Great Western Main Line
|
|
Dawlish_Virgin_HST.jpg
Railway_bridge_Maidenhead.jpeg
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in the United Kingdom, corresponding to the principal routes of the pre-1948 Great Western Railway which were subsequently taken over by the Western Region of British Railways and are now operated by First Great Western.
The original Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington via Reading, Swindon, Bath, Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter to Plymouth.
The route that diverges at Swindon to Bristol Parkway, the Severn Tunnel, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea is also part of the Great Western Main Line, as is the route that diverges at Reading to reach Exeter more directly via Newbury, Westbury and Castle Cary.
| Contents |
Routes in detail
London to Plymouth via Bristol
- London Paddington
- Slough
- Reading
- Direct line diverges to Taunton (see below)
- Didcot Parkway
- Swindon
- Golden Valley Line diverges to Stroud, Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa
- Wootton Bassett (closed)
- South Wales Main Line diverges to Bristol Parkway and South Wales
- Chippenham
- Line diverges to Westbury
- Bath Spa
- Bristol Temple Meads
- Weston-super-Mare (there is also an avoiding line around the town)
- Highbridge, for Burnham-on-Sea
- Bridgwater
- Taunton
- Exeter St. Davids
- West of England Main Line diverges to Yeovil, Salibury and London Waterloo
- Avocet Line diverges to Exmouth
- Tarka Line diverges to Barnstaple
- Newton Abbot
- Riviera Line diverges to Torquay and Paignton
- Totnes
- Connection with South Devon Railway (a heritage railway)
- Plymouth
Reading to Taunton
- Reading
- Line diverges to Basingstoke
- Newbury
- Bedwyn
- Pewsey
- Westbury
- Wessex Main Line diverges to Salisbury and Southampton (South) or Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads (North)
- There is also a link to Chippenham via Trowbridge and Melksham
- Frome
- There is also an avoiding line around the town.
- Castle Cary
- Heart of Wessex Line diverges to Weymouth
- Taunton
Most direct London-Plymouth trains use this route.
Cornish Main Line
- Plymouth
- Tamar Valley Line diverges to Gunnislake
- Liskeard
- Looe Valley Line diverges to Looe
- Bodmin Parkway
- Connection with Bodmin & Wenford Railway (a heritage railway)
- Lostwithiel
- Par
- Atlantic Coast Line diverges to Newquay
- St Austell
- Truro
- Maritime Line diverges to Falmouth
- Redruth
- Cambourne
- St Erth
- St Ives Bay Line diverges to St Ives
- Penzance
The section of line between St Austell and Truro has recently been upgraded to double track, to allow better timekeeping and reduce delays to services.