British Rail Mark 5

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The British Rail Mark 5 was the designation given to the planned passenger rolling stock for the InterCity 250 project. However, the project was scrapped before any mock-ups could be made.

[edit] Background

The Mark 5 project was intended to produce new rolling stock for the West Coast Main Line, which would be descended from the similar Mark 4 stock in service on the East Coast Main Line.

[edit] Project description

The initial intention of InterCity 250 was to build 30 full trains, each consisting of a Class 93 locomotive, 8 passenger coaches and a Driving Van Trailer. The coaches would be capable of being hauled at 155 mph (249 km/h). They would also have been streamlined, with power doors. The Driving Van Trailer (DVT) would also have come under the Mark 5 project roof. These would have looked resembled the Class 93 locomotives, with luggage space and a driving cab, similar to those commissioned for the InterCity 225 project.

Creating the Class 93s alone would have cost GBP 380 million. With limited funding after the East Coast Main Line project was completed, the costs were deemed too high, and the project was terminated.

With the Intercity Express Programme well underway, some people are calling for the InterCity 250 to serve as the Intercity Express, which would bring about the revival of the Mark 5 coaches. However, after the InterCity 250 project was scrapped, Virgin Trains, who have operated the West Coast Main Line franchise since privatisation, commissioned new rolling stock. However, these were in fixed formations in electric multiple unit form, unlike the detachable Mark 5 coaches.