InterCity 250

InterCity 250 was the name of the proposed rolling stock, track and signalling upgrade project on the West Coast Main Line by British Rail in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The project was scrapped before work could begin in 1992.cite web|url=http://www.virgintrainsmediaroom.com/index.cfm?articleid=93|title=Facts and Figures - West Coast|accessdate=2007-09-18|publisher=Virgin Trains]

History

In 1985, work began to electrify the East Coast Main Line. This project, which saw the line fitted with overhead wires between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh, took five years to complete. At the same time, a new generation of rolling stock was introduced, with the Class 91 electric locomotives combined with the Mark 4 coaching stock to form what was termed the "InterCity 225" train system (so called because the Class 91 locomotives had a top speed of 225 km/h).

Upon the completion of the ECML project, British Rail turned to the West Coast Main Line. This had been electrified in several stages over a fifteen-year period from 1959. However, unlike the ECML, it was not fitted for running high-speed trains (generally defined in Britain as trains capable of 125 mph or more), and so its services were limited to speeds of 100–110 mph. In order to achieve the same standards as the ECML, major upgrade work of both the track and signalling, and a new generation of rolling stock were required.

In the late 1970s, BR had attempted to address the WCML issues with the Advanced Passenger Train project. This was an attempt to introduce advanced tilting train technology onto the WCML. The project got to the prototype stage, with the introduction of three Class 370 electric multiple units into passenger service in 1981. However, initial failures of the tilt technology led to them being withdrawn in 1986.

In 1990, British Rail announced the InterCity 250 project, which would address the problems on the WCML through improved track, route re-alignments, new signalling, improved power supplies and 30 - 45 new trains capable of up to 155 mph. This would have seen trains starting out at 125 mph, with incremental increases up to the maximum speed over a period of time. However, orders placed by other parts of British Rail for rolling stock led to a shortage of funding, which saw various other BR projects suspended or scrapped. This led to the InterCity 250 project being abandoned in 1992.

Cancellation

The Intercity 250 came at a time that was ready to move on. However, the infrastructure on the West Coast Main Line was incapable supporting the operation of 155mph trains. The project cost - estimated to be over 300 million pounds - at the time of the 1990s recession led to the Intercity 250 project being cancelled in July 1992.

A later proposal by BR to manufacture a follow on set of ten class 91 units for priority express operations on the WCML was rejected by the treasury in 1993. The bid by BR was in part hampered by a lack of available manufacturers as Metro-Camell and BREL were by that time heavily committed to production of the Class 465/466 Networker units.

Rolling stock

Legacy

Although InterCity 250 was cancelled, the improvements to the WCML were still required. Following the privatisation of British Rail in the 1990s, the newly formed rail infrastructure company Railtrack drew up plans for the track and signalling upgrades to allow for high speed running, which it budgeted at £2 billion. The first phase of the upgrade, between London Euston and Manchester opened in 2004, with the rest of the route to Glasgow being completed in December 2005. The major inter-city passenger operator on the WCML, Virgin Trains, placed a rolling stock order worth £1 billion for 53 nine car sets of the new Class 390 "Pendolino" electric multiple unit. These are seen as the successor to the original APT concept, in that they utilise tilting technology to successfully negotiate the route of the WCML at high speed. Though infrastructure limitations presently limit them to 125 mph, the trains are capable of speeds up to 140 mph.

See also

*InterCity 125
*InterCity 225
*British Rail Mark 5
*British Rail Class 93

References

External links

* [http://andrewstransport2007.fotopic.net/p42649481.html Class 93 mockup at the Midland Railway Centre]
* [http://www.therailwaycentre.com/Resource_data/All%20Time%20class%20Loco.pdf UK Traction Classification system]
* [http://www.omegacentre.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/ProjectProfiles/CTRL/RelatedLinks/1-1.9%20BRB_Future001.pdf] Details of BR's proposed WCML IC250 timings.