Thames Trains
Overview | |
---|---|
Franchise(s) | Thames Trains 13 October 1996 – 31 March 2004 |
Main region(s) | Thames Valley |
Other region(s) | West Midlands, Cotswolds and North Downs |
Fleet size | 57 (March 2004) |
Stations called at | 95 |
Parent company | Go-Ahead Group |
Reporting mark | TT |
Successor | First Great Western Link |
Other | |
Website | www.thamestrains.co.uk |
Thames Trains[1] was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Go-Ahead that operated the Thames Trains franchise from October 1996 until March 2004.
History[]
The Thames Trains franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising to Victory Rail Holdings,[2] a company owned by Go-Ahead (65%) and some ex-British Rail managers (35%), with operations commencing on 13 October 1996.[3] Go-Ahead bought the remaining shares it did not own in June 1998.[4][5]
The Ladbroke Grove rail crash of 5 October 1999 involved a Thames Trains Class 165, which had failed to stop at a red signal. Thames Trains was fined £2 million for violations of health and safety law in connection with the incident, and was also ordered to pay £75,000 in costs.[6]
Services[]
Thames Trains ran services along the Great Western Main Line from London Paddington to Didcot with services continuing north to Oxford, Bicester Town, Hereford and Stratford-upon-Avon. It also operated services on the Greenford, Windsor & Eton Central, Marlow, Henley and Bedwyn lines and on the Reading to Basingstoke and North Downs lines.[7]
In 1998 a service from Oxford to Bristol was introduced in partnership with First Great Western.[8][9] This was withdrawn in 2003 at the request of the Strategic Rail Authority to relieve congestion.
Rolling stock[]
Thames Trains inherited a fleet of near-new Class 165 and Class 166 diesel multiple units from British Rail. Because the paintwork was still under warranty, the existing Network SouthEast livery was retained with only a Thames Trains logo added.[10][11] Upon the warranty expiring, a new livery of white, blue and green was introduced in 2000.[12]
Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Unit numbers | Built | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mph | km/h | ||||||
Class 165/1 Network Turbo | DMU | 90 | 145 | 36 | 165101–165114, 165116–165137 |
1990–1992 | |
Class 166 Network Express Turbo | 21 | 166201–166221 | 1992–1993 |
Depot[]
Thames Trains' fleet was maintained at Reading TMD.
Demise[]
In April 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority invited FirstGroup and Go-Ahead to bid for a two-year franchise that would coincide with the end date of the First Great Western franchise, after which both would become part of the Greater Western franchise.[13][14] In November 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the new franchise to First with the services operated by Thames Trains transferring to First Great Western Link on 1 April 2004.[15][16]
References[]
- ^ Companies House extract company no 3007943 Thames Trains Limited
- ^ Companies House extract company no 3147927 Victory Rail Holdings Limited
- ^ Go-Ahead annual report 1997 Archived 23 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead Group plc 28 June 1997
- ^ Go-Ahead Group buy out Thames Trains Today's Railways UK issue 29 May 1998 page 8
- ^ Go-Ahead annual report 1998 Archived 23 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead Group plc 27 June 1998
- ^ "Thames Trains fined £2m for Paddington crash". TheGuardian.com. 5 April 2004.
- ^ Route Information Thames Trains
- ^ New Oxford to Bristol service Rail Express issue 22 March 1998 page 7
- ^ First direct Oxford-Bristol service starts Rail issue 335 15 July 1998 page 18
- ^ New livery logo for Thames Trains revealed Rail issue 317 5 November 1997 page 13
- ^ New image for Thames Trains Rail Express issue 19 December 1997 page 8
- ^ Thames Trains unveils a new livery for its Turbos Rail issue 390 23 August 2000 page 15
- ^ Go-Ahead facing Thames tussle Evening Standard 10 April 2003
- ^ SRA invites First Group to bid for Thames extension Rail issue 460 30 April 2003 page 11
- ^ "Preferred Bidder Announced for New Thames Trains Franchise". Sra.gov.uk. 2 December 2003. Archived from the original on 2 December 2003. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ Go-Ahead loses Thames Trains as SRA hands franchise to First Rail issue 474 12 November 2003 page 26
External links[]
Media related to Thames Trains at Wikimedia Commons
- Defunct train operating companies
- Go-Ahead Group companies
- Railway companies established in 1996
- Railway companies disestablished in 2004
- Railway operators in London
- 1996 establishments in England
- 2004 disestablishments in England
- British companies established in 1996
- British companies disestablished in 2004