Great Western Railway has announced the date for the last Class 43 HST service from London Paddington.
The last express HST from Paddington will depart on Saturday, 18th May 2019.
Due to a large number of passengers expected to ride the last HST from Paddington, the train operator has announced that seats on board the service will be reservation only.
High Speed Trains are being replaced with Intercity Express Trains.
The last train will be the 18:30 from London Paddington.
The train is being extended to Exeter St Davids. Click here to book your ticket.
An additional 18:32 Intercity Express Train is also being provided for those who do not wish to be on the last HST from Paddington.
Those opting to travel to Paddington to record the event will be able to do so and special designated areas
In addition to the 18:30 service, the 18:03 departure to Plymouth, the 18:15 departure to Cheltenham Spa and the 18:22 departure to Hereford are also due to be formed of High Speed Trains, subject to operational requirements.
The HST will make a return to Paddington for a special charity charter tour on 1 June which will be raising money for First Group's chosen charity, Action for Children. Tickets for this special charter are available here.
What did the officials say?
GWR Managing Director, Mark Hopwood said:
“The High Speed Train has served the Western region for nearly 43 years, making a major impact on Intercity travel not only here in the west but across the country.
This last train marks a major milestone in the transformation of the Great Western Railway, with the completion of our Intercity Express Train rollout, prior to timetable changes tomorrow (May 19th), and again in December which will see us deliver more seats, and more frequent and quicker journeys as we benefit from the modernisation of our network.”
Where Next?
News Homepage
For the Latest Railway News
RailAdvent Online Shop
Framed Prints, DVD's / Blu-Ray's and more
LocoStop Community
Come and share your railway pictures
Great Western Railway
Visit their website
Yes it will be a sad day for the class 43HST Paxman 12 cylinder 👍
A matter of opinion, but travel frequently to Bristol, and will miss the journey on a ‘real’ train; the IEP sets blandly typify what the future holds. With HST services on LNER & East Midlands facing a similar demise, I will have to book some Scottish holidays, SNP or not!
Very sad day Class 43’s are so much more comfortable, quieter and smoother than the awful class 800 Hitachi replacement’s.
They should have 43002 ‘Sir Kenneth Grange’ as the leading power car. What a legacy he created. Dont know why they have to let them go, good for another 20 yrs at least. It will be a very emotional day for many. There will be a tear in many an eye. Farewell to our trusty steeds!
It’s going to be a very sad day on the 18th for me and meny of us. These icons of our railways are leaving for good after so meny trusted and reliable years of service never to hear that sound again. ScotRail are so lucky to have them. Thank you class 43 for all and what you have done for England
Which is why some of the GWR Class 43 HSTs and Mk3 carriages have been sent to Scotland that ScotRail will look after their new HST rolling stocks used on the In7ercity services. But yes very sad to see them end their duties that once ruled the Great Western main line, Wales, Southwest England and The West-country. Before the Class 800 and Class 802 IETs came into service few years ago.