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Thames Trains

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Not to be confused with Thameslink (train operating company 1997–2006) or Govia Thameslink Railway.
Thames Trains
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 size57 (March 2004)
Stations called at95
Parent companyGo-Ahead Group
Reporting markTT
SuccessorFirst Great Western Link
Other
Websitewww.thamestrains.co.uk

Thames Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Go-Ahead Group. It operated the Thames Trains franchise from October 1996 until March 2004.

History

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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

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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In 1998 a service from Oxford to Bristol was introduced in partnership with First Great Western.[7][8] This was withdrawn in 2003 to relieve congestion, at the request of the Strategic Rail Authority.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

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A Class 166 Networker Turbo unit at Oxford.
A Class 166 at Stratford-upon-Avon in 2002.
Pictures of various Thames Trains' Networker Turbos interiors and a cab shot are from 2000 to 2004 are of the following parts - (clockwise, from top left) 1st class, the driver's cab, 2nd class Class 166 seats and 2nd class Class 165 seats.

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]

Fleet at end of franchise
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

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Thames Trains' fleet was maintained at Reading TMD.

Demise

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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

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  1. ^ Companies House extract company no 3147927 Victory Rail Holdings Limited
  2. ^ Go-Ahead annual report 1997 Archived 23 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead Group plc 28 June 1997
  3. ^ "Go-Ahead Group buy out Thames Trains". Entrain. No. 29. 29 May 1998. p. 8.
  4. ^ Go-Ahead annual report 1998 Archived 23 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead Group plc 27 June 1998
  5. ^ "Thames Trains fined £2m for Paddington crash". The Guardian. 5 April 2004. ISSN 0261-3077.
  6. ^ Route Information Thames Trains
  7. ^ "New Oxford to Bristol service". Rail Express. No. 29 March 1998. p. 7.
  8. ^ "First direct Oxford-Bristol service starts". Rail Magazine. No. 336. 15 July 1998. p. 18.
  9. ^ "New livery logo for Thames Trains revealed". Rail Magazine. No. 317. 5 November 1997. p. 13.
  10. ^ "New image for Thames Trains". Rail Express. No. 9 December 1997. p. 8.
  11. ^ "Thames Trains unveils a new livery for its Turbos". Rail Magazine. No. 390. 23 August 2000. p. 15.
  12. ^ Go-Ahead facing Thames tussle Evening Standard 10 April 2003
  13. ^ "SRA invites First Group to bid for Thames extension". Rail Magazine. No. 460. 30 April 2003. p. 11.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "Go-Ahead loses Thames Trains as SRA hands franchise to First". Rail Magazine. No. 474. 12 November 2003. p. 26.
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Preceded by Operator of Thames franchise
1996–2004 		Succeeded by
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