Thames Trains

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Not to be confused with Thameslink (train operating company 1997–2006) or Govia Thameslink Railway.
Thames Trains
ThamesTrainsLogo.svg
Evesham railway station - geograph.org.uk - 40286.jpg
Class 166 Networker Turbo Express at Evesham in 2003
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 size57 (March 2004)
Stations called at95
Parent companyGo-Ahead Group
Reporting markTT
SuccessorFirst Great Western Link
Other
Websitewww.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In 1998 a service from Oxford to Bristol was introduced in partnership with First Great Western.[8][9] This was withdrawn in 2003 at the request of the Strategic Rail Authority to relieve congestion.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[]

A Class 166 Thames Turbo Express unit at Oxford.
A Class 166 at Stratford-upon-Avon in 2002.
Pictures of various Thames Trains Thames Turbo/Turbo Express interiors and a cab shot are from 2000 to 2004 are of the following parts - (clockwise, from top left) 1st class, the driver's cab, 2nd class Class 166 seats and 2nd class Class 165 seats.

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]

Fleet at end of franchise
Class Image Type Top speed Number Unit numbers Built
mph km/h
Class 165/1 Network Turbo Reading Thames Turbo 165 class 2002.png DMU 90 145 36 165101–165114,
165116–165137 		1990–1992
Class 166 Network Express Turbo Evesham railway station - geograph.org.uk - 40286.jpg 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[]

  1. ^ Companies House extract company no 3007943 Thames Trains Limited
  2. ^ Companies House extract company no 3147927 Victory Rail Holdings Limited
  3. ^ Go-Ahead annual report 1997 Archived 23 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead Group plc 28 June 1997
  4. ^ Go-Ahead Group buy out Thames Trains Today's Railways UK issue 29 May 1998 page 8
  5. ^ Go-Ahead annual report 1998 Archived 23 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead Group plc 27 June 1998
  6. ^ "Thames Trains fined £2m for Paddington crash". TheGuardian.com. 5 April 2004.
  7. ^ Route Information Thames Trains
  8. ^ New Oxford to Bristol service Rail Express issue 22 March 1998 page 7
  9. ^ First direct Oxford-Bristol service starts Rail issue 335 15 July 1998 page 18
  10. ^ New livery logo for Thames Trains revealed Rail issue 317 5 November 1997 page 13
  11. ^ New image for Thames Trains Rail Express issue 19 December 1997 page 8
  12. ^ Thames Trains unveils a new livery for its Turbos Rail issue 390 23 August 2000 page 15
  13. ^ Go-Ahead facing Thames tussle Evening Standard 10 April 2003
  14. ^ SRA invites First Group to bid for Thames extension Rail issue 460 30 April 2003 page 11
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ 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

Preceded by Operator of Thames franchise
1996–2004 		Succeeded by
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