First Great Western
First Great Western operate commuter, regional and branch line services, covering London, South Wales, the West of England and Devon and Cornwall including major towns and cities like Cardiff, Exeter, Plymouth, Bath, Bristol and Reading.
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First Great Western facts:
- Commenced operation in April 2006 (Franchise ends March 2013)
- Runs more high-speed trains than at any time since the network was built with increased frequencies including half-hourly service to Cardiff and trains every 15 minutes to Bristol
- 96m Passenger journeys in 2011/12 (up from 76m in 2006)
- Approx 9,000 services per week
- 100 new rolling stock vehicles introduced by FirstGroup since 2006
- Rail Operator of the Year at the Rail Business Awards in 2010 and winner of the Customer Communication and Service Excellence award at the Rail Business Awards in 2012
- Participates in six of the top ten performing Community Rail Partnerships across the country, leading to improved passenger numbers across branch lines, notably 90% growth on the Severn Beach line
- Revenue growth of 8.0% in 2011/12
- Annual performance score is now at over 90%, up from 83% in 2007
- Latest passenger satisfaction score is up 5% since the start of the franchise
- Heathrow Connect, a separate brand operated by FGW, achieved 92% satisfaction.