Everything about Wessex Trains totally explained
Wessex Trains was the primary passenger rail operator in the
South West of England. The company operated trains in the region bounded by
Penzance,
Cardiff,
Gloucester,
Worcester and
Brighton. In addition to running trains, Wessex Trains was responsible for the operation of 125 passenger
stations.
History
Wessex Trains came into being on
14 October 2001 when the former
Wales and West and
Valley Lines franchises were reorganised. Wales and West Passenger Trains Ltd. took on the trading name of Wessex Trains and the operation of services in southwest England; Cardiff Railway Company Ltd. changed its trading name from
Valley Lines to
Wales and Borders Trains and took on the running of most trains in Wales and the adjoining parts of England. Both franchises werre owned by the
National Express Group until
Arriva took over a slightly modified Wales and Borders franchise in 2003.
Originally it was planned for Wessex to take over the diesel services of
South West Trains – some route maps even showed the
West of England Main Line as about to transfer. This would have left all services from the South West to London under the control of one operator. The proposed transfer never took place, however. A change of policy by the government led to the decision instead to merge Wessex and
First Great Western into the new Greater Western franchise.
Wessex Trains merged with First Great Western and
First Great Western Link on
1 April 2006. The new franchise is operated by
First Group and all its services operate under the name
First Great Western.
Routes
Wessex Trains ran the majority of local trains in the South West. They didn't run the high-speed long distance trains, which were and are run by
First Great Western between
London Paddington Station and Penzance via
Bristol,
Exeter and
Plymouth,
Virgin Trains between
Birmingham and Penzance and
South West Trains between London
Waterloo Station and
Paignton via Exeter and London to
Weymouth via
Southampton and
Bournemouth.
Wessex Trains ran on north-south routes from
Cardiff and
Gloucester in the north and
Weymouth and
Brighton in the south to Bristol and
Bath. The company also ran the local routes and branch lines in
Devon and
Cornwall, such as the
Newquay,
Exmouth and
St Ives holiday lines.
In late 2004, Wessex Trains' area of operation expanded with some trains continuing beyond Worcester to
Great Malvern.
For a fuller description of the routes operated by Wessex Trains, see the following links.
Rolling stock
Wessex Trains' fleet consisted entirely of
diesel multiple units (DMUs), which worked day-to-day passenger services. During some periods, the company hired
Fragonset Railways Class 31 diesel locomotives and
Mark 2 coaching stock to work longer distance services. The regular use of locomotive-haulage ended on
4 December 2004.
For further details of the DMU fleet, see the following links:
Class 143 - Used on commuter services around Bristol and Avon - refubished in 2000
Class 150 - Used on the majority of services - refurbished in 2002-2003
Class 153 - Used on lightly used routes and for strengthening other services
Class 158 - Used on long distance services on the Wessex Main Line and normally marketed as Alphaline.
Some of the Class 158s were converted to three coaches. Unlike the purpose-built three car Class 158s and Class 159s, the centre car was a Driving Motor with the cab locked out of use and an adapter to connect the different sized gangways.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Wessex Trains'.
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