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[1]
System
National Rail
Operator(s)
Great Western Railway
Elizabeth line
Heathrow Express
Chiltern Railways
CrossCountry
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 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
v
t
e
Great Western Main Line
Legend
miles
Circle and Hammersmith & City lines
via Liverpool Street
Elizabeth line
to Abbey Wood and Stratford
0⅓
London Paddington
Paddington Goods
Royal Oak ( )
Mileage Yard Goods & Coal
Subway Junction
Westbourne Park ( )
Portobello Junction
Notting Hill Sidings
Circle and Hammersmith & City lines
to Hammersmith
Kensal Green Gasworks siding
Westway (A40)
West London Line
North Pole depot
West London Junction
Old Oak Common TMD
Old Oak Common Goods
Old Oak West Junction
Acton–Northolt line
Willesden & Acton Brick Co. siding
Central line
via Liverpool Street
North London line
Central line
Western Avenue (A40)
4¼
Acton Main Line
Central line
District and Piccadilly lines
5¾
Ealing Broadway
6½
West Ealing
Greenford branch line
Plasser works
7¼
Hanwell
Wharncliffe Viaduct
over River Brent
Brentford branch line
9⅓
Southall
Grand Union Canal
11⅓
Hayes & Harlington
Airport Junction
to Heathrow Airport stations
14⅓
West Drayton
River Colne
Greater London boundary
Uxbridge (Vine Street) branch line
Staines and West Drayton Railway
to Colnbrook Cargo Centre
M25 motorway
14¾
Iver
Western Rail Approach to Heathrow
to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 and Terminal 5 (proposed)
16¼
Langley
18½
Slough
Slough–Windsor & Eton line
21⅓
Burnham
22½
Taplow
Jubilee River
Maidenhead Railway Bridge
over River Thames
24¼
Maidenhead
Marlow branch line
31⅓
Twyford
Henley branch line
River Loddon
Sonning Cutting
1 mile (1.6 km) long
60 feet (18 m) deep
River Kennet
Waterloo–Reading line
North Downs Line
Reading East Junction
36⅓
Reading
Reading–Basingstoke line
and Reading–Taunton line
38¾
Tilehurst
Purley Cutting
41½
Pangbourne
Gatehampton Railway Bridge
over River Thames
44¾
Goring & Streatley
Moulsford Railway Bridge
over River Thames
Moulsford
48½
Cholsey
Cholsey & Wallingford Railway
(bank holidays and weekends only)
Didcot, Newbury and
Southampton Railway
53⅓
Didcot Parkway
Didcot Railway Centre
Cherwell Valley line
to Oxford, Birmingham and the Cotswold Line
Didcot power stations
Milton Park estate
Steventon
Wantage Tramway
Wantage Road
Challow
Uffington
Faringdon branch
Shrivenham
Stratton Park Halt
Highworth branch line
77¼
Swindon
Golden Valley line
to Cheltenham Spa and Birmingham
Midland & South Western
Junction Railway
M4 motorway
Wootton Bassett Junction
South Wales Main Line
Dauntsey
Malmesbury branch line
Christian Malford Halt
Calne branch line
94⅓
Chippenham
Thingley Junction
Wessex Main Line
to Melksham, Bradford-on-Avon and Salisbury
Corsham
Box Tunnel
2939 yd
2687 m
Box (Mill Lane) Halt
Box
Bathford Halt
Bathford Bridge
over River Avon
Wessex Main Line
to Weymouth, Southampton and Brighton
Bathampton Junction
Bathampton
Hampton Row Halt
107⅓
Bath Spa
108⅓
Oldfield Park
Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway
Twerton-on-Avon
Twerton Tunnel
Saltford Tunnel
Saltford
113¾
Keynsham
St Anne's Park No 3 Tunnel
1017 yd
930 m
St Anne's Park No 2 Tunnel
154 yd
141 m
St Anne's Park
River Avon
North Somerset Junction
Bristol & North Somerset Railway
St Philip's Marsh TMD
Cross Country Route
to Gloucester & Birmingham New Street
to Mangotsfield
to Ashton Gate Platform
116½
Bristol Temple Meads
Bristol West Junction
Temple Meads Goods
Bristol–Exeter line
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.[2] The GWML is presently a part of the national rail system managed by Network Rail while the majority of passenger services upon it are provided by the current Great Western Railway franchise.
The GWML was built by the original Great Western Railway company between 1838 and 1841, as a dual track line in the 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge. The broad gauge remained in use until 1892, after which standard gauge track has been exclusively used. Between 1877 and 1932, many sections of the GWML were widened to four tracks. During 1908, Automatic Train Control (ATC) was introduced as a safety measure. In 1948, the Great Western Railway, and thus the GWML, was merged into the Western Region of British Railways.
During the 1970s, the GWML was upgraded to support higher line speeds, as a result of which many sections permitted 125 mph (201 km/h) operations, enabling the newly-introduced InterCity 125 high speed train (HST) to make faster journeys. British Rail proposed widespread electrification of the line in the late 1970s, although this was not speedily implemented. During the mid 1990s, a stretch of the GWML between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington was electrified using 25 kV AC overhead lines for the Heathrow Express. Further, although not total, electrification was carried out during the 2010s; this permitted the replacement of diesel-powered trains such as the InterCity 125 and Class 180 with electric and bi-mode train sets such as the Hitachi Super Express high speed trains, specifically the Class 800s and Class 802s. Due to budget overruns, the British government deferred electrification of the section through Bath from Royal Wootton Bassett to Bristol in 2016.
Communities served by the GWML include West London (including Acton, Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, Hayes, Harlington and West Drayton); Iver; Langley; Slough; Burnham; Taplow; Maidenhead; Twyford; Reading; Tilehurst; Pangbourne; Goring-on-Thames; Streatley; Cholsey; Didcot; Swindon; Chippenham; Bath; Keynsham; and Bristol. The route includes dozens of listed buildings and structures, including tunnel portals, bridges and viaducts, stations, and associated hotels. Presently, the GWML is electrified between London Paddington and Royal Wootton Bassett. In the long term, Network Rail plans to install European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) in-cab signalling across the entire line.
^Bowen, Douglas John (1 December 2014). "Hitachi Rail Europe taps Huber+Suhner". Railway Age. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
^"Western Route specification" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
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