Great Western Main Line
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The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain, 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 Wootton Bassett near Swindon to Bristol Parkway, the Severn Tunnel, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea, known as the South Wales Main Line, is also part of the Great Western Main Line, as is the Berks and Hants Line, diverging at Reading to reach Exeter more directly via Newbury, Westbury and Castle Cary.
The main lines between Paddington and Bristol are capable of supporting 125mph operation, having been upgraded during the 1970s to support the introduction of the Intercity 125 (HST).
The line is electrified at 25 kV AC overhead between Paddington and the junction with the line to Heathrow Airport, and is one of only two lines in the UK to be equipped with the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, the other being the Chiltern Main Line.
Routes in detail
London to Plymouth via Bristol
- London Paddington station, London
- * Branch to Heathrow Airport
- Slough
- Reading
- *Direct line diverges to Taunton (see below)
- Didcot Parkway
- *Line diverges to Oxford and Banbury
- *An avoiding line (Didcot East curve) links the Oxford Line to the main and relief lines at Didcot East
- 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
- *Connection with West Somerset Railway (a heritage railway)
- 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
- *Line continues to Exeter and Plymouth (see above)
Cornish Main Line
| Cornish Main Line |
| Principal stations Plymouth Devonport St Budeaux Ferry Road Saltash St Germans Menheniot Liskeard Bodmin Parkway Lostwithiel Par St Austell Truro Redruth Camborne Hayle St Erth Penzance |
- Plymouth
- *Tamar Valley Line diverges to Gunnislake
- Devonport
- St Budeaux
- Saltash
- St Germans
- Menheniot
- 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
- *Rail Link bus service to the Eden Project
- Truro
- *Maritime Line diverges to Falmouth
- Redruth
- *Rail Link bus service to Helston and RNAS Culdrose
- Camborne
- Hayle
- St Erth
- *St Ives Bay Line diverges to St Ives
- Penzance
| Main line railways in Great Britain:''' | |
|---|---|
| High-speed main lines: | Channel Tunnel Rail Link |
| Cross-Country Route East Coast Main Line Great Eastern Main Line Great Western Main Line Midland Main Line West Coast Main Line | |
| Railway lines in South-West England and the "Great Western" zone :''' | |
|---|---|
| Main lines: | Cross Country Route (MR)>Cross-Country Route Great Western Main Line Cherwell Valley Line Gloucester-Newport Line Exeter-Paignton "Riviera" Line South Wales Main Line Wessex Main Line West of England Main Line |
| Commuter lines: | Severn Beach Line Slough to Windsor & Eton Line>Slough-Windsor & Eton Line |
| Rural lines: | Exeter-Barnstaple "Tarka" Line Exeter-Exmouth "Avocet" Line Golden Valley Line Heart of Wessex Line Henley Branch Line Looe Valley Line Marlow Branch Line Par-Newquay "Atlantic Coast" Line St Ives Bay Line Tamar Valley Line Truro-Falmouth "Maritime" Line |
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