trains

First Great Western has announced proposals to deliver the largest train fleet upgrade in a generation on the Great Western network as part of its plans for the new franchise that starts in September, and will run until at least April 2019.

In a deal put together with the Department for Transport, First Great Western’s plans would see the age of First Great Western’s train fleet...

Labour candidate Luke Pollard has called on First Great Western and the Government to make an announcement on new trains before the election, not after it.

First Great Western has today been awarded a new four year franchise without any competition.

Luke Pollard, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said:

“The south west desperately needs...

Leader of Plymouth City Council, Tudor Evans has been to see for himself how work is progressing on the mammoth task of installing free Wi-Fi on every First Great Western Train in the region.

The works to make this happen has involved engineers installing a separate aerial on every single carriage across 53 sets of trains!

Councillor Evans along with Plymouth’s business...

Passengers enjoyed the first ever SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) therapy train carriage on the First Great Western 7.06am train from London Paddington Station to Penzance, Cornwall on Monday 2 January.

First Great Western collaborated with charity SADA, the Seasonal Affective Disorder Association, to see how they could brighten passenger’s journeys as the winter blues take their...

Rail union RMT has pledged an all-out fight over rail investment in the South West after the Transport Secretary cast doubt on the scale of investment in the Plymouth region’s railways by admitting that just £40million has been promised – despite calls for a £7 billion package.

RMT has branded the move a “complete and utter betrayal of the South West despite all the posturing and...

Businesses and residents are being asked to put their weight behind calls for earlier trains from London.

In March First Great Western announced plans to start running earlier trains but wanted to gauge the response from the public and business before committing to a timetable change.

The company launched a consultation on the change that will introduce a new service leaving...

Research released today by CrossCountry has found that over half (53%) of people living in Plymouth feel they follow too much routine in their lives, with 54% agreeing they would like to be more spontaneous.

According to the leading train company, despite the desire to be more open-minded, a remarkable 49% admit that they have never made a spontaneous life changing decision. Over a...

After continued campaigning to increase capacity on rail services from London to Plymouth, Alison Seabeck, MP for Plymouth Moor View, was delighted to hear that First Great Western and the Department for Transport have confirmed that work will soon begin on increasing standard class capacity through converting some of their first class carriages.

The work, which will deliver almost 3,...

Network Rail has said they will consider five alternative routes as a long term response to the destroyed line at Dawlish.

Options include creating a new passenger route using the existing freight train lines at Alphington and Heathfield near Newton Abbot.

Another option is to reinstate the closed Okehampton line which is expected to cost up to £700m.

Three new routes...

Work on to re-open the railway line could be completed earlier than expected, according to Network Rail.

The work to repair the area of track destroyed during the recent heavy storms was initially expected to be completed by mid-March but was pushed back to mid-April after further storm damage frustrated repairs.

However the Rail Minister, Steve Hammond, said the rail company...