Rail company reverts to historic Great Western Railway name

Credit: Great Western Railway

Re-branded Great Western Railway (GWR) trains are running weekday commuter services for the first time.

The operator, which changed its name from First Great Western to re-adopt the historical title, operates in south-west England, south Wales, London and the Thames Valley.

But the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) described the move as "pure PR nonsense".

The rebranding comes as Jeremy Corbynraised the idea of renationalising the railways under a future Labour government.

The new Labour leader has said that if elected in 2020, his government would buy back the rail franchises when they come up for renewal over the five year of the parliament. GWR's franchise would not be one of those though.

GWR said the company's rebrand was part of a £7.5 billion investment to improve the network and has pledged to upgrade service and cut journey times between Cardiff, Bristol and London.

Its managing director, Mark Hopwood, said: "This investment represents a historic milestone for us and so it was a perfect opportunity to launch the Great Western Railway once again.

"We are committed to improving the journeys of our passengers, as well as the economic prosperity and social footprint of the regions and communities we serve."

The name change is a return to the title used by the company which existed when Isambard Kingdom Brunel was appointed its chief engineer in 1833.

But Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT, said: "No one is going to be fooled by this desperate rebranding exercise which is a transparent attempt to air-brush over the whole sordid history of this disastrous privatised rail franchise.

"Ditching the word First is pure PR nonsense dreamt up by the shiny-suit brigade with their fat fees and dumb ideas.

"The money being spent on new paint, logos and marketing campaigns would be better off invested in retaining guards and catering facilities on the trains - the issues at the heart of RMT's current dispute with FGW."

The union has been embroiled in a row with the company for months over staffing and facilities on new nigh speed trains which has led to strikes. The dispute remains deadlocked and further industrial action has not been ruled out.