Bullet trains to reach Newbury by 2017

First Great Western says that journey times will be cut and more seats created after Transport Secretary Justine Greening approved the £4.5bn contract with Hitachi.
Each train fleet will include electric and bi-mode trains with five or nine carriages with a faster acceleration and travel speed, at 125mph, than the current InterCity trains that have been operating on the Great Western main line through Oxfordshire and Berkshire, and also on the East Coast Main Line since the 1970s.
First Great Western said that the increased capacity and fewer scheduled stops would also reduce journey times, while allowing operators to run more frequent services.
The trains are being introduced to satisfy the Paddington commuter demand of 25,000 by 2019 said a spokeswoman from the Department for Transport, Kathryn Dorrian.
She added: “The new trains will have 628 seats, over 100 more than the current fleet can accommodate.
“There will be some minor infrastructure work to accommodate the new trains,” she added.
The announcement comes after Network Rail announced plans for the further electrification of the Great Western line.
Justine Greening said: “The decision to build almost 600 new inter-city train carriages is great for rail passengers who will experience faster and more comfortable journeys when travelling across Britain.”
First Great Western managing director Mark Hopwood, said: "This latest Government announcement is an essential piece of the jigsaw in improving passenger journeys across our network.
"Alongside the further electrification announced last week, these trains will give passengers a faster and more comfortable journey experience when travelling on the Great Western main line between London and destinations such as Oxford, Newbury, Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea.”
The announcement should be welcomed by the region’s hard pressed commuters. In November, First Great Western agreed to add 48 carriages to some of its busiest trains across the Thames Valley routes following publication of a Government study which showed Newbury commuters suffered some of the worst cases of overcrowding on trains in the entire country.