GWR Boss answers the tough questions: Mark Hopwood CBE – Great Western Railway MD

The Great Western Railway. Brainchild of legendary engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Chocolate and Cream coaches and quintessential English Branch lines.

GWR has always done things a little differently whether it be broad gauge tracks or diesel hydraulic locomotives. There’s the Great Western Way and there’s the wrong way surely someone must have said at some point….

Today, GWR conforms more than it has in the past, but it still stands out. It’s elegant green liveried trains still serve the great cities of Cardiff, Bristol and all points west, right through to the extremities of the rail network in Penzance.

It’s Managing Director is Mark Hopwood CBE, a veteran of the rail sector and a highly respected railway operator. Much has been achieved during his tenure but nonetheless, he still faces some significant challenges.

I met up with Mark rather appropriately at the Didcot Railway Centre, the home of the Great Western Society, to talk about GWR - the highs, the lows and what may lie ahead.

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