Wessex Trains



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 were 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 did not 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.
 * Main Lines:
 * Great Western Main Line (London-Bristol-Exeter-Plymouth-Penzance)
 * South Wales Main Line (Bristol-Cardiff-Swansea-West Wales)
 * Wessex Main Line (Bristol-Bath-Salisbury-Southampton)
 * West Coastway Line (Southampton-Portsmouth-Brighton)
 * Secondary Lines:
 * Atlantic Coast Line (Par-Newquay)
 * Avocet Line (Exeter-Exmouth)
 * Golden Valley Line (Swindon-Gloucester)
 * Heart of Wessex Line (Westbury-Weymouth)
 * Looe Valley Line (Liskeard-Looe)
 * Maritime Line (Truro-Falmouth)
 * Riviera Line (Exeter-Paignton)
 * Severn Beach Line (Bristol-Avonmouth-Severn Beach)
 * St Ives Bay Line (St. Erth-St. Ives)
 * Tamar Valley Line (Plymouth-Gunnislake)
 * Tarka Line (Exeter-Barnstaple)

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.