Regional Railways

Last updated

Regional Railways
Provincial
Regional railways logo.svg
Hugh Llewellyn regional railways sprinter 8737634707.jpg
A Class 156 at Bristol Temple Meads (May 1989)
Overview
Main regions East Anglia, North West England, North East England, Wales, South West England
Other regions East Midlands, Merseyside, Scotland, West Midlands
Parent company British Rail
Dates of operation1982–1997
Successors Central Trains, First North Western, Midland Mainline, Arriva Trains Merseyside, Wales & West, Valley Lines, Arriva Trains Northern

Regional Railways (originally Provincial) was one of three passenger sectors of British Rail. It was created in 1982 and was the most subsidised (per passenger km) of the three sectors; upon formation, its costs were four times its revenue. [1] The sector was broken up into eight franchises during the privatisation of British Rail and ceased to exist on 31 March 1997.

Contents

Formation

Upon sectorisation in 1982, three passenger sectors were created: InterCity, operating principal express services; London & South East (renamed Network SouthEast in 1986) operating commuter services in the London area, and Provincial (renamed Regional Railways in 1989) responsible for all other passenger services. [1] In the metropolitan counties, local services were managed by the Passenger Transport Executives.

Services

A Class 158 in Regional Railways' Express livery at Blackpool North (1998) Regional Railways 158770.jpg
A Class 158 in Regional Railways' Express livery at Blackpool North (1998)

Regional Railways inherited a diverse range of routes, comprising both express and local services. Expresses mainly ran to non-principal destinations or on less popular routes, such as Birmingham or Liverpool to Norwich, or Liverpool to Scarborough, and were chiefly operated by older locomotives and second-hand InterCity coaches. Later, these services were operated by Sprinter units – mainly Class 158 on express services. There were also the internal Scottish Region local services and expresses, the latter including the Edinburgh-Glasgow push-pull service. [1]

Local services ran on both main lines and branch lines and were often operated by first generation diesel multiple units dating back to the 1950s. Longer distance trains were often formed of older coaches and locomotives of Class 31, Class 40 and Class 45, which were of a similar vintage.

Alphaline

A Class 158 unit with Regional Railways' Alphaline branding (October 1997) BR 158837 DMU.jpg
A Class 158 unit with Regional Railways' Alphaline branding (October 1997)

The Alphaline brand was introduced in December 1994 on express services operated by Regional Railways in the Midlands, Wales and the South West. These services linked various provincial towns and cities, complementing and connecting with the more prestigious InterCity network. [2]

Development of new rolling stock

In the early 1980s, large numbers of first generation diesel multiple units (DMUs) and locomotive-hauled coaches were found to contain asbestos. Removing it would be a considerable cost while generating no extra revenue; coupled with the increasingly unreliable old locomotives and DMUs, this prompted BR to look for a new generation of diesel multiple units. [3]

The prototype Class 210, in service on a trial basis since 1981, was considered too expensive to be put into production, so British Rail (BR) looked elsewhere for new designs. [1]

Pacer (train)

The first design, the Pacer, used bus technology from the Leyland National, in classes numbered in the 14x range. Not long after their introduction to service, large numbers of them suffered from a number of technical problems, particularly with their gearboxes. In Cornwall, it was found that their long wheelbase caused intolerable squealing noises and high tyre wear on tight curves; they were quickly replaced by the old DMUs. [1] The solution lay elsewhere, although, after much modification, the Pacers eventually proved themselves in traffic.

Sprinters

A Class 150 at St Pancras after a publicity run (1985) 150001 pancras.jpg
A Class 150 at St Pancras after a publicity run (1985)

BR needed something midway between the Pacers and the Class 210s. In 1984/1985, two experimental DMU designs were put into service: BREL-built Class 150 and Metro-Cammell-built Class 151. [4] Both of these used hydraulic transmission and were less bus-like than the Pacers. After trials, Class 150 was selected for production, entering service from 1987. Reliability was much improved by the new units, with depot visits being reduced from two or three times a week to fortnightly. [1]

The late 1980s and early 1990s also saw the development of secondary express services that complemented the main line InterCity routes. Class 155 and Class 156 Super Sprinters were developed to replace locomotive-hauled trains on these services; their interiors were designed with longer distance journeys in mind. Key Scottish and trans-Pennine routes were upgraded with new Class 158 Express Sprinters, while a network of Alphaline services was introduced elsewhere in the country.

By the end of the 1980s, passenger numbers had increased and costs had been reduced to two-and-a-half times revenue. [1]

Electrification

The Class 323 electric multiple units were built by Hunslet Transportation Projects and Holec Ridderkerk between 1992 and 1995, [5] [6] although mock-ups and prototypes were built and tested in 1990 and 1991. [7] Forty-three 3-car units were built for inner-suburban services in and around Birmingham and Manchester, including the Cross-City Line in the Birmingham area and services to the new Manchester Airport station.

Rolling stock

ClassImageQuantityFormationNotes
Locomotive-hauled stock
Class 31 31270 Regional Railways livery.JPG Diesel locomotive
Class 37 30.07.93 Wigan Wallgate 37422 (12568287763).jpg
Class 47 Class 158 BREL Express DMU 158868 & Class 47 Brush Type 4 47706, Bristol Temple Meads 31.3.1994 Scans927 (10708557263).jpg
Mark 1 Regonal Mk 1 carrage at Crewe.png Coach
Mark 2 5174 NLR 260108 d.adkins.jpg
Mark 3 05.06.82 Haymarket 47707 (6016240566).jpg
Diesel multiple units
Class 101 Class 101 Regional Railways DMU set 665, Stockport 18.9.1993 Scans846 (10657013393).jpg 352, 3 or 4
Class 117 BR class 117 L421.jpg 33
Class 121 Class 121 on the Colne Valley Railway - geograph.org.uk - 526079.jpg 261
Class 122 29
Class 142
Pacer 		19880218-Preston-142061.jpg 96260 units scrapped, 31 units preserved, 4 units converted for off-railway use
Class 143
Pacer		 Class 143 "Pacer".jpg 2511 units preserved, 12 units scrapped, 2 units converted to non-railway use.
Class 150
Sprinter 		150001 pancras.jpg 1372 or 312 units equiv. scrapped, 1 unit preserved [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
Class 151
Sprinter		 151001 Matlock.jpg 23Both scrapped
Class 153
Sprinter		 Jubilee Sidings, Norwich (16790041106) (cropped).jpg 70112 units scrapped, 2 units converted to non-railway use, 1 unit preserved, 3 units converted to non-passenger use. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28]
Class 154
Sprinter		 Steve Jones 154001 Derby 1987 5105189008.jpg 12A converted Class 150, later converted back.
Class 155
Super Sprinter		 Class 155 303.jpg 47
Class 156
Super Sprinter		 Class 156 DMU 156419.jpg 114
Class 158
Express Sprinter		 Class 158 DMU 158819 to Portsmouth, Bristol Temple Meads 27.2.1993. (9922352786).jpg 1822 or 3
Electric multiple units
Class 304 Class 304 304016 (6833411060).jpg 454All scrapped
Class 305 Hugh llewelyn hugh llewelyn 305 515 (7850800162).jpg 3 or 4
Class 323 323 at Five Ways, Birmingham.jpg 433

Liveries

A Class 323 EMU in GMPTE livery 323223 at Crewe.jpg
A Class 323 EMU in GMPTE livery

Initially, many vehicles carried standard British Rail blue livery.

From 1986, Provincial adopted a version of the prototype Class 150 livery: aircraft blue over white, with a light blue stripe at waist level. All new units, plus a few existing ones, such as selected Class 304 EMUs, received it. [29] Some units and coaches received the livery with either ScotRail or Regional Railways branding. [30] In the North West, the light blue stripe was replaced with a mid-green one on Class 156 refurbishments from 1995 to 1998. [31]

The Class 158s, introduced in 1989, appeared in Express livery: dark grey window surrounds over light grey, with light and dark blue stripes at waist level. [32] Later, Alphaline would replace the Express wording; this colour scheme was also applied to some Class 156 units around privatisation. [32]

The Class 323 EMUs introduced in 1994 appeared in West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE) Centro livery for its units [33] and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) livery for Manchester-based sets. [34]

After privatisation, many vehicles continued to carry the basic Regional Railways colour scheme, but with the addition of different branding, e.g. Central Trains . [32]

The final British railway vehicle to carry Regional Railways livery was a Class 153, which was repainted in July 2008 into East Midlands Trains' colours. [35]

Split for privatisation

As part of the process of privatisation between 1994 and 1997, Regional Railways was split into several different shadow train operating units, which later became independent train operating companies: [36]

Train Operating UnitRoutes
Anglia Railways Routes in East Anglia (combined with InterCity services in the region)
Valley Lines Urban 'Valley Lines' services around Cardiff, previously integrated within the South Wales and West divisions
Central Trains Regional Railways' Central division, minus the services transferred to Anglia Railways and the Oxford to Worcester service. Covered the Midlands of England and mid-Wales
Arriva Trains Merseyside The network of electrified routes centred on Liverpool
First North Western Routes in North West England and in North Wales
Arriva Trains Northern Routes in the North East of England.
ScotRail (National Express) The vast majority of services within Scotland
Wales & West A wide network of services centred on South Wales and South West England

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Thomas, David St John; Whitehouse, Patrick (1990). BR in the Eighties. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN   978-0-7153-9854-8. OCLC   21292984. OL   11253354M. Wikidata   Q112224535.[ page needed ]
  2. ↑ "Crack 158 services to be marketed as Alphaline". The Railway Magazine . No. 1123. November 1994. p. 10.
  3. ↑ Shore, A.G.L. (April 1987). "British Rail Diesel Multiple Unit Replacement Programme". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Transport Engineering. 201 (2): 115–122. doi:10.1243/PIME_PROC_1987_201_165_02. S2CID   109194039.
  4. ↑ Morrison, Brian; et al. (1986). Motive Power Annual 1987. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN   0-7110-1635-6.[ page needed ]
  5. ↑ "Class 323 Electric Multiple Unit Traction Upgrade". Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 5 May 2017. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  6. ↑ Williams, Philip (23 March 1994). "Hunslet has had enough of 'misery line' battles". Birmingham Post. Midland Independent Newspapers. p. 9. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "323 Data Sheets". Porterbrook. Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  8. ↑ Russell, David (January 2025). "Still 'Sprinting'". Fleet Focus. The Railway Magazine. Vol. 171, no. 1486. pp. 26–33.
  9. ↑ Butlin, Ashley (February 2025). "Multiple Units". Stock Update. The Railway Magazine . Vol. 171, no. 1487. p. 88.
  10. ↑ Russell, David (October 2025). "Class 150 Sprinter". Units. Rail Express . No. 353. p. 22.
  11. ↑ Butlin, Ashley (April 2025). "Multiple Units". Stock update. The Railway Magazine . Vol. 171, no. 1489. p. 83.
  12. ↑ Bultlin, Ashley (June 2025). "Multiple Units". Stock Update. The Railway Magazine . Vol. 171, no. 1491. p. 77.
  13. ↑ Butlin, Ashley (August 2025). "Multiple Units". Stock update. The Railway Magazine . Vol. 171, no. 1493. p. 79.
  14. ↑ Butlin, Ashley (October 2025). "Multiple Units". Stock update. The Railway Magazine . Vol. 171, no. 1495. p. 75.
  15. ↑ "Heritage train 'first' for The Watercress Line". Watercressline.co.uk. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  16. ↑ Butlin, Ashley (August 2021). "Multiple Units". Stock Update. The Railway Magazine. No. 1445. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. p. 105.
  17. ↑ Butlin, Ashley (May 2022). "Multiple Units". Stock Update. The Railway Magazine. No. 1454. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. p. 85.
  18. ↑ Butlin, Ashley. "Multiple Units". Stock Update. The Railway Magazine. No. October 2023. p. 83.
  19. ↑ Butlin, Ashley (January 2024). "Multiplie Units". Stock Update. The Railway Magazine . Vol. 170, no. 1474. p. 81.
  20. ↑ "Two more 153s for scrap". Today's Railways UK . No. 264. February 2024. p. 59.
  21. ↑ "Class 153s scrapped". Fleet Review. Railways Illustrated . No. 253. March 2024. p. 20.
  22. ↑ Russell, David (December 2024). "Depot Talk". Units. Rail Express . No. 343. p. 24.
  23. ↑ "Class 153 bought by aggregates firm to be repurposed as a reception unit". Network News. Rail . No. 1013. 10 July 2024. p. 19.
  24. ↑ Russell, David (February 2024). "Great Central Railway acquires two Class 153s, but not for preservation". Preservation. Rail Express . No. 333. p. 28.
  25. ↑ Russell, David (May 2024). "Multiple Unit Developments". Preservation. Rail Express. No. 336. p. 35.
  26. ↑ Russell, David (November 2023). "Class 153 developments". Units. Rail Express. No. 330. p. 21.
  27. ↑ "GCR offers new lease of life to Class 153s". Today's Railways UK. No. 264. February 2024. p. 68.
  28. ↑ Russell, David (February 2025). "Class 153". Units. Rail Express. No. 345. p. 22.
  29. ↑ "The Siding 304036 at Manchester Piccadilly 13-Apr-1993". The-siding.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  30. ↑ "Regional Railways Identity Management: Transdiffusion presentation - Identity with quality from British Rail in 1990". Regional-railways.co.uk. Transdiffusion Broadcasting System. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  31. ↑ "156 - North West Livery". Madasafish.com. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  32. 1 2 3 "CT DMU Liveries". Bdrs70d.com. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  33. ↑ "Railways in Worcestershire". Miac.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  34. ↑ "CT EMU Liveries". Bdrs70d.com. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  35. ↑ "The Siding 153311 at Barnetby 6-Mar-2008". The-siding.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  36. ↑ Knight, Steven; Johnston, Howard; Broadbent, Steve, eds. (1997). "A comprehensive guide to Britain's new railway". A comprehensive guide to Britain's new railway. Peterborough: EMAP Apex Publications. ISSN   1368-437X.[ page needed ]

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.