Grand Central Railway - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

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The Grand Central Railway Company Limited is a train operating company

Train operating company

The term train operating company is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand...

operating passenger rail services under the name Grand Central on the East Coast Main Line

East Coast Main Line

The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...

(ECML) in the United Kingdom. It is an open access operator

Open access operator

An open access operator is a train operating company that is not subject to franchising.- Open access operators in Great Britain :*Eurostar*Grand Central Railway*Heathrow Connect*Heathrow Express*Hull Trains*Nexus*Pre Metro Operations -In development:...

and runs two services directly linking the northern English cities of Sunderland and Bradford

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

with London. On 4 November 2011 it was bought by Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...

company Arriva

Arriva

Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...

.

The first service began on 18 December 2007 and linked Sunderland, Hartlepool

Hartlepool

Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...

, Eaglescliffe

Eaglescliffe

Eaglescliffe is a small town in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in North East England. It is on the north bank of the River Tees and for ceremonial purposes is in County Durham. The bridge at Eaglescliffe on the border with Yarm marked the last crossing point of tidal section of the River Tees...

, Northallerton

Northallerton

Northallerton is an affluent market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It has a population of 15,741 according to the 2001 census...

, Thirsk

Thirsk

Thirsk is a small market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. The local travel links are located a mile from the town centre to Thirsk railway station and to Durham Tees Valley Airport...

, and York

York

York 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...

with London, using an interim timetable until all rolling stock

Rolling stock

Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...

was available. The full timetable was launched in March 2008 and a fourth daily service was added on 17 August 2009.

On 23 May 2010, Grand Central started new services between and London King's Cross, calling at various Yorkshire stations between there and Doncaster including . These services have been dubbed the 'West Riding Service'. In November 2011 the company was bought by Arriva

Arriva

, a daughter company of the Deutsche Bahn AG.

Background

Grand Central operates four return trips per day between Sunderland and London, along the ECML and the Durham Coast Line

Durham Coast Line

The Durham Coast Line is the name given to the railway line which links Newcastle upon Tyne with Middlesbrough, via Sunderland and Hartlepool...

, and three return trips between Bradford and London using the ECML, parts of the Caldervale Line

Caldervale Line

The Caldervale Line is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool...

, and a previously goods-only line. Initially one return trip from Sunderland, and two from York

York

were offered until all rolling stock became available to allow a full service to start.

Following the model of First Hull Trains, the services are run on a fully commercial, non-subsidised

Subsidy

A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...

basis using the "open access" process to gain access to the rail network. The majority of other services in the UK are instead operated through Department for Transport

Department for Transport

In 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...

(DfT)-run franchises, including most of the principal National Rail

National Rail

National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...

train service operators.

The Sunderland service covers a distance of 266 miles, more than two thirds of it non-stop between York station and London King's Cross. The service is operated using rebuilt HST

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...

and refurbished Class 180

British Rail Class 180

The Class 180 is a type of British diesel multiple unit train built by Alstom between 2000 and 2001 for use on then-new express services by First Great Western . They were built at Washwood Heath in Birmingham and are part of the Coradia 1000 family along with the Class 175. FGW stopped using the...

rolling stock capable of 125mph; procuring and renovating sufficient compatible rolling stock had been blamed by the company for delaying the original launch.

On 23 May 2010, Grand Central started running three return trips per day between West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

and London, along the ECML and the Caldervale Line

Caldervale Line

The Caldervale Line is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool...

. Trains are formed of the Class 180

British Rail Class 180

units also acquired for the fourth return service to Sunderland.

History

The company was formed in the mid-1990s, and was later bought by the Fraser Eagle Group

Fraser Eagle

Fraser Eagle was a group of companies based in the United Kingdom specialising in passenger transport, travel and logistics. Services included pre-planned and emergency coach and taxi services nationwide, corporate travel, event transport, incident management transport and destination management...

, a provider of rail replacement coach

Coach (vehicle)

A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...

services to many UK train operating companies. A former manager of Prism Rail

Prism Rail

Prism Rail was established in 1995 to acquire passenger rail franchises being made available under the Government's rail privatisation programme. It bid for 17 franchises, was shortlisted for 12 and was ultimately awarded 4, which were LTS Rail, Wales and West, WAGN and Valley Lines Trains.Of the...

, backed by a private equity group, bought Grand Central from Fraser Eagle for £10 million on 13 March 2007.

Grand Central originally planned to operate high-speed trains between Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

and Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

across the Calder Valley. This proposal was rejected by the Rail Regulator

Rail Regulator

The Rail Regulator was a statutory office, created with effect from 1 December 1993 by section 1 of the Railways Act 1993, for the independent economic regulation of the British railway industry....

in 2004.

On 23 March 2006, Grand Central received approval from the Office of Rail Regulation

Office of Rail Regulation

The Office of Rail Regulation is a statutory board which is the combined economic and safety regulatory authority for Great Britain's railway network. It was established on 5 July 2004 by the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, replacing the Rail Regulator...

(ORR) for a contract with Network Rail

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...

, lasting a minimum of five years, allowing it to operate three passenger services per day in each direction between London and Sunderland, expected to start no later than December 2006. Problems in obtaining suitable rolling stock led to the start date being put back to May 2007. However, further delays in refurbishing rolling stock for the service delayed the start again, with the service planned to begin in September 2007, then November.

By this date, Grand Central had managed to get a shortened HST running on trials between Sunderland, York and London for crew training purposes, and had sufficient stock to form one of its complete trains, but entry into passenger service required more stock becoming available and being cleared to carry passengers by the DfT, the ORR, HM Railway Inspectorate

HM Railway Inspectorate

Established in 1840, HM Railway Inspectorate was the British organisation responsible for overseeing safety on Britain's railways and tramways...

and Network Rail

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...

. As a consequence, the start date further slipped to December 2007, a full year after the originally planned start. Grand Central's initial services were restricted by the amount of rolling stock it had available, which numbered only one complete train. The company was able to operate one train to and from Sunderland each day, with an additional service to and from York.
In February 2008, the remaining power cars and coaches were delivered, and an announcement was made that the full service would begin in March. Due to further "major component failures" on the trains, by May 2008 several services were being cancelled, and the timetable was cut to a temporarily reduced service once again.

Full services were eventually resumed in the middle of July.

Grand Central's agreement allowed for a fourth daily service, which could not be provided from within the existing fleet. As a consequence, Grand Central procured a pair of Class 180 Adelantes

British Rail Class 180

. Permission to run the Class 180s was granted by Network Rail in June 2008. The ORR gave Grand Central clearance to run the extra service awarded in January 2009, with the service expected to start in May. Successful test runs for the service were held in April 2010.

Grand Central is not yet a profitable operation, and in August 2009 it posted an £8 million loss. This was blamed on the "significant start-up costs incurred when introducing a brand-new service". The company is aiming for the Sunderland-London service to be profitable by 2010.

On 4 November 2011 it was confirmed that Grand Central had been purchased by Arriva Plc

Arriva

for an undisclosed figure.

Competition with other services

The ECML is one of the busiest lines on the UK rail network, and there is currently insufficient capacity on parts of the line to satisfy all the requirements of both passenger and freight operators. The principal long-distance passenger train operator on the line is the nationalised East Coast

East Coast (train operating company)

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...

, which took over from National Express East Coast

National Express East Coast

National Express East Coast was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, running high speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland, as part of the East Coast passenger franchise...

(NXEC) in November 2009 due to poor performance. NXEC had begun a franchise

Rail franchising in Great Britain

Rail franchising in Great Britain was created by the Railways Act 1993. Passenger services are franchised, for a limited period, to train operating companies...

on 9 December 2007 with the DfT which was due to run until March 2015, taking over from the GNER which had surrendered the contract early due to the financial difficulties of its parent company

Sea Containers Ltd

Sea Containers Ltd. is a Bermuda-registered company which operates two main business areas: transport and container leasing.In March 2006 the company sold its share of Orient-Express Hotels...

.

As a result of capacity uncertainties, Grand Central was not given regulatory approval to run the originally proposed service to Bradford

Bradford

. It had proposed splitting and joining the Sunderland and Bradford trains at , with a single service to and from London, but the plan was rejected following concerns expressed by Network Rail.

Grand Central has promised to give an immediate 50% refund to any passenger unable to find a seat at any time during the journey.

GNER vigorously opposed the prospect of on-rail competition on the ECML from Grand Central. The regulatory hearing at the ORR saw strong objections by GNER to Grand Central's services, but these were rejected. GNER then challenged the legality of the ORR's decisions by seeking a judicial review in the High Court. On 27 July 2006, GNER's case failed and the court ruled that the decision to allow Grand Central access to the national railway network - paying access charges which are structurally different from (and lower than) those payable by franchised passenger train operators - was legal.

The Grand Central service links parts of the North East that had not had a direct service to London for many years.

London King's Cross–Bradford Interchange

In March 2008, Grand Union submitted a track access application for paths on the East Coast Main Line

East Coast Main Line

The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...

(ECML) for services between Bradford and London. These follow a route from Bradford to calling at , , and , via (but not stopping at) Askern, hitherto a freight-only route, before joining the ECML to London King's Cross. The company states that these are the first direct trains between Halifax and London for 32 years.

The plan was for up to six services in each direction per day, using 125 mile per hour rolling stock, either further HSTs or Class 180

British Rail Class 180

Adelante trains. The Office of Rail Regulation approved the proposal in February 2009, but limited paths to three trains daily each way.

It was hoped that the service would start in December 2009, but difficulties in securing rolling stock caused delay. The service, dubbed "West Riding", started on 23 May 2010. It is operated under the existing brand name of Grand Central Railway, the name Grand Northern Trains being the name of the development company which applied for the services.

Grand Central revealed that almost 1,500 passengers used the West Riding service in its first week, marginally better than expected. However, it also temporarily cut the cost of tickets by 25% until 19 June 2010.

An additional stop at , between Brighouse and Wakefield, has been proposed by Grand Central and is supported by the local MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

for Dewsbury

Dewsbury

Dewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds...

, Simon Reevell

Simon Reevell

Simon Justin Reevell is a British barrister and Conservative Party politician. He has been Member of Parliament for Dewsbury in West Yorkshire since winning the seat at the 2010 election.-Early life and Career:...

. Currently, Grand Central services pass through the station without stopping.

Performance

Unlike fellow open-access operator First Hull Trains, Grand Central did not previously release performance statistics and, because it is not a rail franchise holder, it was not obliged to do so. However, the latest performance statistics published by the ORR (Office for Rail Regulation) do include Grand Central. The Public Performance Measure (PPM) for the second quarter of 2010-2011 was 84.6%.

In its National Passenger Survey for Autumn 2009, Passenger Focus reported an overall passenger satisfaction rating of 95% for Grand Central - the second highest score in the survey. The highest score was for another open-access operator, Wrexham & Shropshire.

Rolling stock procurement

The difficulty with procuring rolling stock was a major factor in the delays Grand Central suffered in launching its open-access services. Grand Central originally planned to use a fleet of five of Bombardier Transportation

Bombardier Transportation

Bombardier 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 five-coach Class 222

British Rail Class 222

The British Rail Class 222 is a diesel-electric multiple unit high-speed train capable of . Twenty-seven units have been built by Bombardier Transportation....

Diesel-electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) 125 miles per hour (55.9 m/s) trains, similar to those already in use with Hull Trains and Midland Mainline

Midland Mainline

Midland 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....

, and related to the Class 220

British Rail Class 220

The Class 220 Voyager are a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation in 2000 and 2001....

/221

British Rail Class 221

The Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of British diesel-electric multiple-unit express trains built by Bombardier Transportation between 2001 and 2002, entering service on 12 April 2002....

. However, there were difficulties in securing these units, leading Grand Central to make alternative plans.

On 5 October 2006, Grand Central said it had secured the use of six Class 43

British Rail Class 43 (HST)

The British Rail Class 43 is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train power cars, built by BREL from 1975 to 1982....

power cars, and 24 Mark 3 trailer vehicles. The former loco-hauled Mark 3a coaches required complete rewiring in order to work with the power cars as they have different electrical requirements. This caused the company's start date to be pushed back to 20 May 2007 and then again to September 2007, and again at a later update.

Current fleet

Grand Central's fleet currently totals eight trains. Three are HST

InterCity 125

sets formed of Class 43 (HST) power cars and Mark 3

British Rail Mark 3

British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...

coaches, and the other five are Class 180

British Rail Class 180

sets.

HST sets

The power cars

British Rail Class 43 (HST)

The British Rail Class 43 is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train power cars, built by BREL from 1975 to 1982....

, numbered 43065/067/068/080/084/123 all have buffers

Buffer (rail transport)

A buffer is a part of the buffers-and-chain coupling system used on the railway systems of many countries, among them most of those in Europe, for attaching railway vehicles to one another....

, since they were previously modified for use with Class 91

British Rail Class 91

The 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 the electrification of the East Coast Main Line

East Coast Main Line

The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...

. The coaches consist of six HST trailer vehicles (3 TRSB and 3 TGS) and 18 ex-locomotive-hauled Mk3a coaches originally built for the West Coast Main Line

West Coast Main Line

The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...

. The power cars were originally fitted with Valenta engines, but these have been replaced with new MTU engines similar to those fitted to East Coast

East Coast (train operating company)

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...

, CrossCountry

CrossCountry

CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...

and First Great Western

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....

HSTs. Power car 43423 (formally 43123) has retained its "Valenta" name plates.

Class 180

The Class 180

British Rail Class 180

diesel multiple units, originally in service with First Great Western

First Great Western

, were obtained when Grand Central was granted permission for a fourth daily service to and from Sunderland. The first unit, 180112, was named James Herriot
James Herriot
James Herriot was the pen name of James Alfred Wight, OBE, FRCVS also known as Alf Wight , an English veterinary surgeon and writer, who used his many years of experiences as a veterinarian to write a series of books of stories about animals and their owners...

at a naming ceremony in July 2009, prior to its entry into service. The remaining two units, 180105 and 180114, are due to enter service later in 2009. Grand Central has secured two extra Class 180

British Rail Class 180

units, 180101 and 180107, bringing the total number of units to five. It has also been announced that the name Adelante will no longer be used to refer to the Class 180s, as it was with First Great Western. The Class 180 fleet is pooled between the additional Sunderland service and the services to and from Bradford.

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built
Class	Image	Type	mph	km/h	Number	Routes operated	Built
Class 43 High Speed Train British Rail Class 43 (HST) The British Rail Class 43 is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train power cars, built by BREL from 1975 to 1982....		Diesel power car	125	200	6	- Sunderland Sunderland station Sunderland Station is a National Rail and Tyne and Wear Metro station in the city centre of Sunderland, North East England. It is the only station in the country where both heavy rail and light rail services use the same platforms...	1976–1982
Mark 3 Coach British Rail Mark 3 British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...		Passenger Coach	125	200	24	London King's Cross - Sunderland Sunderland station Sunderland Station is a National Rail and Tyne and Wear Metro station in the city centre of Sunderland, North East England. It is the only station in the country where both heavy rail and light rail services use the same platforms...	1975–1988
Class 180 British Rail Class 180 The Class 180 is a type of British diesel multiple unit train built by Alstom between 2000 and 2001 for use on then-new express services by First Great Western . They were built at Washwood Heath in Birmingham and are part of the Coradia 1000 family along with the Class 175. FGW stopped using the...		diesel multiple unit Diesel multiple unit A 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:...	125	200	5	- Sunderland Sunderland station Sunderland Station is a National Rail and Tyne and Wear Metro station in the city centre of Sunderland, North East England. It is the only station in the country where both heavy rail and light rail services use the same platforms... London King's Cross -	2001

Future fleet

In April 2007, Grand Central announced plans to lease brand-new rolling stock from 2010 to replace the HSTs, on the provision that its track-access contract is extended beyond the initial five years. In conjunction with Sovereign Trains

Sovereign Trains

Sovereign Trains is a Rolling Stock Operating Company formed in 2007 as part of the same group as Grand Union. The company was initially formed to fund the purchase of rolling stock for Grand Central for its operations between London and Sunderland, which Grand Central leases from Sovereign...

, a newly formed rolling stock lessor, Grand Central plans to obtain new Polaris
Polaris (train)
The Polaris is a design of locomotive-hauled train manufactured by Chinese Sourced Railway Equipment . The train is inspired by the British Rail InterCity 125 , and has a top speed of . The loco hauled trains will have two power cars and will be compatible with British Rail Mark 3 coaches...

DEMU trains from China. These new express trains could be capable of up to 225 kilometres per hour (139.8 mph), which would allow them to take advantage of any future speed-limit increases on the ECML.

Directly Operated Railways

Directly Operated Railways

Directly Operated Railways Ltd is the name given to a holding company set up by the Department for Transport in the United Kingdom. DOR took over the running of services on the East Coast franchise from 13 November 2009 and operates under the trading name of East Coast through its subsidiary East...

, the company set up by the Department for Transport to operate the East Coast franchise, has stated its unhappiness with the Class 180 units obtained by National Express East Coast

National Express East Coast

for the planned additional services specified in the franchise agreement, and has indicated that it wishes to return to the original proposal of using locomotive-hauled trains instead. The original plan was for 175 kilometres per hour (108.7 mph) trains pulled by Class 90

British Rail Class 90

The British Rail Class 90 electric locomotives were built by BREL at Crewe from 1987-1990. Each locomotive weighs 84.5 tonnes and has a top speed of . They operate from 25 kV AC overhead wires and produce...

locomotives. However, DOR has raised the possibility of obtaining Grand Central's three 125 mile per hour HSTs for these services, in exchange for the Class 180s currently under lease to NXEC/East Coast, giving Grand Central a single, uniform fleet.

Grand Central have proposed running services between London and Blackpool starting in 2012. With the planned electrification not due to reach Blackpool until 2014, Grand Central have stated that their intention is to start their service by using Class 67

British Rail Class 67

The Class 67 locomotives are a class of Bo'Bo' diesel electric mainline locomotives which were built for the English, Welsh and Scottish Railway between 1999 to 2000 by Alstom at Meinfesa in Valencia, Spain with drive components from General Motors Diesel.Rail enthusiasts have nicknamed the class...

diesel locomotives and Mark 3 coaching stock

British Rail Mark 3

British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...

, before obtaining Polaris trains that are tilt capable.

Past fleet

In August 2007, Grand Central hired a pair of Class 47

British Rail Class 47

The British Rail Class 47, is a class of British railway diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 Class 47s were built at Crewe Works and Brush's Falcon Works, Loughborough between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British...

locomotives and a rake of five Mark 3 coaches from Direct Rail Services

Direct Rail Services

Direct Rail Services is a freight operating company created by British Nuclear Fuels Limited. The company started rail operations in 1995 using five heavily refurbished Class 20/3 diesel locomotives. Since then it has expanded greatly, and has acquired many more locomotives, most bought...

, to enable its staff to learn the route prior to the introduction of its HST fleet.

In its first few months of operation, Grand Central experienced significant difficulties with its rolling stock, particularly the Class 43 power cars, which were prone to equipment failure. As a consequence, Grand Central were forced to hire replacement rolling stock on several occasions - either replacement Class 43 power cars, or other locomotives and passenger coaches from EWS and various spot-hire companies, including a pair of EWS Class 37

British Rail Class 37

The British Rail Class 37 is a diesel-electric locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the Class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation plan....

, and a pair of Class 47

British Rail Class 47

locomotives. The Class 47s obtained in May 2008 were designated for a shuttle service between Sunderland and to connect with the main HST service.

London King's Cross–Sunderland

Grand Central operates services from London King's Cross to Sunderland

Sunderland station

Sunderland Station is a National Rail and Tyne and Wear Metro station in the city centre of Sunderland, North East England. It is the only station in the country where both heavy rail and light rail services use the same platforms...

. The service passes through the stations at Seaham

Seaham railway station

Seaham Railway Station serves the town of Seaham in County Durham, England. The railway station is located on the Durham Coast Line and is operated by Northern Rail, which provides all of the station's passenger services....

, Billingham

Billingham railway station

Billingham railway station serves the town of Billingham, within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England...

, Stockton-on-Tees

Stockton railway station

Stockton railway station serves the town of Stockton-on-Tees, within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. The railway station is located on the Durham Coast Line and is operated by Northern Rail who provide all of the stations passenger services...

and Yarm

Yarm railway station

Yarm railway station serves the town of Yarm in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The station is south west of Middlesbrough on the North TransPennine Express Line. It opened in 1996, replacing a former station further north that had closed in 1960...

but does not call there.

During the first operational year, Grand Central ran two named trains. The Zephyr leaves from Sunderland on Monday-Friday mornings at 06:41. The evening peak northbound departure runs as The 21st Century Limited leaving from King's Cross at 16:50. The naming is a homage to the American 20th Century Limited

20th Century Limited

The 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train operated by the New York Central Railroad from 1902 to 1967, during which time it would become known as a "National Institution" and the "Most Famous Train in the World". In the year of its last run, The New York Times said that it "...was...

, now run as the Lake Shore Limited

Lake Shore Limited

The Lake Shore Limited is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. The train runs between Chicago and Albany, NY, where it divides into two sections that provide thru-service to New York and Boston...

by Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

between New York and Chicago.

London King's Cross–Bradford Interchange

Grand Central also operate services from London King's Cross to Bradford Interchange

Bradford Interchange railway station

Bradford Interchange is a combined railway, coach and bus station in Bradford, England. Designed in 1962 and hailed as a showpiece of European design, the building was opened in 1971.-Bus station:...

. This service goes along the ECML, and diverges at Doncaster

Doncaster

Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

, from where the train uses the a former freight-only route to Pontefract and then via Wakefield and Brighouse on to the Caldervale Line

Caldervale Line

The Caldervale Line is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool...

to Halifax and Bradford.

Proposed future services

In addition to its services to Sunderland and Bradford, Grand Central has also expressed interest in a number of other routes. It had planned to double the number of Sunderland - London return services from December 2008. This aspiration was part of a wider track access application also involving Grand Union.

London-Blackpool North

In November 2010, Grand Central applied to the Office of Rail Regulation for a new service, running up to four times a day in each direction, between Blackpool North

Blackpool North railway station

Blackpool North railway station is the main railway station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line from Preston....

and London Euston

Euston railway station

Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...

. These services would call at Poulton-le-Fylde

Poulton-le-Fylde railway station

Poulton-le-Fylde railway station serves the town of Poulton-le-Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is managed by Northern Rail, but also served by First TransPennine Express.-History:...

, Kirkham & Wesham, Preston

Preston railway station

Preston railway station serves the city of Preston in Lancashire, England and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line.It is served by Northern Rail, Virgin Trains, and TransPennine Express services, plus First ScotRail overnight sleeper services between London and Scotland.-Station layout...

, Hartford

Hartford railway station

Hartford railway station is in the village of Hartford, in Cheshire, England. It is situated on the A559 road approximately two miles west of the town of Northwich.-Current station operations:...

, Tamworth

Tamworth railway station

Tamworth railway station is located where the Cross Country Route passes over the West Coast Main Line, in the United Kingdom, although there is no rail link between the two lines...

and Nuneaton

Nuneaton railway station

Nuneaton railway station serves the large town of Nuneaton in Warwickshire, England. The station is managed by London Midland.It is situated at the point where the Birmingham - Leicester route crosses the Trent Valley Line section of the West Coast Main Line north of London Euston, with a branch...

. There would also be one extra service a day between Hartford and Euston calling additionally at Lichfield Trent Valley

Lichfield Trent Valley railway station

Lichfield Trent Valley is a split-level railway station on the outskirts of the city of Lichfield in Staffordshire, England. It is one of two stations in Lichfield, the other being in the city-centre.-History:...

. Grand Central seeks to run these services from May 2012, using locomotives and Mark 3 coaches running at up to 110 miles per hour (177 km/h), until such time as the Preston-Blackpool line is electrified.

London-Sunderland

Grand Central applied for a new track access agreement in March 2008 requesting three further London-Sunderland services in each direction per day, taking its total to six trains per day.

Grand Union

Grand Union developed a case for running services over an additional route, to Bradford Interchange via and the West Coast Main Line

West Coast Main Line

(WCML). This proposal was dropped due to difficulties involving Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...

' moderation of competition protection.

London-Lincoln

Grand Central Railway has proposed a direct service from London to Lincoln, following the withdrawal of East Coast

East Coast (train operating company)

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...

's proposed expansion of its current service between Lincoln and the capital.

Other proposed routes

Grand Central was originally linked with a proposal to run shortened HSTs between Newcastle and Preston

Preston railway station

, via the Durham

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

Coast, York, Wakefield

Wakefield

Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....

, Brighouse

Brighouse

Brighouse is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Calder, east of Halifax in the Pennines. It is served by Junction 25 of the M62 motorway and Brighouse railway station on the Caldervale Line and Huddersfield Line. In the...

, Rochdale

Rochdale

Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...

and Manchester. It later suggested a York to Chester

Chester

Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

service to be run by DMUs (probably Class 158s

British Rail Class 158

British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train, built for British Rail between 1989 and 1992 by BREL at its Derby Works. They were built to replace many locomotive-hauled passenger trains, and allowed cascading of existing Sprinter units to replace elderly 'heritage' DMUs...

displaced from TransPennine Express). According to its on-board magazine, it is currently developing proposals for a Scarborough to London service.

Named trains

Grand Central has given names to two trains on its Sunderland route. Contrary to tradition in British named trains, these are not pairs of trains but individual one-way trips. In the 2008 timetable, the name The Zephyr is given to the early morning (06:41) departure from Sunderland, while the teatime (15:50) train from London is called The 21st Century Limited.

External links

Grand Central Railway, official website.
BBC Wear - Grand Central - One Year on
BBC News, Clear track ahead for new train firm?, 3 March 2006

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.