BREL
| Industry | Train and carriage building |
|---|---|
| Fate | Privatised |
| Predecessor | British Rail Workshops |
| Successor | Bombardier Transportation |
| Founded | 31 October 1969 |
| Defunct | 1989 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Parent | British Railways Board (1969-1989) |
British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL), incorporated on 31 October 1969, was the railway systems engineering subsidiary of British Rail until the design and building of trains in the UK was privatised in 1989.
The vast majority of BREL's output was for British Rail, including Mark 1, Mark 2 and Mark 3 carriages, the latter for locomotive haulage and InterCity 125 diesel High Speed Trains. BREL built the NIR 80 Class diesel-electric multiple units for Northern Ireland Railways. Other Mark 3 derived vehicles included Class 150 diesel multiple units in the 1980s and numerous electric multiple units such as Classes 313 and 317.
BREL had limited success in the export market, notably with Mark 2 and Mark 3 carriages for Irish Rail and the Taiwan Railway EMU100 series.
BREL built prototypes such as the Class 210 DEMU and the experimental high-speed Advanced Passenger Train (APT) tilting during the 1970s and early 1980s. The Class 210 were externally very similar to the first batch of Class 317 EMUs, but half of the forward carriage was taken up by the engine room. Power was provided by an above-floor diesel engine driving a generator to power traction motors on the axles. A single engine was fitted at one end of the unit.
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