duchy (London-Penzance)
• The Saint David (London-Cardiff/Swansea)

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.

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 Taunton, 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 (Cardiff-Bristol-Weston-super-Mare-Exeter-Plymouth-Penzance)
• South Wales Main Line (Swindon-Bristol-Cardiff)
• Wessex Main Line (Cardiff-Bristol-Bath-Salisbury-Southampton-Portsmouth or 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)
• Trans Wilts Line (Trowbridge-Westbury)

The Tarka, Riviera and Avocet lines operate as a network known internally as the 'Devon Metro' The TransWilts line only has two services per direction per day.

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 Andrew Haines, who replaced Alison Forster in September 2007 after criticisms of the way the service was run.. Other directors are James Burt (Customer Service), Graham Boot-Handford (Engineering), Ben Caswell (Finance), Kevin Gale (Trains), Tom Stables (Commercial Services) and Dawn Murphy (Human Resources). The chairman is Charles Howeson who replaced Sir Chay Blyth in November 2007. Andrew Haines has appointed three route directors to help with the day to day running of the company, they are; John Curley(West Region), Mark Hopwood (High Speed Services) and Mike Carroll (East Region). Previous Managing Directors have included Alison Forster (now director of safety at First Group), Chris Kinchin-Smith, Mike Carroll (who is now East Region route director) 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 first quarter of the financial year 2007/8 were at 83.8%, down 2.7% on the same period last year, and below the sector level.

Not all delays are attributable to First Great Western. In Sept 2007 the ORR defended its position to allow Network Rail an additional 2 months to fix infrastructure problems before imposing enforcement action and fines due to their performance . The ORR said the First Great Western train service "continues to suffer from very high levels of delays attributed to Network Rail" and had described Network Rail's performance as being "exceptionally disappointing".

Rolling stock

Class 43 High Speed Train

First Great Western use their large fleet of 43 HST sets 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 having been bought outright by First.

A typical un-refreshed HST set comprises two engines (one at each end) and passenger coaches A-H. Coach A is the 'Quiet Coach' in which 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 one 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 two 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), one standard toilet and one disabled toilet (one at either end) and a wheelchair area. Coach F is the 'Buffet Coach'. This coach features a varying number of First Class seats (1+2 configuration), with all but one 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. Two First Class toilets are located in each coach, one at either end.

HST Refresh

In 2005 First Great Western announced that the High Speed Train fleet was to be re-engined and refurbished, however it is known as a 'refresh' for technical reasons. As a result there are two fleets of HST, some refurbished into a high-density layout of (mostly) airline-style seats for services along the M4 corridor to Bristol and Cardiff, with only two tables in the whole carriage. The remainder have been refurbished with four tables per carriage. Both fleets feature leather seats in First Class and at-seat power points. Currently a trial is under way which involves removing buffet cars from three HST sets that are only used on London–Bristol/Cardiff journeys to see if an improved performance is possible. The contract to carry out the refurbishment of the coaches was awarded to Bombardier of Derby. Over half of the fleet is currently in service in a refreshed condition. The powercars are receiving new MTU engines. These are being fitted by Brush Traction of Loughborough and the programme is nearly complete with only four power cars still in service with Paxman 'Valenta' engines. Re-engined powercars are easily identified as they carry a blue livery and have new headlight clusters. The new engines are claimed to be 15% more efficient.

Class 142

First Great Western operate 12 Class 142 units on Devon branchlines. They started operation in December 2007 and came from Northern Rail as Northern received 14 Class 158's from First Great Western. The Class 158 and Class 150/2 units used on Devon Branchlines until December 2007 moved to Bristol depot to be used on Portsmouth to Cardiff services. Class 142's are mainly used to strengthen other services or as two units coupled together. British Rail withdrew them from these branches in 1982 due to excessive wheel wear.

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, particularly on the Severn Beach Line, some sets were meant to be moving to Exeter depot in December 2006 to operate the Exmouth, Barnstaple and Paignton 'Devon Metro' services, but the move never went ahead due to Network Rail objections. Class 142 pacers will be used on the 'Devon Metro' from December 2007 to cover for units being refreshed. The current livery is an advertising livery for Bristol. Due to the units being very un-reliable, two Class 150/1 units are being leased to help.

Class 150/1

First Great Western are to receive up to 10 Class 150/1 units from 2009 to replace Class 142 units temporarily brought in to cover for Class 158 units being lost to Northern. They will arrive gradually as they are released by London Midland, when they are replaced by Class 172 units. In addition to this First Great Western have received two units from Silverlink, these units that have already arrived are two extra units to help with the poor reliabilty of Class 143 units. As soon as crew have been trained they will be in operation as they have arrived at Bristol Depot.

Class 150/2

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. Two units were repainted into the new First 'Local' livery but all others will get the new livery when they are refeshed, 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 or 2008 with a fully refreshed fleet in operation by September 2008. 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. The first Class 150, 150247 has now completed its refresh and should be in service soon.

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. They will all receive a complete overhall by September 2008. Up to seven railcars are expected to leave First Great Western in the ongoing fleet review. This now appears to be shelved as First Great Western are losing 12 Class 158's to Northern.

Class 158

The Class 158 is a two-coach DMU (one 3 coach) used on 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 ex-TransPennine Express ones) are in very poor condition internally. The former TransPennine units also contain a small section of declassified first class seating in one vehicle. The fleet is currently being refurbished with the first unit 158761 now in service. First Great Western will lose 12 Class 158's in December 2007 to Northern. Class 142 pacers will replace these temporarily until Class 150/1 units are released by London Midland, when they replace them with Class 172's.

Class 166

The Class 166 "Thames Turbo" 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 have received First Great Western Neon Dynamic Lines livery which was applied to 166220 first in October 2006.

Class 180

The fourteen Class 180 ‘Adelante’ diesel multiple units were built by Alstom and entered service in 2002. They are used for semi-fast services requiring 125mph operation, however they will be replaced with shortened HSTs on most of their current duties.

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).

The entire fleet was to be withdrawn by the end of 2007, due to their poor reliability, this has now been put back until the HST Refresh programme has finished.

DMU Refurbishment

First Great Western will be refurbishing its DMU fleet based in the West region in an 11m pound investment . The refurbishment will include improvements to the saloon, vehicle performance and driver environment. CCTV will be also be fitted. At the same time, the vehicles will be fitted with the new First Great Western livery.

The Class 158s are being sent to Wabtec in Doncaster for refurbishment.

The Classes 143 and 150 and will be refurbished by Pullman Rail at Cardiff Canton.

The updated trains will carry the new Local Lines livery and be fitted with new seats, lighting, laminated windows, and new grab handles. The Class 150s and 143s will be refurbished 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. The Class 153s refurbishment wll be carried out at Wabtec Eastleigh The first 158, 158761 has now been released from Wabtec and is in service now with the first 150,150247 refreshed and entering service soon. Several more 158's are at Wabtec and two 153's are at Eastleigh being refurblished.

Current fleet

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built
			mph	km/h
Class 43 High Speed Train		diesel locomotive	125	200	117	All Intercity Routes except Night Riviera Sleeper	1976 - 1982 2005/6/7/ (Refurbished)
Class 57/6		diesel locomotive	95	152	4	Sleeper Service: London Paddington - Penzance Emergency HST Hauling	1997 - 2004
Class 142 Pacer		diesel multiple unit	75	120	12	Devon Branches	1985-1987
Class 143 Pacer		diesel multiple unit	75	120	7	Bristol Local services	1989 - 1992
Class 150/1 Sprinter		diesel multiple unit	75	120	2 (10 by 2009)	Bristol Local Services	1984 - 1987
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	9	Local services in Cornwall and Devon Bristol - Weymouth St Erth - St Ives (Winter) Liskeard - Looe Westbury - Southampton Shuttle	1991 - 1992
Class 158 Express Sprinter		diesel multiple unit	90	145	20	Cardiff - Portsmouth/Brighton Bristol - Worcester and Great Malvem	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
Mark 3 Coach		Passenger Rolling stock	125	200	464	All Intercity Routes	1972 - 1988 2006/7/8(Refreshed)

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 have also received this livery. A second livery will be applied to the DMU fleet. This is based on the names of places served by the franchise, similar to the livery used by Wessex Trains.

The first pictures of the 150244 in its new livery were released when the train moved from Laira TMD,Plymouth to Exeter St Davids.

Livery Gallery

• First's original FGW green and gold livery, on a Mark 3 sleeper Coach used by the Night Riviera. This livery was replaced in 2002, but remians on the Night Riveira sleeper service.
• First's blue and pink second FGW livery on a Mark 3 coach. This livery was used until the new franchise was created.
• First's most recent dynamic lines livery on a Mark 3 coach.This livery has been used since the new franchise was created.
• The old Thames Trains livery remains on this Class 166 as with most trains running the Commuter services along the Thames Valley. These will be repainted and will soon carry the dynamic lines livery
• This Class 165 has been repainted to carry the dynamic lines livery.
• This is an example of regional liveries used by trains running rural routes.
• A First Great Western Class 150/2 in the new Local Lines livery which will be worn by former Wessex Trains services. A First Great Western Class 150/2 in the new Local Lines livery which will be worn by former Wessex Trains services.

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, First Great Western 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

• 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.
• On 24 January, Alison Forster, First Great Western's Managing Director, apologised to its customers about its recent problems. She has also prompted a debate in the House of Commons following the timetable changes.

First Group announced on 6 September 2007 changes to their management structure, apparently designed to strengthen the First Great Western 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 and Network Rail have a lot to do. However, passengers will believe it when they see improvements."

In 2004-2005, 79.6% of trains arrived on time (defined as within 10 minutes of their scheduled arrival time). 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. First was also the only train company actually to achieve a year-on-year fall in performance results.

At the same time, Network Rail, the Infrastructure provider, has been heavily criticised by the rail regulator (the ORR) for their performance on Great Western Routes, being described as "exceptionally disappointing". In September 2007 they were given a further 2 months to improve performance before enforcement action and fines would be imposed.

References

1. "First Great Western - Copyright". Retrieved 2006-07-15.
2. ^ "FirstGroup wins rail franchises". BBC News Online. 2005-12-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. "43132 in First Great Western green,with 'Barbie' coaches". Retrieved 2006-10-09.
4. Original First Barbie - Revised First Barbie - Final version of First Barbie - retrieved 8/9/2006
5. "Statement Re: Award of The Greater Western & Thameslink/Great Northern Franchises". FirstGroup plc. 2005-12-13. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. - Page from the franchise site confirming the abandonment of sub brands
7. "County deeply concerned over major cuts to local rail services". Devon County Council. 2006-02-17. Retrieved 2006-07-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. "First Great Western changes boss". BBC News Online. 2007-09-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. "Consumer Champion to Chair FGW Board". First Great Western. 2007-11-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. "National Rail Trends First Quarter of 07/08" (PDF). Office of Rail Regulation.
11. "First Great Western - High Speed Trains". First Great Western. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
12. "Bombardier Wins Vehicle Renovation And Bogie Overhaul Work Worth Up To $260 Million US From UK's First Great Western". Bombardier. 2006-06-06. Retrieved 2006-07-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
13. "Rail Minister launches Angel Trains' fleet of re-engined High Speed Trains". 2006-07-07. Retrieved 2006-07-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |publihser= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
14. "Picture of First Great Western powercar in blue livery". Retrieved 2006-07-27.
15. "Mixed news for rail users at Westminster summit". Michael John Foster MP. 2006-01-30. Retrieved 2006-07-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
16. "Rail firm goes back to 30-years to boost reliability". Evening Standard. 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2007-09-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
17. "Plans for First Great Western Local stock refurbishment". www.therailwaycentre.com. 2007-06-25. Retrieved 2007-06-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
18. "Preview of the first refurbished Class 158". www.therailwaycentre.com. Retrieved 2007-10-06. {{cite web}}: Text "date2007-09-26" ignored (help)
19. "HST Power Car - Fleet List" (PDF). 125 Group. 2007-09-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
20. "The first unit to be reliveried 166220". 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2006-10-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. "150249 Heads North Up Dawlish Warren Passing Langstone Rock". 2007-08-11. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
22. "First Great Western announces timetable changes". First Great Western. 2007-01-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
23. "Passengers in rush-hour protest". BBC News Online. 2007-01-22. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
24. "Statement from Alison Forster, Managing Director of First Great Western". First Great Western. 2007-01-24. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
25. "Houseof Commons Hansard Debates for 24 Jan 2007". 2007-01-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |publihser= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
26. Milmo, Dan (2007-09-07). "All change on the Great Western line". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
27. Posters displayed at stations as required by Passenger Charter
28. Clark, Rhodri (2006-12-22). "First Great Western's InterCity service the worst in UK with more than one in four trains late". National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

• 43004 in original dynamic lines livery

See also

• First Great Western Link
• Great Western Main Line
• Night Riviera
• Wessex Trains
• Great Western Trains
• Great Western Railway

External links

• First Great Western
• Edited version of First Great Western's Passenger's Charter
• Railways Online Article on the Franchise
• SRA announcement of the parties qualified to bid
• First Great Western press release on the 2007 HST refurbishment
• Story reporting First Great Western poor performance
• Second story reporting First Great Western poor performance

• Articles with dead external links from September 2007
• Post-privatisation British railway companies
• First Group railway companies
• First Group Companies
• 2007 in England
• Great Western Main Line