Thames Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Go-Ahead Group, which operated the Thames Trains franchise from October 1996 until March 2004.
 | |
 Class 166 Networker Turbo at Evesham in 2003 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchise(s) | Thames Trains 13 October 1996 – 31 March 2004 |
| Main region(s) | Greater London, Southeast England |
| Other region(s) | East Midlands, Southwest England, West Midlands |
| Fleet size | 57 (March 2004) |
| Stations called at | 95 |
| Parent company | Go-Ahead Group |
| Reporting mark | TT |
| Successor | First Great Western Link |
| Other | |
| Website | www.thamestrains.co.uk |
History edit
The Thames Trains franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising to Victory Rail Holdings,[1] a company owned by Go-Ahead (65%) and some ex-British Rail managers (35%), with operations commencing on 13 October 1996.[2] Go-Ahead bought the remaining shares it did not own in June 1998.[3][4]
The Ladbroke Grove rail crash of 5 October 1999 involved a Thames Trains Class 165, which had failed to stop at a red signal. Thames Trains was fined £2 million for violations of health and safety law in connection with the incident, and was also ordered to pay £75,000 in costs.[5]
Services edit
Thames Trains ran services along the Great Western Main Line from London Paddington to Didcot with services continuing north to Oxford, Bicester Town, Hereford and Stratford-upon-Avon. It also operated services on the Greenford, Windsor & Eton Central, Marlow, Henley and Bedwyn lines and on the Reading to Basingstoke and North Downs lines.[6]
In 1998 a service from Oxford to Bristol was introduced in partnership with First Great Western.[7][8] This was withdrawn in 2003 to relieve congestion, at the request of the Strategic Rail Authority.
Rolling stock edit
Thames Trains inherited a fleet of near-new Class 165 and Class 166 diesel multiple units from British Rail. Because the paintwork was still under warranty, the existing Network SouthEast livery was retained with only a Thames Trains logo added.[9][10] Upon the warranty expiring, a new livery of white, blue and green was introduced in 2000.[11]
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | |||||
| Class 165 Networker Turbo | 
|
DMU | 90 | 145 | 36 | 1990–1992 |
| Class 166 Networker Turbo |
|
21 | 1992–1993 | |||
Depot edit
Thames Trains' fleet was maintained at Reading TMD.
Demise edit
In April 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority invited FirstGroup and Go-Ahead to bid for a two-year franchise that would coincide with the end date of the First Great Western franchise, after which both would become part of the Greater Western franchise.[12][13] In November 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the new franchise to First with the services operated by Thames Trains transferring to First Great Western Link on 1 April 2004.[14][15]
References edit
- ^ Companies House extract company no 3147927 Victory Rail Holdings Limited
- ^ Go-Ahead annual report 1997 Archived 23 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead Group plc 28 June 1997
- ^ "Go-Ahead Group buy out Thames Trains". Entrain. No. 29. 29 May 1998. p. 8.
- ^ Go-Ahead annual report 1998 Archived 23 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead Group plc 27 June 1998
- ^ "Thames Trains fined £2m for Paddington crash". The Guardian. 5 April 2004. ISSN 0261-3077.
- ^ Route Information Thames Trains
- ^ "New Oxford to Bristol service". Rail Express. No. 29 March 1998. p. 7.
- ^ "First direct Oxford-Bristol service starts". Rail Magazine. No. 336. 15 July 1998. p. 18.
- ^ "New livery logo for Thames Trains revealed". Rail Magazine. No. 317. 5 November 1997. p. 13.
- ^ "New image for Thames Trains". Rail Express. No. 9 December 1997. p. 8.
- ^ "Thames Trains unveils a new livery for its Turbos". Rail Magazine. No. 390. 23 August 2000. p. 15.
- ^ Go-Ahead facing Thames tussle Evening Standard 10 April 2003
- ^ "SRA invites First Group to bid for Thames extension". Rail Magazine. No. 460. 30 April 2003. p. 11.
- ^ "Preferred Bidder Announced for New Thames Trains Franchise". Sra.gov.uk. 2 December 2003. Archived from the original on 2 December 2003. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ "Go-Ahead loses Thames Trains as SRA hands franchise to First". Rail Magazine. No. 474. 12 November 2003. p. 26.
External links edit
Media related to Thames Trains at Wikimedia Commons- Company website
