Class 153 unit no. 153373 in Heart of Wessex livery. Most of the Wessex Trains fleet is painted with a different West Country "post card". Class 150/2 unit no. 150246 in West Country advertising livery. Many of these unit have been named after local attractions. Wessex Trains is the primary rail operator in the South West of England. They operate trains in the region bounded by Penzance, Cardiff, Gloucester, Worcester and Brighton. In addition to operating trains, Wessex Trains operates 125 stations.
The company was formed on 14 October 2001 when the former Wales and West company was divided into 2 separate operators, Wessex Trains and Wales and Borders - operating services in Wales and Central England. They are owned by the National Express Group.
Routes
Wessex Trains run the majority of local trains in the South West. They do not run the high-speed long distance trains, however, and these are run by First Great Western between London Paddington Station and Penzance via Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth, Virgin Trains between Birmingham and Penzance and South West Trains between London Waterloo Station and Paignton via Exeter and London to Weymouth via Southampton and Bournemouth.
Wessex Trains run on north south routes from Cardiff and Gloucester in the north and Weymouth and Brighton in the south to Bristol and Bath. The company also run the local routes and branch lines in Devon and Cornwall, such as the Newquay, Exmouth and St Ives holliday lines.
In late-2004, Wessex Train's area of operation expanded with some trains continuing beyond Worcester to Great Malvern.
For a fuller description of the routes operated by Wessex Trains, see the following links.
Rolling Stock
Wessex Trains fleet consists entirely of diesel multiple units (DMUs), which work day-to-day passenger services. In the past, the company has hired Fragonset Railways Class 31 diesel locomotives and Mk.2 coaching stock to work longer distance services. The regular use of locomotive ended on 4 December 2004. However, they are still used occasionally in conjunction with special events.
For further details of the DMU fleet, see the following links.
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