British Rail Mark 4
| British Rail Mark 4 | |
|---|---|
A rake of Virgin Trains East Coast Mark 4 carriages at London Kings Cross
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The interior of Standard Class aboard a Virgin Trains East Coast refurbished Mark 4 TSO vehicle
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| In service | 1989-present |
| Manufacturer |
Metro Cammell/GEC-Alsthom Washwood Heath |
| Constructed | 1989-1992 |
| Number built | 314 |
| Number in service | 302 |
| Number scrapped | 12 |
| Formation | 9 carriage sets |
| Operator(s) | Virgin Trains East Coast |
| Line(s) served | East Coast Main Line |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Fully Integral, steel monocoque |
| Car length | 23 m (75 ft 6 in) over buffers (23.4 m (76 ft 9 in) over couplings) |
| Width | 2.73 m (8 ft 11 in) (over body) |
| Height | 3.79 m (12 ft 5 in) (rail to roof) |
| Doors | Hinged Plug, pneumatically operated |
| Maximum speed | 140 mph (225 km/h) |
| Weight | 39.9–43.5 tonnes (39–43 long tons; 44–48 short tons) |
| Bogies | SIG BT41A |
| Braking system(s) | Triple Axle Mounted Discs, pneumatically operated |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
British Rail's fourth design of passenger carriages was designated Mark 4, built for use in InterCity 225 sets on the East Coast Main Line between King's Cross, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
A small build compared with the Mark 2 and Mark 3 designs, 314 Mark 4s were built between 1989 and 1992 by Metro Cammell/GEC-Alsthom's Washwood Heath factory to operate services on the newly electrified East Coast Main Line. Today they are operated by Virgin Trains East Coast in 30 fixed formations of nine coaches with a Class 91 locomotive and Driving Van Trailer.
The Mark 4 is an all-steel coach incorporating a number of improvements over the Mark 3 stock - notably the inclusion of automatic push-button operated plug-type doors, in place of manually operated slam-doors, fully sealed gangways and Controlled Emission Toilets (CET). Body shells were built by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) and Società Italiana Ernesto Breda.
After a period of evaluation in 1988, Swiss SIG type BT41A bogies were selected rather than BREL Type T4 bogies when BREL could not provide commercial guarantees on the demanding lateral ride comfort required for 140 mph running (BT41B/C refer to the bogie types used on the Mk4 DVT).
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