On This Day: 4 October 1976

British Rail began its new 125mph High Speed Train (HST) service today. The first London-Bristol service arrived three minutes early.

The Inter-City 125 has been introduced to provide a regular high speed service between Cardiff, Bristol and London.

British Rail will extend the HST service to other major cities over the next two years.

Powered by two diesel motors the Inter-City 125 has recorded a top speed of over 140mph in trial runs, making it the fastest diesel-powered train in the world.

Intercity 125s are still used by First Great Western 35 Years Later

Most other countries have developed electrically powered high-speed trains.

The cost of electrification on Britain’s network was considered prohibitive so the diesel-powered 125 is a new product from existing technology.

In the absence of an official ceremony by British Rail to mark the occasion, few passengers were aware they were making history this morning as the first 0805 left Paddington on time.

New features

But most travellers did appreciate some improvement in comfort. The carriages feature aircraft-like seating, with sliding electric doors at each end.

Hot food is served quickly from an on-board kitchen with the aid of a state-of-the-art microwave oven.

Rail bosses are hopeful the improved service, which has been introduced without a rise in fares, will bring in more business.

Increased fares over the last two years have been linked to a fall in passenger traffic of 15 to 20%.

A Few Interesting Facts about the introduction & history of the Intercity 125

 

When the service was launched a single adult ticket between Bristol and London cost £5.

The month before the launch the train driver’s union Aslef demanded that trains be manned by two drivers when travelling at speeds in excess of 100mph.

British Rail estimated this would cost them £300,000 in over-manning.

The introduction of the Inter-City 125 made significant reductions in journey times across the UK and led to a marked surge in passenger numbers.

Variations of the 125 were sold to Australian railways.

Intercity 125s are still in operation although the faster, electrically powered Inter-City 225 has emerged as its successor.

In March 2006 the government announced the 125 would be phased out of service – although some companies, like First Great Western, say they are investing millions of pounds to keep them going for at least another decade.

Vision for the future of railways

Better services, improved passenger information, and cuts in the cost of running the railways have been outlined in future plans announced by rail chiefs.

Described as an initial industry plan, the programme covers the period 2014 to 2019, with the industry aiming to cut rail costs by £1.3 billion a year by the end of this decade.

Plans include £5.6 billion-worth of schemes, including the Northern Hub – a £560 million plan to deliver more than 700 extra services a day between Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sheffield.

The rail chiefs’ vision also includes journey time improvements in the East Midlands, Yorkshire, Bristol and Oxford areas and electrification of the Midland main line, the north trans-Pennine line, and further electrification schemes in Scotland.

The plan also envisages improvements to a number of stations including Fenchurch Street in London and Liverpool Central, as well as a £200 million scheme to improve services between Inverness and Aberdeen in Scotland.

By better linking Britain’s major cities, an extra 180,000 peak-time seats could be provided, as well as accommodating a 30% increase in freight.

Rail chiefs also announced plans to move from 800 signal boxes to 14 modern signalling centres. The hoped-for schemes, which will need Government approval, are in addition to £4.9 billion-worth of ongoing projects such as the Thameslink and Crossrail schemes in London and already-announced electrification schemes such as the Great Western line.

The rail industry also spoke of trying to improve the passenger experience in key areas such as journey information, comfort and accessibility.

Michael Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said: “Rail has a bright future in supporting a successful green economy in the years ahead. This plan shows how we can do that by providing a better quality of service to growing numbers of passengers at a more affordable cost.

“We look forward to working with government to ensure the right framework is in place to make this possible.”

8800 extra spaces for busy trains on key routes

Source: Department for Transport

Space for up to an extra 8,800 rail passengers is being created on key commuter services in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle, Rail Minister Theresa Villiers announced today.

Under a deal funded by the Government, passengers on Northern Rail are to benefit from an extra 22 train carriages. Separate agreements also deliver an extra 6 carriages to First Great Western and an additional 4 carriages to London Midland.

Theresa Villiers said:

“I am delighted we have been able to finalise these important deals which will make a real difference to passengers. Even at a time when we are tackling the huge deficit we inherited, we are determined to invest in Britain’s future. That is why we’re committed to a major investment programme in our railways to deliver a big increase in capacity to ease crowding and provide commuters with more comfortable journeys.”

“Today’s good news has been made possible by our plans to introduce 2,700 new rail carriages on to the network by May 2019.

“We are also committed to the completion of the vital Crossrail and Thameslink projects in London and we are investing £900m in rail electrification. In the longer term our plans for a high speed rail network will free up a huge amount of space on our current network for more commuter trains – with some towns potentially seeing a near doubling of services.”

“As well as improving life for passengers, these rail improvements will play an important role in strengthening economic growth.”

The extra carriages, which will be in service from December 2011, are becoming available as a result of the planned deployment of 69 new train carriages which are being delivered to London Midland for use in the Birmingham area. This then allows for the carriages currently being used by London Midland to serve passengers using Northern Rail and First Great Western services. Consequently some First Great Western trains are to be released to serve Northern Rail passengers.

London’s scrapped trains to revamp rail line?

TRAINS from the London Underground could be brought North to service one of Yorkshire’s most important lines in the biggest upgrade planned for the region’s rail network in nearly 20 years.

The ambitious £150m scheme to electrify the line between Leeds and York via Harrogate has been unveiled today to drag the current beleaguered services into the 21st century.

The upgrade is earmarked to be completed by 2015 and would slash journey times by up to 12 per cent, dramatically increase the number of services and provide a long-awaited replacement to existing diesel trains on the 38-mile stretch of track.

Business leaders and politicians are petitioning the Government to secure funding from £25bn that is due to be spent on improving the nation’s rail network up until 2013/14.

Hopes are high that the money will be obtained as the plans meet many of the credentials set out by former Civil Aviation Authority chairman Sir Roy McNulty in a report published in May outlining a radical overhaul to save Britain’s railways £1bn a year.

The 10:15 Service to Harrogate Will Leave from Platform 3

 

Trains currently being used on the London Underground’s District Line that are due to be scrapped by 2014 would instead be re-deployed to the Yorkshire route. The upgrade would also provide the foundations for a long-term vision for new stations, including a stop-off for Leeds-Bradford International Airport.

The Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce’s chief executive, Brian Dunsby, is spearheading the project which has been developed over the past nine months.

A low-cost ground-level electrification system would be introduced, similar to technology already on London’s Docklands Light Railway and in Copenhagen and Berlin. A fleet of 20 trains from London would undergo modifications costing £500,000 so they can be used on the Yorkshire route.

Passenger capacity would increase by about 40 per cent from the existing diesel stock with seat numbers rising from 207 to 280. Space for standing passengers would also increase dramatically.

The remainder of the £150m would be spent on electrifying the line, and building a maintenance depot near Harrogate. Project director Mark Leving, a former managing director of Hull Trains, claimed the lightweight metrostyle trains provide a ready-made, tried and tested solution to lowering the cost of running the route.