InterCity 250

InterCity 250

Artist's impression of a Class 93 locomotive

Type and origin Power type Electric Builder Siemens, GEC-Alsthom or ABB Traction Build date 1992—1995 (Proposed but never built) Total produced 30 nine-carriage units

Specifications Configuration: ​  • UIC Bo′Bo′+2′2′+...+2′2′+2′2′

Performance figures Maximum speed 155 mph (250 km/h) (Design) 125 mph (200 km/h) (Initial Service) Power output 7,400 horsepower (5.5 MW)

Career Operators British Rail Disposition Project cancelled in July 1992

InterCity 250 was the name of a proposed , track and signalling upgrade project on the West Coast Main Line by British Rail in the early 1990s. The InterCity 250 train would have consisted of a Class 93 electric locomotive, nine Mark 5 coaches and a Mark 5 Driving Van Trailer operating in a push-pull formation. The project was cancelled by British Rail in July 1992 before production could begin.

In 1985, work began to fully electrify the East Coast Main Line. This project, which saw the line fitted with overhead wires between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh, took five years to complete. At the same time, a new generation of rolling stock was introduced, with the Class 91 electric locomotives combined with the Mark 4 coaching stock to form what was termed the InterCity 225 train system - so called because the Class 91 locomotives had a top speed of 225 km/h (140  mph).

Upon the completion of the ECML project, British Rail turned to the West Coast Main Line. This had been electrified in several stages over a fifteen-year period between 1959 and 1974. However, unlike the ECML the extensive curvature of the track along the route meant that it was ill-suited to running high-speed trains (generally defined in Britain as trains capable of 125 miles per hour (200 km/h) or more), and so its services were limited to more modest speeds of 100 to 110 miles per hour (161 to 177 km/h). In order to achieve the same standards as the ECML, major upgrade work of the track, signalling, OLE and a new generation of rolling stock were required.

During the late 1970s, British Rail had planned to address the WCML limitations with the Advanced Passenger Train project; this circumvented any requirement to make significant infrastructure changes by using tilting train technology. The project reached the prototype stage, with the introduction of three Class 370 electric multiple units into passenger service in 1981. However, initial failures of the tilt technology led to them being withdrawn. They were then used from 1984 to 1986 as test trains for researching the technologies and specifications required for what would become the Class 91.