Our History

Gemini Rail Services (GRS) - Wolverton

Wolverton railway works was established in Wolverton, Buckinghamshire, by the London and Birmingham Railway Company in 1838 at the midpoint of the 112 miles-long route from London to Birmingham. In 1865 Wolverton was designated as the LNWR Carriage Works, eventually becoming the largest carriage works in the UK and In 1901, Wolverton was the first railway works to use electricity for lighting and driving machinery throughout and had a workforce rising to 4000 people.

Post-war it continued its carriage construction work, including making large numbers of the all-new British Railways Mark 1 carriage, until the intervention of Dr. Beeching. In 1962, the works was downgraded to a repair facility, with the last new vehicle being completed in 1963. By 1964 the workforce had dropped from 4000 to 2000.

More recently in February 1986 British Rail Engineering Limited split into two new groups, with Wolverton becoming part of the new BR Maintenance Group, which reduced staff to 850.

Following ownership by Siemens Babcock, Alstom, Railcare and Knorr-Bremse, the new company is now owned by Mutares AG and operates under the name of Gemini Rail Services and offers a full range of market leading vehicle overhaul and modernisation services.

“We are very proud of our history as a group. Our people come from some of the leading names in the Rail industry, and their expertise and experience is continued in Gemini Rail Group”.