Increasing services on the GWML

The Great Western Main Line, connects London with Bristol, and from trains may continue Cornwall and South Wales. Engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as a dual track line using a wider 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge, the line was opened in stages between 1838 and 1841. Another remarkable characteristic of the line was its alignment: it was so level and straight it was nicknamed “Brunel’s billiard table”.

In a previous study, trenolab was asked to simulate the largest timetable change on the line since 1970, which was introduced in 2019 following the electrification and replacement of the long-distance rolling stock. Two years later, based on the positive feedback of this study, trenolab has been asked to model the impact of additional long-distance services on the line.

In just 3 weeks trenolab managed to import the complex timetable, merge it with the 2023 timetable drafts of other TOCs addressing all conflicts and complex elements - such as platform workings at Paddington station - and simulate a full year (250 weekdays) of operations, producing a complete set of results that was delivered to Network Rail.