High Speed Train
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This page covers high speed trains in the United Kingdom. For the general concept of high-speed trains around the world, see High-speed rail.
There are three types of trains in the UK, which have been traditionally viewed as being high speed trains:
- Advanced Passenger Train (APT) - Tilting trains which never entered into regular revenue-earning service.
- InterCity 125 - Diesel trains consisting of two Class 43 power cars with a rake of Mark 3 coaches sandwiched between.
- InterCity 225 - Electric trains consisting of a Class 91 overhead electric locomotive, a rake of Mark 4 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer.
More recent 125mph trains which could be classed as high speed trains include:
- Class 180 Adelante
- Class 220 Voyager
- Class 221 Super Voyager
- Class 222 Meridians and Pioneers
- Class 390 Pendolino
A lot of money and resources were put into fundamental research into vehicle dynamics which, among other benefits, led to the development of the APT. This was designed to travel at high speeds around curves by tilting. Although the prototype was deemed successful and production units were built, they never entered regular service.
By this time, development into another high speed train was in operation, which later became the InterCity 125 two Class 43 power cars with a rake of Mark 3 coaches sandwiched in between.
The origins of the InterCity 125 are steeped in irony because it was initially planned as a stop gap. Research had begun for the tilting Advanced Passenger Train (APT) but it was not possible to predict when it could enter service. The HST would apply what had been learned so far to traditional technology - a parallel project based on conventional principles but incorporating the newly discovered knowledge of wheel/rail interaction and suspension design. Although the APT never achieved all its design objectives the InterCity 125 was an outstanding success.
The InterCity 125 was introduced between 1976 and 1982 by British Rail, at a time when the maximum speed of British trains was limited to 100 mph (160 km/h). The increased speed and its rapid acceleration and deceleration made it ideal for passenger use, which slashed journey times around the country. The prototype class 252 (power cars 43000 and 43001) took the world record for diesel traction, achieving 143.2 mph (230 km/h) on June 12th 1973, running on the East Coast Main Line between Northallerton & Thirsk. On November 1st 1987 this record was raised to 148.4 mph (238 km/h) by a shortened class 254 set running speed trials, again between Darlington & York. At the time of writing (2006) the InterCity 125 still holds the UK start-stop speed record for a passenger carrying train. On September 27th 1985 a shortened class 254 carrying passengers ran non-stop from Newcastle to London King's Cross,averaging 115.4 mph. It is likely that this record will finally be broken by a Eurostar once the full length of the CTRL opens in 2007.
More than 30 years on, the InterCity 125 is still used on many British long distance routes, and many people consider it to be the best train that Britain has manufactured in recent years - ironically the tilting trains it was supposed to complement and ultimately be replaced by have only begun to appear on British railways in the early 2000s.
The earliest replacement of InterCity 125s started with the introduction of the InterCity 225 between 1988 and 1991.
More recently, some of the InterCity 125s have been replaced or supplemented by:
- Class 180 Adelante - Built 2000-2001 for First Great Western.
- Class 220 Voyager - Built 2000-2001 for Virgin Trains.
- Class 221 Super Voyager - Built 2001-2002 for Virgin Trains.
- Class 222 Meridian - Built 2002-2004 for Midland Mainline.
[edit] The future
The InterCity 125 is still in widespread use. First Great Western has supplemented their HSTs (but not replaced any) with fourteen diesel multiple-unit Class 180 Adelante trains, which can travel at the same speed as the 125s. Because every carriage has an underfloor engine, they can accelerate approximately twice as quickly, which reduces journey times and allows for more frequent train services. In-car noise levels, however, are higher than in the 125 because of the underfloor engines, which, combined with less-comfortable seats and harsh interior lighting, has made them unpopular with passengers. They also proved to be unreliable, leading to a significant overhaul programme in 2004 to fix the major problems. These trains have now been replaced by more HSTs, and have been cascaded into First Great Western Link services. However from 2007 the Adelantes will be leaving Great Western for another TOC (probably Virgin Cross Country or Midland Mainline).
In 2004, First Great Western announced a major overhaul upgrade for their Class 43 locomotives (125 power cars), including a new MTU engine. Two Power Cars are currently undergoing trials in service with the new engine. In 2005, they undertook a trial refurbishment of a pair of 125 coaches to bring them up to modern standards. Another coach has been refurbished with experimental aircraft style seat back screens. As part of the Great Western franchise commitments First Great Western have announced that they will be refurbishing the entire fleet as well as re-engining all Powercars with the MTU engine [1]
In January 2006 the first batch of power cars were taken to Brush Traction to have MTU engines fitted.
26 of Great Western's 125 fleet are to be refurbished into a high-density layout of mostly airline seats for services in the M4 corridor to Bristol and Cardiff; to improve acceleration, the Buffet cars will be removed. The remainder will be refurbished with new seating (leather in First Class) and at-seat power-points, and retain the buffet for the long-distance services to Swansea and the West Country.
Midland Mainline has recently updated their 125 livery, and is supplementing its 125 fleet with Class 222 Meridian units (similar to Virgin Cross-Country's Class 220 and 221 Voyager trains), which will replace the slower Class 170 Turbostar units.
GNER still operate 125 sets on non-electrified portions of its ECML franchise - upon its taking ownership of the sets in 1996, the Mark 3 coaching stock was given an extensive interior refurbishment. Today the sets are found operating ultra-long distance services between London King's Cross and the North of Scotland. GNER are committed to giving their HST sets a further refit as part of its new franchise, in order to bring them up to the same Mallard standard as their recently refurbished 225 fleet.
The Great Western power cars have also had major modifications to their cooling system to prevent overheating on hot days. GNER's solution to the overheating problem is to haul sets under the wires using Class 91 Electric Locomotives.
The proposed HST2 replacement is currently on hold. Siemens submitted an electro-diesel design based on their new Venturio models, but the Strategic Rail Authority has ordered a halt to any further progress, amidst much debate about the form a replacement should take. Work on developing HST2, in the form of a Working Group, is now being progressed by the DfT.
[edit] See also
- InterCity 225, the HST's electric counterpart
- High-speed rail in the United Kingdom for proposals for 200mph+ lines in the UK
[edit] External links
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