GWR expands its EMU empire when timetables change this month. Elsewhere, Cambridge North station opens and Chiltern withdraws its bubble cars

The Great Western route reaches a significant landmark in the May timetable change with the introduction of electric passenger services as far west as Maidenhead. Great Western Railway continues to receive new Class 387 EMUs from Bombardier, and the energisation of the overhead wires from Stockley Junction at the end of March (p95) enables the ‘387s’ to take over an initial batch of peak hour services. These are in addition to the existing half-hourly EMU shuttles between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington.