East Coast Mainline High Speed Train (HST, InterCity 125) Remembered

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9 ай бұрын

ECML HSTs operated by BR (InterCity125), GNER, National Express, Virgin, LNER and Grand Central. Plus the Network Rail New Measurement Train (NMT) and the Blue Pullman.
The High Speed Train (HST, InterCity 125) were introduced onto the East Coast Mainline between 1978 and 1979 replacing the much loved Class 55 Deltic diesel locomotives on the route.
The project to electrify the East Coast Mainline all the way to Edinburgh was completed in 1991 and many of their duties were taken over by the new Class 91 electric locomotives.
They did continue to be used on services that ran off the ECML and onto non-electrified lines after this date.
As part of the privatisation of British Rail in the mid-1990s the East Coast InterCity franchise was awarded to Great North Eastern Railway in 1996 and the HSTs along with the Class 91s received a new dark blue livery and GNER branding.
GNER was stripped of the franchise during December 2006 when the company experienced financial difficulties and was replaced by National Express East Coast.
However, after the company became unable to meet its payment obligations the Department for Transport announced that the franchise would be re-nationalised.
On the 14th November 2009 operations passed to the publicly-owned East Coast Tain Operating Company.
On the 1 March 2015 the franchise was taken over by Virgin Trains East Coast as a joint venture between Stagecoach and the Virgin Group. The fleet received Virgin branding and eventually a new red and white livery.
On the 16th May 2018 it was announced by the government that the London North Eastern Railway, a temporary government controlled operator of last resort, would take over the operation of the line from 24 June 2018, so ending Virgin Trains East Coast contract.
The HSTs began to carry the resurrected LNER company branding but their time was drawing to a close.
The introduction of the new Class 800 Azuma bi-mode trains made the HSTs surplus to requirements and they were all withdrawn by December 2019.
A farewell tour was operated between the 18th and 21st December 2019 using an HST painted in the original British Rail InterCity 125 livery.
On the 9th November 2007 the open access train operating company Grand Central began operating serves between Sunderland and London Kings Cross using refurbished HST power cars and mark 3 carriages.
The six power cars they acquired were buffer fitted examples that has previously been used as surrogate DVTs on the ECML electrification programme in the late 1980s.
An additional service running from Bradford Interchange was later introduced in May 2010.
In 2017 the Grand Central fleet of HSTs was withdrawn and replaced by Class 180 diesel multiple units that had been displaced from the Great Western route.
Today appearances of HSTs on the ECML are limited to the occasional visits of the Network Rail New Measurement Train and Locomotive Services Blue Pullman set.

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@LinesideSouthEast 2 ай бұрын

All of the images in this video can be found at my new Clickasnap photography site, plus many more. Images from the 1990s here www.clickasnap.com/profile/anthonykay/album/01DS0X527RPRDVK235DSGXXFZD Images from the the year 2000 to the present here www.clickasnap.com/profile/anthonykay/album/01DS0YKBP0TVK2HF3NYQQJSQ8Q