Electrics to Didcot
Great Western Railway starts running electric passenger trains as far as Didcot Parkway.
FORTY-ONE Class 387/1 Electrostars are now in daily use with Great Western Railway, after electric services were extended to Didcot Parkway.
The official timetable change was January 2, although trains formed of ‘387s’ started running from Reading from December 28. The first train was the 0354 ReadingLondon Paddington, but this was eventually cancelled at Slough, with RAIL sources suggesting there was “a block to electric traction after Twyford and overrunning engineering”.
The extension was part of the Great Western Electrification Programme, for which Network Rail turned on the overhead lines from Maidenhead to Didcot.
GWR has used Class 387s since September 2016, initially between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington at peak-time. This was then extended to off-peak as more were delivered, followed by an extension to Maidenhead last May and to Berkshire in December.
They are replacing Class 165s and ‘166s’ on the Thames Valley route. GWR has a fleet of 45 Class 387s (387130-387174), with 44 so far delivered. The final set (387174) is due into traffic within a month.
GWR said the introduction of the fleet offers up to a 30% increase in capacity on some individual journeys, and that overall, alongside the introduction of the Class 800 Intercity Express Programme Trains, more than 4,800 additional seats are being introduced on morning peak services (a 10% increase on a year ago).
The ‘800s’ started operating on electric power to Didcot from January 9, after issues with an axle-counter near Reading were rectified. They run predominantly in eight-car and 12-car formations, although some off-peak services do run.
Thames Valley Class 165s and ‘166s’ are being cascaded west.
So far, they have been introduced onto routes on the Severn Beach branch, and between Cardiff and Taunton.
Two Class 166s have moved to Westbury for driver training, ahead of their introduction onto trains south of Bristol towards Weymouth.
GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: “Electric trains have run under the wires between Didcot and London for the first time, delivering real improvements for our passengers in London and the Thames Valley and enabling us to make further improvements throughout our network.”
The introduction of EMUs means that while ‘800s’ have been introduced on trains to Oxford, with more to be rolled out through the coming weeks, direct trains from the capital need to be split at Didcot Parkway, with passengers from the ‘387s’ transferring to a shuttle service for Oxford and Banbury.