Great Western main 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, Elizabeth line, Heathrow Express, CrossCountry
Depot(s)	North Pole, Reading, St Philip's Marsh
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 miles 19 chains (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 (London to Chippenham)
Operating speed	125 mph (200 km/h)
Signalling	AWS, TPWS, ATP
Route map

The Great Western main line is a main line railway in England, that runs westwards from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads.

It opened in 1841 and was the original route of the old Great Western Railway. In 1948 it became the Western Region of British Railways. It is now part of the national rail system managed by Network Rail.

Electrification

The line was electrified from Paddington to Heathrow Airport in the late 1990s. Work to electrify the rest of the route started in 2011. The aim was to complete the work all the way to Bristol by 2016. Parts of the programme have been deferred because costs have tripled. The four sections deferred are: Didcot to Oxford, Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads, Royal Wootton Bassett Junction to Bristol Temple Meads and the Thames Valley branches to Henley-on-Thames and Windsor.

Train services

Most trains are operated by Great Western Railway.