All Change on Local Great Western Timetable

Published on: 11 Oct, 2019
Updated on: 16 Oct, 2019

Great Western Railway (GWR) has announced that on the 15th December they will be introducing the biggest timetable changes since 1976, and this will affect the Reading, Guildford to Gatwick Airport services.

The new December timetable will be available soon, and the main changes announced so far are:

New early and late-night services between Reading and Gatwick Airport
The Sunday service to be improved to include evening trains, year-round
Timetable changes at Shalford with late evening trains being retimed by up to 25 minutes
Refreshed Class 769 train to be introduced in May 2020.

The new 769 stock is coming in to cover a shortage of diesel multiple units following the deferral of several electrification projects.

Electrification of the line between Shalford and Reigate has been proposed on numerous occasions, the most recent in 2016 by Surrey County Council. It was “suggested that the electrification would create around 8,000 jobs and stimulate £1.9 billion of economic growth”.

The new stock will be refitted railway class 319s seen here. Photo Wikipedia.

The refreshed trains are expected to have new passenger information systems, accessibility-friendly toilets, and emission control systems. They will also be bi-modal, electric or diesel powered, able to readily move between electrified and non-electrified lines.