GWR has contract renewed

First Group company in place until 2025

GWR is to keep operating trains between the south west and London.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has reawarded the franchise to the company, which is owned by First Group, until at least 2025. Aberdeen-based First Group previously branded its service First Great Western, but that was much lampooned.

It now uses a 1930s style branding, using the heritage name GWR and using Enid Blyton's Famous Five characters, reminiscent of a golden era of railways.

The new government contract for the GWR brand could be extended until 2028 if the Department of Transport agree.

GWR says it will now improve 'customer experience' (formerly known as looking after passengers), while "focusing investment on sustainable services and providing better value for money for customers and the taxpayer."

Its promise of 'sustainable services' include a new railway station at Marsh Barton, better bus links in South Devon, and a combined ticket with a steam railway and river boat service around Dartmouth.

GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: “We are delighted to have been awarded a National Rail Contract by the Department for Transport, which is a sign of its confidence in GWR as a trusted operator, and means we can continue to build on welcoming more people back to the railway.

First Group also owns South Western Railways (SWR), which serves Devon out of London Paddington, and giving it a monopoly over the railways in Devon.

Since the pandemic, times have been tough for transport companies, with fewer passenger journeys bringing short-term pain. However First Group has navigated its way through the issues and remains a hugely successful business, promising to increased the amount it pays shareholders to half a billion pounds this year.