Great Western Railway
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The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838 with the initial route completed between London and Bristol in 1841.
The Great Western Railway was originally founded to provide a route from Bristol to London, using broad gauge track as developed by its chief engineer I. K. Brunel. It wasn't long before its sights turned northwards due to the success of its standard gauge rivals, the Grand Junction Railway, and the London & Birmingham Railway.
The go-ahead was given in 1835 and the story of the Great Western Railway began. Since then we’ve seen Brunel’s engineering excellence on some of our most iconic railway stations. Moving with the times, GWR’s railways have seen the introduction of electrification across the network and existing lines have been extended to new destinations ...
1935 was to see the Great Western make history by becoming the first British railway to celebrate 100 years of corporate existence. Away from all the glittering festivities, the company was still reeling from its experiences of the Depression.
Find out more about Great Western Railway and learn more about our vision, business and our team. Discover how we’re building a Greater West.
In March, 1833, he was chosen to superintend the construction of the Bristol-London railway, which in the same year adopted its present-day title - “Great Western Railway”. Within a month of his engagement Brunel, the son of a famous engineer, had planned and drawn up a route from Bristol to London.
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The company began operating in February 1996 as Great Western Trains, as part of the privatisation of British Rail. In December 1998, it became First Great Western after FirstGroup bought out its partners' shares in Great Western Holdings.
