Great Western electrification flaws

I have always thought that Great Western Railway electrification took the wrong approach from the start. Initially, it should have been a suburban scheme only.

Unlike the Midland Main Line (which should have come first, as it would have allowed a totally electric inter-city service), even when (if?) the current GWR plan is completed, nothing bar Bristol will be selfcontained and wholly electric.

Most services from Paddington go to Plymouth and Cornwall, Swansea, Cheltenham and Hereford, all of which require bi-mode. And we’re not being told the truth about bi-mode - they won’t offer the faster services originally envisaged. It would have been better to retain and modify the HSTs for now.

Instead, the initial electrification should have covered the whole suburban network including all the Thames Valley branches and Basingstoke. That would allow a total cascade of diesel stock.

Greenford is entirely suited to go to London Underground as a branch of the Central Line, now that it’s just a shuttle to West Ealing, while a little less than Wokingham-Ash and Guildford-Reigate third rail additions would allow a whollyelectric Reading-Gatwick service.

There is nothing wrong with third rail, which is fine up to 110mph and has advantages over overhead in terms of robustness. The only query would be where the wires would go west of Reading on the Berks & Hants Line. Ending at Newbury is crazy, while Bedwyn always was the strangest Network SouthEast terminus! It would make sense to go to Westbury, which would greatly improve the Pewsey service.

The only downside is the Class 387 for such longer journeys, but a sub-fleet with First Class is easily arranged and could also work Oxford services. Only when this is all done would you then move on to cover the inter-city lines.