The
British RailBritish Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
Class 43 (HST) is the
TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, or TOPS, is a computer system for managing the locomotives and rolling stock owned by a rail system...
classification used for the
InterCity 125The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
High Speed Train power cars, built by
BRELBritish Rail Engineering Limited , was the railway systems engineering division of British Rail, until the design and building of trains in the UK was privatised in 1993. On 31 October 1969, the company was incorporated as British Rail Engineering Limited.-Main products:The vast majority of BREL's...
from 1975 to 1982.
The class is the fastest diesel unit in the world, with an absolute maximum speed of 148 mi/h, and a regular service speed of 125 mi/h. There are claims that this diesel rail speed record has been broken twice unofficially: by a Russian train in 1992 achieving 168 mi/h, and a Spanish train reporting 254 kilometre per hour in 2002.
History and background
In the early 1970s the
British Railways BoardThe British Railways Board was a nationalised industry in the United Kingdom that existed from 1962 to 2001. From its foundation until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services in Great Britain, trading under the brand names British Railways and, from 1965, British Rail...
(BRB) decided to replace their main-line express diesel traction. Financial limitations were tight, so mass electrification was not possible. As a result, a new generation of high-speed diesel trains had to be developed.
Experience with the high-speed
Class 55 DelticThe British Rail Class 55 is a class of diesel locomotive built in 1961 and 1962 by English Electric. They were designed for the high-speed express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between and Edinburgh. They gained the name "Deltic" from the prototype locomotive, DP1 Deltic, which...
locomotives had shown that a low axle weight was essential to avoid damage to the track at sustained high speed, and that high-speed engines were the only way to provide a good enough power/weight ratio for diesels. To power the HST at up to 125 mi/h, each power car had a new diesel engine, the 12-cylinder
Paxman ValentaThe Paxman Valenta was an engine that was made by Paxman diesels for the HST , and is still in use in various marine applications, such as the Upholder/Victoria class submarine....
, running at 1,500 rpm and developing 2250 bhp. The 70-tonne weight of the power car gave it a 17.5-tonne axle loading.
Development and design
The prototype set was developed at the
Railway Technical CentreThe Railway Technical Centre in London Road, Derby, UK, was built by the British Railways Board in the early 1960s to be its technical headquarters....
, Derby, the power cars having been constructed by BREL
Crewe WorksCrewe railway works is a British railway engineering facility built in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway. It is located in the town of Crewe, in the county of Cheshire....
and the
British Rail Mark 3British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...
passenger cars by BREL at
Derby Litchurch Lane Works.Derby Carriage and Wagon Works was built by the Midland Railway in Derby, England. The plant has been through many changes of ownership and is currently owned by Bombardier Transportation, a subsidiary of Bombardier Inc. of Canada. As of 2011 it is the only remaining passenger rolling stock...
The engine used in the prototype power cars was the Paxman 'Valenta' 12RP200L, which developed 2250 hp. The electrical equipment was supplied by
BrushBrush Electrical Machines is a manufacturer of large generators for gas turbine and steam turbine drive applications, based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, United Kingdom....
. The power cars had a main driver's position at one aerodynamically shaped end with the other flat and gangwayed end having only an auxiliary driving position for shunting purposes.
The two prototype power cars emerged from the works in June and August 1972 and were initially numbered
41001 and 41002The British Rail Class 41 was the original classification for the power cars of the prototype High Speed Train. However, the train was later re-classified as a diesel-electric multiple unit, and the whole set became Class 252. They were of Bo-Bo wheel arrangement.Two power cars were built, 41001...
, but after a short period the entire set, including the passenger coaches, became reclassified as a Diesel-electric multiple unit :
British Rail Class 252Class 252 was the classification allocated to the prototype High Speed Train unit, numbered 252001.-History:When originally built, in 1972, the prototype High Speed Train units were considered to be formed of two locomotives at either end of a rake of carriages...
. The power cars were given the coaching stock numbers 43000 and 43001. After proving trials on the Eastern Region the prototype High Speed Diesel Train (HSDT) was transferred to the Western Region where it was deployed on Paddington Bristol/Weston-super-Mare services.
The design was successful and led to production orders being placed for similar trains for the Western, Eastern, Scottish and London Midland Regions. The production power cars feature a redesigned front end without conventional buffers, although a rigid drawbar can be used to connect an HST to an ordinary locomotive. Following the introduction of production HST sets the prototype unit was withdrawn, the power cars passing to the Research Division at Derby. Of the ten prototype coaches, two were adapted for use in the
Royal TrainThe Royal Train is a set of railway carriages dedicated for the use of the British Monarch, other members of the Royal Family, and their staff. The train enables members of the Royal Family to carry out busy schedules over an extended period, in a secure environment which minimises disruption and...
, five were modified for use with the production HSTs, and three were transferred to Departmental stock.
The 197 power cars produced are numbered 43002-43198. 43001 was applied to the second of the two prototype power cars, while the first of the pair (now preserved at York) became 43000, which is unusual because BR
TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, or TOPS, is a computer system for managing the locomotives and rolling stock owned by a rail system...
classification numbered its locomotives from 001 upwards (this was because it was not, at the time, classified as a locomotive).
Buffered units
In 1987, as electrification of the East Coast Mainline was underway, British Rail management realised that the new
Mk4 carriagesBritish Rail's fourth design of passenger carriages was designated Mark 4, designed for use in InterCity 225 sets on the newly-electrified East Coast Main Line between London, Leeds, and Edinburgh.-History and construction:...
for the Class 89 and 91 locomotives were not going to be finished in time for the introduction of electric services on the East Coast Main Line so, in late 1987, a total of eight Eastern Region powercars (Numbers 43013/014/065/067/068/080/084/123) were sent to the Brush works in Loughborough to have the lower valancing removed and buffers fitted.
After being fitted with buffers, these power cars began work as surrogate DVTs to work with the Class 91s and 89. The locomotives, working with conventional
Mk3 stockBritish Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...
, worked on the line between 1987 and 1991, when the last Class 91 locomotives entered service. Other than buffers being fitted to these powercars, special remote control equipment was also added to the locomotives so they could be controlled by the locomotive at the front. Once these locomotives left DVT duties, the remote equipment was removed.
After privatisation, these power cars joined the Virgin Trains fleet working both
Virgin Cross-CountryVirgin CrossCountry was a train operating company in Great Britain, part of Virgin Trains, from January 1997 until 11 November 2007. The company's operations were former InterCity services centred on Birmingham New Street, operating across the country .-History:The franchise was the first of two...
and Virgin West Coast routes, where they displaced loco-hauled stock. All of the units were repainted from their original Intercity colours to the Virgin Red livery. Later, Virgin Trains gave up the HSTs when new Virgin Voyager units were delivered and nearly all of these powercars went into storage at Long Marston yard.
After years of storage, several of the powercars were bought by
Midland MainlineMidland Mainline was a British train operating company owned by the National Express Group and based in Derby. It was created after the privatisation of British Rail. Midland Mainline services operated from April 1996 to November 2007....
to be part of 'Project Rio', special services running from St Pancras Station to Manchester while major engineering works were undertaken on the West Coast Main Line. These units were kept in the de-branded Virgin Trains livery throughout their time with Midland Mainline and put back in storage once Project Rio had finished in 2006.
43013 and 43014 joined Network Rail's New Measurement Train in 2003 and have continued to work with this service ever since. Both of these units have now had MTU engines fitted.
43080 was leased to GNER as a one-off powercar, working as a spare unit that could be easily called for if a HST failed. For most of its time with GNER, it was based at Craigentinny yard in Edinburgh and was painted into GNER colours. This locomotive's lease ended in 2006 and it was returned to storage at Long Marston.
In 2007, the Train Operating Company Grand Central Trains took an interest in the stored powercars and amalgamated them into their fleet of three HST sets. In total, 43065/067/068/080/084/123 were bought by the company and now run high speed services between Sunderland and London Kings Cross. HSTs 43084 and 43123 were the final operational
Paxman ValentaThe Paxman Valenta was an engine that was made by Paxman diesels for the HST , and is still in use in various marine applications, such as the Upholder/Victoria class submarine....
power cars, being re-engined in 2010 with the MTU treatment. While at the works being re-engined,
Grand Central added the orange stripe that appears on their Class 180 units, re-painted the front ends (this making them look more like the non-buffered HSTs), and re-numbered the power cars into the four-hundreds. These are the current numbers: 43465 (065)/467 (067)/468 (068)/480 (080)/484 (084)/423 (123). The re-numbering of 43123 was confusing to some enthusiasts, as they sometimes believed it was originally 43
023 because 400 was added to the numbers of the other power cars, yet only 300 to this particular power car.
Engines
British Rail experimented with Mirrlees Blackstone MB190 engines in four Western region examples (43167–43170) between 1987 and 1996, but this experiment was unsuccessful and the standard Paxman Valenta engines re-installed. These four locomotives have since all been re-engined with the MTU 16V4000 engine. 43167 is now 43367 and operates with East Coast trains, whilst 43168-43170 are still in service, in the former Western region area under First Great Western.
Paxman commenced development of the Valenta's successor, the VP185, in 1987. The suggestion that British Rail participate in a trial of the new VP185 engine in the IC125 was first mooted in January 1991 and a formal agreement for the trial was signed in May 1993.
A qualifying requirement for the trial was that the engine should undergo a British Rail Type Test which was carried out between December 1993 and February 1994. The test involved completion of 3,000 cycles, each of 10 minutes duration, with four minutes at the maximum power of 2611 kWb (3,500 bhp) and six minutes at idle, simulating the typical 'on-off' nature of IC125 duty. The test was much more severe than operational duty where the train operates at a maximum of 1678 kWb (2,250 bhp). The successful results of the test cleared the way for installation of a VP185 in Power Car 43170 at Plymouth Laira Depot for in-service trials in the summer of 1994.
During the late 1990s twenty-five HST power cars were re-engined with
PaxmanPaxman may refer to:Surname* Jeremy Paxman, British TV journalist* Giles Paxman, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Spain* Stephen Paxman, Australian rules footballerOthers* Paxman Musical Instruments...
12VP185L engines in order to improve fuel consumption and to reduced emissions, but these engine have proved less reliable in service than had been hoped. However the 12VP185L was introduced fleet-wide within the Australian XPT series.
Hybrid trial
In 2007
Brush TractionThis article is about a British rail-locomotive maker. For the Detroit auto-maker, see Brush Motor Car CompanyBrush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives, part of the FKI group , based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, England situated alongside the Midland Main Line.-...
and Hitachi, Ltd equipped Paxman Valenta powered 43089 and a semi-permanently coupled
Mark 3British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...
coach with a diesel-battery hybrid power system for trials to be undertaken with the power car running in
Network RailNetwork Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
's New Measurement Train. The power car was named "Hayabusa" (
Japaneseis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
for falcon). A technical presentation can be seen here.
Life extension
The
Class 43, having been in operation since the late 1970s, is due for replacement by the Hitachi Super Express. The development cycle for the replacement series is such that the existing fleet may be required to operate through to 2015 or beyond.
- During 2005, two Class 43 power cars (43004 and 43009) operated by First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
were fitted with new MTUMTU Friedrichshafen GmbH is a manufacturer of commercial internal combustion engines founded by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach in 1909...
V16 4000 engines before being tested in passenger operation on the Great Western Line. In December 2005, First announced that all of its power cars will receive the MTU engine. The MTU engine offers improvements over the existing PaxmanPaxman is a major British brand of diesel engines. Ownership has changed on a number of occasions since the company's formation in 1865, and now the brand is owned by MAN SE, as part of MAN Diesel & Turbo. At its peak, the Paxman works covered 23 acres and employed over 2,000 people. Engine...
12RP200 'Valenta' engines, with reduced noise, smoke and exhaust emissions, improved reliability and fuel efficiency.
- East Coast
East Coast is a British train operating company running high-speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland...
has also re-engined its fleet with MTU engines, a process begun under its predecessor GNER. East Coast's fleet of re-engined power cars have been renumbered into the 432xx and 433xx series by adding 200 to the existing power car number.
- East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...
have stated that they will install Paxman VP185 engines into all their powercars before the end of its franchise. They have completed their ambition since, though the re-engined power cars retained their original numbers.
- Grand Central has 43468 (formerly 43068) and 43480 (formerly 43080) now with MTU engines fitted, entering service on 21 September 2010; they have also been repainted with an orange stripe to match Grand Central's Class 180s. 43465 (formerly 43065) and 43467 (formerly 43067) have now been re-engined by Brush Traction
This article is about a British rail-locomotive maker. For the Detroit auto-maker, see Brush Motor Car CompanyBrush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives, part of the FKI group , based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, England situated alongside the Midland Main Line.-...
in LoughboroughLoughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
and are now operational. 43084 has suffered major power unit failure and is being re-engined by Brush, leaving 43123 as the final Valenta powercar; it now carries a plaque reading "1972-2010 Valenta." The final passenger service of a Valenta engine was on 19 December 2010 (the 09:07 departure from London Kings Cross to Sunderland). On 22 December 2010 the Valenta was used in four farewell tours between York and Sunderland using 43123. 43084 and 43123 have now been re-engined by Brush Traction in Loughborough and are currently receiving the orange stripe and logos at Kilmarnock in Scotland and have been renumbered 43484 and 43423.
- CrossCountry's
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...
first CrossCountry-liveried HST powercar, 43301 (formerly 43101) was released from its overhaul at Brush Traction, Loughborough on 16 July 2008. To identify its fleet, CrossCountry is renumbering all of its HST units by adding an extra 200 to the old number.
- Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
New Measurement Train
Operations
When
Crewe WorksCrewe railway works is a British railway engineering facility built in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway. It is located in the town of Crewe, in the county of Cheshire....
built them the
InterCity 125The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
units were considered to be
diesel multiple unitA diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
s, and were allocated
Classes 253 and 254Class 253, Class 254 and Class 255 are classifications that have in the past been applied to InterCity 125 high speed trains in Great Britain.-Class 253 and 254:...
for Western and Eastern Region services respectively. The locomotives were introduced onto the Midland region later.
Until the HST's introduction, the maximum speed of British trains was limited to 100 mph (160 km/h). The increased speed, rapid acceleration and deceleration of the HST made it ideal for passenger use, and after deployment slashed journey times around the country. The prototype
InterCity 125The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
(power cars 43000 and 43001) set the
world recordDetermination of the fastest rail vehicle in the world varies depending on the definition of "rail".Official absolute world record for conventional train is held by the French TGV...
for diesel traction at 143 mph (230 km/h) on 12 June 1973. An HST also holds the world speed record for a diesel train carrying passengers. On 27 September 1985, a special press run for the launch of a new Tees-Tyne Pullman service from Newcastle to London King's Cross, formed of a shortened 2+5 set, briefly touched 144 mi/h north of
YorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
.
During 1987, eight HST power cars were converted for use as Driving Vehicles with
Class 91The British Rail Class 91 is a class of , electric locomotives ordered as a component of the East Coast Main Line modernisation and electrification programme of the late 1980s. The Class 91s were given the auxiliary name of InterCity 225 to indicate their envisaged top speed of...
locomotives during trials on the East Coast Main Line. The power cars were fitted with buffers and
Time Division MultiplexTime-division multiplexing is a type of digital multiplexing in which two or more bit streams or signals are transferred apparently simultaneously as sub-channels in one communication channel, but are physically taking turns on the channel. The time domain is divided into several recurrent...
equipment that allowed them to directly control a Class 91, and were moved over to the ECML where they were used on workings with Class 89 and then Class 91 locomotives from London to Leeds. After the Mk 4 stock had been delivered, the
HST power cars had the TDM equipment removed, and then reverted to their normal duties. The power cars used for this project can be easily identified as they are still fitted with buffers. They were then transferred to Cross Country services, and put in storage when Virgin replaced their HST fleet with
BombardierBombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
' s
VoyagerThe Voyager series is a group of express diesel-electric multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for service on the UK railway network.-Class 220:...
.
Grand Central purchased six of these to operate services from Sunderland to
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
After the
privatisation of British RailThe privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
the locomotives continued to be used, and as of 1st Jan 2009 194 of the 197 units built are still in service.
Damaged, destroyed and preserved units
Of the total of 197 production power cars three have been scrapped:
- 43173 - written off in the Southall crash
The Southall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 19 September 1997, on the Great Western Main Line at Southall, west London. Seven people were killed and 139 injured...
of 19 September 1997, being disposed of after completion of the inquiry into the accident. Cut up by Serco at MOD Shoeburyness.
- 43011 - written off in the Ladbroke Grove crash
The Ladbroke Grove Rail Crash was a rail accident which occurred on 5 October 1999 at Ladbroke Grove, London, England. Thirty-one people were killed and more than 520 injured...
of 5 October 1999, being disposed of after completion of the inquiry into the accident. Cut up by Sims Metals at Crewe Works in June 2002.
- 43019 - written off in the Ufton Nervet level crossing collision
The Ufton Nervet rail crash was a railway accident between a train and car near Ufton Nervet, Berkshire, England that caused seven deaths.-Collision:...
of 6 November 2004. Cut up by Sims Metals of BeestonBeeston is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is southwest of Nottingham city centre. Although typically regarded as a suburb of the City of Nottingham, and officially designated as part of the Nottingham Urban Area, for local government purposes it is in the borough of Broxtowe, lying outside...
in July 2005. (Power car 43139 is dedicated to the driver, Stanley Martin, 54, of TorquayTorquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
, DevonDevon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
who perished in the incident.)
Additionally, one of the two prototype power cars, 43000 is now preserved at the
National Railway MuseumThe National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
in
YorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, while 43001 was cut up by Booth Roe at
RotherhamRotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
in December 1990.
Replacements
As of 2010, the youngest of the power cars is now 27 years old and a replacement for the High Speed Train is being sought. The project, known as the
Intercity Express ProgrammeThe Intercity Express Programme is an initiative of the Department for Transport in the United Kingdom to procure new trains to replace the InterCity 125 fleet on the East Coast Main Line and Great Western Main Line, as well as replacing other trainsets on long distance services from London to...
(originally known as the HST2 Project), is being spearheaded by the
Department for TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
. In March 2009 it was announced that a consortium headed by Hitachi would design and build the replacement trains, now known as Super Express Train, or SET. Three models are proposed: an all-electric version, to replace the Intercity 225 fleet currently employed on the East Coast Main Line, an all-diesel version similar to the HST, and a bi-mode version with a diesel power car at one end and an electric locomotive at the other.
To a lesser extent the HST fleet has been replaced by high speed DMUs such as the
VoyagerThe Voyager series is a group of express diesel-electric multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for service on the UK railway network.-Class 220:...
s and the UK express version of
AlstomAlstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
's
CoradiaThe Alstom Coradia family range of Inter-city trains and regional trains includes multiple unit diesel or electric as well as double-decker trains that can carry up to 900 passengers. There are a number of variants of this series, used in several countries.-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom,...
. Increasing electrification has also displaced HSTs from some routes.
See also
- InterCity 125
The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
- Two Class 43 power cars sandwiching a rake of Mark 3 coaching stock.
- Mark 3 coaching stock
British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...
- Sandwiched between two Class 43 power cars to form an InterCity 125 set.
- High-speed rail in the United Kingdom
The international definition of high-speed rail embraces new lines with a top speed of at least and existing lines with a top speed of around...
- History of High Speed rail transport in the UK in general.
- InterCity (British Rail)
InterCity was introduced by British Rail in 1966 as a brand-name for its long-haul express passenger services ....
- General InterCity brand before privatisation of British Rail.
- XPT - Australian high speed train whose design was derived from the Class 43
External links