GWR operates restaurant cars on certain West Country and Wales trains to or from London Paddington. They are available to first-class and standard-class passengers, though only first-class passengers may make advance reservations, and they have priority over seats in the restaurant. Meals in the restaurant car are not included in the price of rail tickets.
GWR has first class on all its long-distance high-speed services. First class on the IETs includes fabric reclining seating with tables at every seat, as well as an at-seat service provided by a customer host on most journeys. Unlike the previous HSTs, the IETs do not have leather first-class seating due to fire regulations. Like the HSTs, there are power sockets and USB charging points at every seat. There is Wi-Fi throughout the first class-carriages, which GWR describes as 'upgraded'.
Standard class is provided on all services. Many services on long-distance and regional routes have specific seat reservations.
An at-seat trolley service is scheduled to operate on most IET services, with a trolley in each portion of a ten-coach train. This is different from the HSTs, which had buffet counters branded as 'Express Cafes'.
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Inter-City services
Class 800 Intercity Express Train
The fleet of 57 Class 800 trains from the Hitachi A-train family is used to operate most of GWR's long-distance services between London and destinations such as Swindon, Chippenham, Bath Spa, Bristol Temple Meads, Newport, Cardiff Central, Swansea, Carmarthen, Cheltenham Spa, Oxford, Worcester Shrub Hill and Hereford. Introduced between autumn 2017 and spring 2019, these gradually replaced the older InterCity 125 sets.
On 28 April 2021, six Class 800s were withdrawn from service due to cracks being found during maintenance and were sent to Hitachi for inspection.
Class 802 Intercity Express Train
Long-distance services between London and destinations in the west of the GWR network (such as Paignton, Newquay, Plymouth and Penzance) are mostly operated using the fleet of 36 Class 802 trains, the first of which was introduced on 20 August 2018.
These trains are almost identical to the Class 800 trains, except they have a higher engine operating power—700 kW (940 hp) per engine as opposed to 560 kW (750 hp)—and are fitted with larger fuel tanks to cope with the gradients and extended running in diesel mode on the long unelectrified stretches in Devon and Cornwall.
Hitachi planned to test a tri-mode Class 802 in 2022 fitted with batteries in an attempt to reduce emissions when entering and leaving stations.
Sleeper services
Class 57 + Mark 3
Four Class 57/6 locomotives have hauled the Night Riviera sleeper services since 2004 when they replaced Class 47s. Due to poor availability of the 57/6s, Direct Rail Services (DRS) Class 57/3s have been hired from Direct Rail Services. in 2023, former DRS 57312 was placed on permanent lease with GWR.
Thames Valley and Bristol services
Class 165/1 Networker Turbo
The Class 165 "Networker Turbo" is a two- or three-coach DMU originally used on shorter-distance services in the Thames Valley area, with many still based at Reading Traction Maintenance Depot. In this area, they are mainly used on branches such as the Greenford branch line, Slough–Windsor & Eton line, Marlow branch line and Henley branch line. They are also used on services between Reading and Basingstoke, Didcot Parkway and Oxford or Banbury, and sometimes services between London and Oxford. Many are based at St Philip's Marsh depot in Bristol, where they work on most of the lines in the area including the Severn Beach line, Heart of Wessex Line, Golden Valley line and Bristol to Exeter line. From summer 2018, they began operating services between Cardiff Central and Portsmouth Harbour too, in tandem with the Class 166 fleet.
In response to its Remedial Plan Notice, First Great Western undertook a more thorough refurbishment of the Thames Turbo fleet than originally planned: the trains were to be fitted with improved lighting, carpets, toilets, and a revised seating layout. This refurbishment started in September 2016.
Class 166 Networker Turbo
The Class 166 "Networker Turbo" is a three-coach DMU, similar to the Class 165 units but with an internal layout more suitable for longer-distance services. They are now mostly based at St Philip's Marsh depot in Bristol, where they currently work on most of the lines in the area including the Wessex Main Line, Severn Beach line, Heart of Wessex Line, Golden Valley line and Bristol to Taunton line. These units also work the Paignton to Exmouth line.
Class 230 D-Train
In February 2023, GWR purchased a number of assets from the administrators of battery train manufacturer Vivarail, including 67 former London Underground D78 Stock carriages, intellectual property rights to the Class 230, and employed nine Vivarail staff. Since 31 January 2026, Class 230 unit 001 has been run in passenger service on the Greenford branch line between West Ealing and Greenford on Saturdays, alongside Class 165 units.
The battery-electric multiple unit, which had been trialled by GWR on the line for roughly two years, achieved the longest distance of any BEMU on a single charge (200.5 miles) to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the railways.
Class 387/1 Electrostar
The Class 387 "Electrostar" is a four-coach EMU built by Bombardier, with a 2+2 seating layout, tables, power sockets and free Wi-Fi. It can be operated in four, eight- and twelve-coach formations. The class began to enter service in September 2016 on weekday peak services between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington, using the overhead electrical equipment used by Heathrow Express. Services using the class were extended to Maidenhead in May 2017 and later to Didcot Parkway, and from Reading to Newbury.
Bombardier Transportation at Ilford Depot had modified twelve of these trains by December 2020, installing new first-class seating, Wi-Fi, luggage racks and on-board entertainment, to be used on Heathrow Express services. Rebranded as "Heathrow Express", and refurbished with Heathrow Express moquette, they replaced the existing Class 332, entering service on 29 December 2020.
In 2023 3 units were cascaded to Great Northern.
West of England services
Class 150/2 Sprinter
The fleet of 17 two-coach Class 150 Sprinter units was inherited from Wessex Trains as part of the Greater Western franchise shuffle. The fleet had been refurbished by Wessex Trains in 2003, with 2+2 seating arranged in a mixture of 'airline' (face to back) and table seating. The fleet is widespread throughout the former Wessex area, and carried a maroon livery with advertising vinyls for South West Tourism. Each unit was sponsored by a district, town or attraction and carried a unique livery. Most received names of attractions, places and branch lines. Two units were repainted into the new First 'Local' livery, but all units are now due to receive the new green GWR livery. As part of a national fleet shuffle, eight units went to Arriva Trains Wales on 10 December 2006, and were replaced with 8 Class 158 units.
First Great Western received five extra Class 150/2 units in May 2007 as part of its Remedial Plan Notice, to enable three-car Class 158 trains to operate on the Portsmouth-Cardiff services. Five Class 150 sets were hired from Arriva Trains Wales from March 2008 until they were returned in November 2010.
Class 158 Express Sprinter
The Class 158 is a two- or three-coach DMU used on regional express services in the former Wessex Trains area. In February 2008, as part of its Remedial Plan Notice, First Great Western announced that it would form some hybrid three-car Class 158 units in March 2008, made possible by the transfer of five Class 150/2 units from Arriva Trains Wales. This allowed for ten hybrid units in operation and, combined with one non-hybrid three-car unit, provided eleven three-car units to operate services between Portsmouth and Cardiff and Great Malvern and Weymouth alongside the two-car units. After the introduction of Class 150/1 trains from London Overground and London Midland, three of the remaining five two-coach Class 158s were reformed to provide two further three-coach Class 158s. However, following their operations largely being taken over by Class 165 and Class 166 units in the Bristol area, most of these units were reformed to restore them to 2 coach formation.
The fleet was refurbished in a programme begun in 2007, which included fitting of reupholstered seats, new lighting and floor coverings, CCTV within the passenger saloons, and refurbished toilets. At the same time, the exteriors of the vehicles were repainted in the updated FGW livery, including artwork depicting various local places of interest. The refurbishment work took place at the Wabtec plant in Doncaster.
In 2018, the 158s began running alongside the first completed Class 255 Castle set on services between Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance. Since then, more of the 158 fleet have gradually started to move more west with more 158 sets working services between Exmouth and Paignton / Barnstaple. The timetable change in December 2019 saw the start of the 158s taking over from the 143s primarily on the Tarka Line to Barnstaple, with some of the units also working on the Cardiff / Bristol to Penzance route alongside the Castle sets.
In October 2020, Arriva TrainCare completed a refurbishment of the Class 158 fleet in line with the C6 exam at their Bristol Barton Hill depot. This included: full interior and exterior repaint, and rebrand to new GWR corporate colours, installation of new air conditioning system and heaters and overhauling the seating and flooring. In addition, a new passenger information system was installed as well as new toilet systems.
Class 175
The Class 175 is the Alstom 'Coradia 1000' diesel-hydraulic multiple unit which was operated by North Western Trains in 2000. They were acquired by Great Western Railway in 2024 to replace the remaining Class 255 Castle-class trains and to free other DMUs for use on other routes in the region. It was planned to operate them between Exeter St Davids, Plymouth and Penzance, also on routes from Exeter Central to Okehampton and Barnstaple.
175002 was the first Class 175 unit to transfer to GWR on 27 November 2024. They began public service with Great Western Railway on the Cornish Main Line on 15 December 2025. and from May 2026 were also allocated to services on the Atlantic Coast Line to Newquay. Poor availability resulted in a 'temporary timetable' being implemented on the Penzance–Exeter route from 7 September 2026. Up to six services in each direction were withdrawn to reduce the likelihood of short notice cancellations. At the time only 15 of the 26 units had been delivered to GWR.
Past fleet
Locomotive-hauled trains were in use on services between Cardiff, Bristol, Taunton and Paignton from December 2008 until November 2010 using Virgin Trains Class 57 locomotives with Mark 2 coaching stock. A second set hauled by EWS Class 67s was used between December 2009 and October 2010. These were withdrawn when sufficient DMUs were available following the transfer of six Class 150/1 sets from London Overground. First Great Western issued a tender in May 2013 so that locomotive-hauled trains, or other train formations, could be operated on the Taunton-Cardiff route again, proposed to start in December 2013, to cover for DMUs out of service for refurbishment on Monday-to-Friday diagrams. GWR also runs loco-hauled sets composed of seating coaches and a Class 57 locomotive from the Night Riviera service between Penzance and Exeter St Davids as part of the summer timetable to release a DMU for other services.
Twelve Class 142 Pacer DMUs were received by First Great Western in 2007, starting operations that December. These were sub-leased from Northern Rail (where they had been stored), in part to cover for refurbishment of FGW's Sprinter fleets but also to allow the Class 158s to be re-formed as three-coach sets. They were based at Exeter TMD, working alongside the similar Class 143s on services in Devon and Cornwall, including the Avocet Line, Riviera Line and Tarka Line. Five 142s were returned to Northern Rail in late 2008, following the completion of the refresh of Class 150 Sprinter units. The remaining seven units were returned to Northern Rail by November 2011 as they had been replaced by Class 150 units cascaded from London Overground and London Midland following the arrival of new Class 172 Turbostar units.
GWR's Night Riviera service also included the UK's last Motorail service, until that was withdrawn at the end of the 2005 summer season due to low usage.
First Great Western previously leased 14 Class 180 Adelante units, operating on the Great Western Main Line, but following technical issues they were transferred elsewhere. In 2012, five units were returned to First Great Western to operate weekday services on the Cotswold Line, allowing class 165 and 166 units to be reallocated to increase capacity on Thames Valley services. The Class 180s left GWR in stages between June and December 2017 to join Grand Central.
The 150/1s in the GWR fleet transferred to Arriva Rail North in stages, beginning with the first three in August 2017 when their leases expired, and ending in April 2018. The 153s also transferred elsewhere in stages too, with the first four units going to East Midlands Trains and the next five units going to Arriva Rail North. This left just five 153 units with GWR, which eventually transferred to Transport for Wales in April 2019.
Great Western Railway retained 24 power cars and 48 carriages from its former High Speed Train fleet to form 12 'Castle' 2+4 sets. They were branded as Class 255 sets and were used on multiple services between Plymouth and Penzance. All the sets were withdrawn at the end of 2025, ending their services with GWR in Devon and Cornwall and are planned to be replaced with Class 175s. All power cars retained had new nameplates, named after castles from across the area that GWR serve. The sets are progressively being fitted with automatic doors and controlled emission toilets, to allow their operation beyond 2020, at Doncaster Works. Due to a delay in refurbishing the Castle sets, slam door 2+4 sets known as 'Classic' sets were used until the end of 2019.
Until 2017, GWR operated the vast majority of its long-distance services with a fleet of 58 InterCity 125 High Speed Train sets, each consisting of eight Mark 3 coaches sandwiched between two Class 43 locomotives. GWR operated the largest InterCity 125 fleet, owning five sets outright; the rest were leased from Angel Trains and Porterbrook. From 2009 to 2012 (when Class 180s were reintroduced on the Cotswold line) all the company's intercity services were worked by HSTs except the Night Riviera sleeper service between London Paddington and Penzance. From late 2017, following the completion of electrification from Hayes & Harlington to the west of England, intercity services gradually became operated by Class 800 IETs, although a few peak services remained operated by HSTs until early 2019. GWR continued to use HSTs on services to Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance until May 2019, when they were all withdrawn in favour of Class 802 units.
The youngest Class 43 locomotive dated from 1982. After a successful trial by Angel Trains and FGW in 2004, two power cars received new MTU engines while two received new Paxman VP185s, fitted by Brush Traction of Loughborough. The MTU engine proved the better option, both for reliability and for emissions, resulting in FGW, Brush and Angel Trains starting the HST Modernisation programme. The last power cars to be re-engineered were released in April 2008, while several other companies' HSTs have undergone a similar programme.
GWR's High Speed Train fleet were refurbished by Bombardier in Derby and Ilford between 2006 and 2008, with leather seats introduced in first class, redesigned toilets, a redesigned buffet, and at-seat power points. The company opted for mainly airline seats, giving more seats per train.
Following the Southall and Ladbroke Grove rail crashes, GWR required its HSTs to have automatic train protection and Automatic Warning System safety systems in operation. If either was faulty, the train was not used.
Rejected fleet
It was planned for Great Western Railway to operate nineteen Class 769/9 units once they were fully rolled out. The operator intended to run the first services in spring 2019, but this was delayed by issues faced by Porterbrook in converting the units. However, the first vehicle has been delivered and all were expected to be delivered by the end of 2021.
Although initially planned for use in London and the Thames Valley, while 12 Class 387 units were modified for Heathrow Express services, the future plan for these units was to be operating on services between Oxford, Reading and Gatwick Airport, which would have meant operating on non-electrified lines, 25 kV AC OHLE and 750 V DC third-rail routes. To enable this, GWR's allocation of Class 769 units retained their dual-voltage capability in addition to being fitted with diesel power units. The units also received an internal refurbishment and be fitted with air cooling.
The first Class 769 to be delivered to GWR was unit 769943, which arrived at Reading TMD in August 2020. It was expected to enter service in early 2021. The Class 769 was expected to enter squadron service with GWR between June and December 2021, but this was later delayed to 2022.
In December 2022, GWR announced that the introduction of the Class 769 fleet would be abandoned and the units handed back to Porterbrook in April 2023. This was to comply with DfT mandated cost-cutting and also as a result of dissatisfaction with the reliability of the units on test.
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