Midland Mainline was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the Midland Main Line franchise from April 1996 until November 2007. Midland Mainline ran fast and semi-fast passenger services from London to the East Midlands and Yorkshire, on the Midland Main Line. Most services ran between London St Pancras and either Derby, Nottingham or Sheffield. Some services extended to Burton upon Trent, Matlock, Barnsley, Leeds, York and Scarborough.
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for 399 miles (642 km) and was opened from 1837 to 1869. With additional lines deviating to Northampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, this totals a route mileage of 700 miles (1,127 km). The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects the WCML to Edinburgh, however the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line. Several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing links to more rural towns.
The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. The line is under the Network Rail description of Route 19; it comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands.
The InterCity 125 or High Speed Train (HST) is a diesel-powered high-speed passenger train built by British Rail Engineering Limited between 1975 and 1982. Each set is made up of two Class 43 power cars, one at each end, and a rake of Mark 3 carriages. The name is derived from its top operational speed of 125 mph (201 km/h). Initially the sets were classified as Classes 253 and 254.
InterCity was introduced by British Rail in 1966 as a brand-name for its long-haul express passenger services.
The Blue Pullmans were luxury trains used from 1960 to 1973 by British Rail. They were the first Pullman diesel-electric multiple units, incorporating several novel features.
The CrossCountry NE–SW route is a long-distance rail route in England. It runs from Bristol Temple Meads to York via Birmingham New Street, Derby, Sheffield and Leeds or Doncaster. It facilitates some of the longest passenger journeys in the UK such as Aberdeen to Penzance.
The Windermere branch line, also called the Lakes line is a branch railway line which runs from Oxenholme on the West Coast Main Line to Windermere via Kendal in the county of Cumbria, North West England.
The Golden Arrow was a luxury boat train of the Southern Railway and later British Railways. It linked London with Dover, where passengers took the ferry to Calais to join the Flèche d’Or of the Chemin de Fer du Nord and later SNCF which took them on to Paris.
Kettering railway station serves the town of Kettering in Northamptonshire, England. It lies south-west of the town centre, on the Midland Main Line, 71 miles (115 km) north of London St. Pancras.
The Royal Scot was a British named express passenger train that ran between London Euston and Glasgow Central, the length of the West Coast Main Line (WCML), with previously a portion also going to Edinburgh.
The Mid-Cheshire line is a railway line in the northwest of England that runs from Chester to Edgeley Junction, Stockport and connects Chester with Manchester Piccadilly via Knutsford. After Chester Northgate closed in 1969 the section between Mickle Trafford Junction and Chester was used for freight trains only until it closed in 1992. From Mickle Trafford passenger trains use the Chester–Warrington line to Chester General instead. The route taken by passenger trains has changed over the years and now differs considerably from the original. Between 2001 and 2014, passenger journeys on the line increased to over 1.7 million per year. A near doubling of the passenger service was expected to occur from December 2018, however this did not happen.
The Great Northern route is the name given to suburban rail services run on the southern end of Britain's East Coast Main Line and its associated branches. Services operate to or from London King's Cross and London Moorgate in London. Destinations include Hertford North, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Peterborough, Cambridge, and King's Lynn. Services run through parts of Greater London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk.
The period from 1995 covers the history of rail transport in Great Britain following the privatisation of British Rail. During this period, passenger volumes have grown rapidly, safety has improved, and subsidies per journey have fallen. However, there is debate as to whether this is due to privatisation or to better government regulation. During this period, High Speed 1 and the West Coast Main Line upgrade were completed and more construction projects are currently under way. In this period the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic occurred which caused a precipitous fall off in rail travel demand.
The Thames–Clyde Express was a named express passenger train operating on the Midland Main Line, Settle-Carlisle Railway and the Glasgow South Western Line between London St Pancras and Glasgow St Enoch. Following the closure of St Enoch station in 1966, the service ran to Glasgow Central instead.
Pullman trains in Great Britain were mainline luxury railway services that operated with first-class coaches and a steward service, provided by the British Pullman Car Company (PCC) from 1874 until 1962, and then by British Railways from 1962 until 1972. Many named mainline service trains have subsequently used the word 'Pullman' in their titles, but most of these have been normal trains with increased first-class accommodation. Since 1982 however, some railtours have been operated by companies using Pullman coaches dating from the 1920s to 1950s to recreate the ambience of the heyday of Pullman travel.
The Manchester Pullman was a first-class-only Pullman passenger train operated by British Rail, targeted at business travellers. The service began in 1966, operating between Manchester Piccadilly and London Euston, and offered an at-seat restaurant service to all passengers. It was hauled by 25 kV AC electric locomotives between the British Rail Class 81 and British Rail Class 86 range. The rolling stock had several peculiarities, one being it had the vacuum brake system, so it could not be hauled by the British Rail Class 87 when they were introduced during the later life of the train as they were air brake only locomotives. It replaced the Midland Pullman upon completion of the electrification of the West Coast Main Line. There was also a less successful 'sister' Liverpool Pullman service that ran between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street.
East Midlands Trains (EMT) was a British train operating company owned by the transport group Stagecoach, which operated the East Midlands franchise between November 2007 and August 2019.
The InterCity 250 was an electric railway project undertaken by British Rail in the late 1980s. 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 British Rail project was cancelled in July 1992.
The Liverpool Pullman was a British Pullman train operated by the London Midland Region of British Railways. It ran twice daily from Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston and return, calling only at Runcorn and Watford Junction. It was introduced in 1966 upon the electrification of the West Coast Main Line.
