Regional Railways

Regional Railways
Provincial
	156438 at Bristol Temple Meads, May 1989.
Overview
Main region(s)	East Anglia, North West England, North East England, Wales, South West England
Other region(s)	East Midlands, West Midlands (region), Scotland, Merseyside
Parent company	British Rail
Dates of operation	1982–1997
Successors	Central Trains, First North Western, Midland Mainline, Arriva Trains Merseyside, Wales & West, Valley Lines

Last updated April 02, 2024

Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1997, two years after Privatisation of British Rail. The sector was originally called Provincial.

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

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 British Rail 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 British Rail Class 31, British Rail Class 40, and British Rail Class 45, which were of similar vintage.

Development of new rolling stock

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

Regional Railway branding on a first generation DMU, number 122100

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

Pacer (train)

The first, Pacers, used bus technology from the Leyland National, in classes numbered in the 14X range. Not long after 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, and they quickly had to be replaced by the old DMUs.^[1] The solution lay elsewhere, although, after much modification, the Pacers eventually proved themselves in traffic.

Sprinters

BR needed something midway between the Pacers and the British Rail Class 210s. In 1984/1985, two experimental DMU designs were put into service: the British Rail Engineering Limited built British Rail Class 150 and Metro-Cammell built British Rail Class 151.^[2] Both of these used hydraulic transmission and were less bus-like than the Pacers. After trials, British Rail 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 mainline InterCity (British Rail) routes. British Rail Class 155 and British Rail Class 156 Sprinters were developed to replace locomotive-hauled trains on these services, their interiors being designed with longer distance journeys in mind. Key Scottish and Trans-Pennine routes were upgraded with new British Rail 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 British Rail Class 323 electric multiple units were built by Hunslet Transportation Projects and Holec Ridderkerk between 1992 and 1995,^[3]^[4] although mock-ups and prototypes were built and tested in 1990 and 1991.^[5] 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 railway station.

Rolling Stock

Class	Quantity	Formation	Notes
Locomotive Hauled Stock
British Rail Class 31		Diesel Locomotive
British Rail Class 37
British Rail Class 47
British Railways Mark 1		Coach
British Railways Mark 2
British Railways Mark 3
Diesel Multiple Units
British Rail Class 101	35	2, 3 or 4
British Rail Class 117	3	3
British Rail Class 121	26	1
British Rail Class 122	29	1
British Rail Class 142 Pacer (train)	96	2	60 units scrapped, 31 units preserved, 4 units converted for off-railway use
British Rail Class 143 Pacer (train)	25	2	11 units preserved, 12 units scrapped, 2 units converted to non-railway use.
British Rail Class 150 British Rail Sprinter	137	2 or 3
British Rail Class 151 British Rail Sprinter	2	3	Both scrapped
British Rail Class 153 British Rail Sprinter	70	1
British Rail Class 154 British Rail Sprinter	1	2	A converted class 150, converted back to a class 150.
British Rail Class 155 British Rail Sprinter	47
British Rail Class 156 British Rail Sprinter	114
British Rail Class 158 British Rail Sprinter	182	2 or 3
Electric Multiple Units
British Rail Class 304	45	4	All scrapped
British Rail Class 305		3 or 4	All scrapped
British Rail Class 323	43	3

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. Some units and coaches received the livery with either ScotRail or Regional Railways branding.

The British Rail 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. This colour scheme was also applied to some British Rail Class 156 units around privatisation.

The British Rail Class 323 EMUs introduced in 1994 appeared in the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (Centro) livery for the West Midlands-based sets,^[6] and the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) livery for Manchester-based sets.

After privatisation, many vehicles continued to carry the basic RR colour scheme but with the addition of different branding, e.g. Central Trains .

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

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:^[7]

Train Operating Unit	Routes
Anglia Railways	Routes in East Anglia (combined with InterCity (British Rail) services in the region).
Valley Lines (train operating company)	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 English Midlands and Mid Wales.
Arriva Trains Merseyside	The network of electrified routes centred on Liverpool.
First North Western	Routes in England's North West and in North Wales.
Arriva Trains Northern	Routes in the North East of England.
ScotRail (British Rail) / ScotRail (National Express)	The vast majority of services within Scotland.
Wales & West	A wide network of services centred on South Wales and the South West.

Related Research Articles

A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also generally classed as DMUs. Diesel-powered units may be further classified by their transmission type: diesel–mechanical DMMU, diesel–hydraulic DHMU, or diesel–electric DEMU.

InterCity was a brand name introduced by British Rail in 1966 for its long-haul express passenger services.

The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter is a diesel multiple unit passenger train. A total of 114 sets were built between 1987 and 1989 for British Rail by Metro-Cammell's Washwood Heath works. They were built to replace elderly first-generation DMUs and locomotive-hauled passenger trains.

The British Rail Class 170 Turbostar is a British diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train designed and built by Adtranz, and later by Bombardier Transportation, at Derby Litchurch Lane Works.

The British Rail Class 158Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train. It is a member of the Sprinter series of regional trains, produced as a replacement for British Rail's first generation of DMUs; of the other members, the Class 159 is almost identical to the Class 158, having been converted from Class 158 to Class 159 in two batches to operate express services from London Waterloo to the West of England.

The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinter are single-coach railcars converted from two-coach Class 155 diesel multiple units in the early 1990s. The class was intended for service on rural branch lines, either where passenger numbers do not justify longer trains or to boost the capacity on services with high passenger volume.

The British Rail Class 116 diesel multiple units were built by BR Derby from 1957 to 1961. Introduced as part of the British Railways Modernisation Plan in the mid 1950s, as with other first generation DMUs the 116 was intended to replace steam trains and reduce costs across the rail network. Alongside Metro-Cammell, BR Derby had prior experience with DMUs, having developed a Lightweight Unit, and so was awarded a contract for a new design.

The British Rail Classes 101 and 102 diesel-mechanical multiple units were built by Metro-Cammell at Washwood Heath in Birmingham, England from 1956 to 1959, following construction of a series of prototype units. These classes proved to be some of the most successful and longest-lived of BR's First Generation DMUs, second in longevity only to the Class 121, with the final five units being withdrawn on 24 December 2003. The oldest set was, by then, just over 47 years old.

The Blue Pullmans were luxury trains used from 1960 to 1973 by British Rail. They were the first Pullman diesel multiple units, incorporating several novel features.

British Rail was the brand image of the nationalised railway owner and operator in Great Britain, the British Railways Board, used from 1965 until its breakup and sell-off from 1993 onwards.

The British Rail Class 323 is a class of electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger train built by Hunslet Transportation Projects and Holec. All 43 units were built from 1992 through to 1995, although mock-ups and prototypes were built and tested in 1990 and 1991.

The British Rail Class 150 Sprinter is a class of diesel multiple unit passenger trains; they were developed and constructed by British Rail Engineering Limited at York Carriage Works between 1984 and 1987 for use on regional services across the UK. The type is a second-generation design, built to more modern standards and based on BR's Mark 3 body design for longer-distance services. It was developed alongside the lower-cost Pacers, which were built using bus parts, for use on short-distance services. Two prototype units were built, followed by 135 production units in two batches. Subsequently, further members of the Sprinter family were also developed and introduced to service, including the Class 155, Class 156, Class 158 and Class 159.

The British Rail Class 144Pacer is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train built at Derby between 1986 and 1987. British Rail, seeking to procure improved derivatives of the earlier Class 141, placed an order with the manufacturers British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) and Walter Alexander to construct their own variant, the Class 144. A total of 23 units were constructed. All units have now retired from mainline service, though the majority of the units have been acquired for preservation on heritage railways and in other uses. As of December 2022, 19 out of the 23 units have been purchased following withdrawal for this purpose, of which 14 units are in operational condition.

The British Rail Class 142 Pacer are diesel multiple units built for British Rail (BR) from 1985 to 1987. The class were built with a high level of commonality with the widely-used Leyland National bus. They are part of the Pacer family of railbuses. The last set was withdrawn from service in 2020.

The British Rail Class 90 is a type of electric locomotive. They were built for mixed-traffic duties, operating from 25 kV AC overhead lines and producing 5,000 bhp (3,700 kW). They weigh 84.5 tonnes and can typically achieve a top speed of 110 mph (177 km/h).

First North Western was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the North West Regional Railways franchise from March 1997 until December 2004.

The Sprinter is a family of diesel multiple unit trains in use on the British railway system. They were built in the 1980s and early-1990s by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL), Metro-Cammell and Leyland. Sprinters operate in almost every part of Great Britain, from rural branch lines to commuter expresses into major cities.

The history of British Rail's corporate liveries is quite complex. Although from the mid-1960s to the 1980s the organisation was associated with "Rail Blue", a number of other schemes were also used, especially when it was split into operating units or "sectors" in the mid-1980s.

Network NorthWest was a brand name of British Rail which was applied for a short period to the provincial railway network in North West England. It was launched in 1989 during British Rail's sectorisation programme which created distinct brand identities for regional sub-divisions.

ScotRail has been the brand name used for all Scottish regional and commuter rail services, including some cross-border services, since September 1983, as well as many of the country's intercity services.

References

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. OL 11253354M. Wikidata Q112224535.^{[ page needed ]}
↑ Morrison, Brian; et al. (1986). Motive Power Annual 1987. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1635-6.^{[ page needed ]}
↑ "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.
↑ 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.
↑ "323 Data Sheets". Porterbrook. Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
↑ "Railways in Worcestershire". miac.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
↑ Knight, Steven, ed. (1997). "A comprehensive guide to Britain's new railway". Peterborough: EMAP Apex Publications. ISSN 1368-437X.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)^{[ page needed ]}

External links

Regional Railways Identity Management – internal branding manual, 1992

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[Thomas-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. OL 11253354M. Wikidata Q112224535.^{[ page needed ]}

[Motive-2] Morrison, Brian; et al. (1986). Motive Power Annual 1987. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1635-6.^{[ page needed ]}

[3] "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.

[4] 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.

[5] "323 Data Sheets". Porterbrook. Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2021.

[6] "Railways in Worcestershire". miac.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2021.

[Knight-7] Knight, Steven, ed. (1997). "A comprehensive guide to Britain's new railway". Peterborough: EMAP Apex Publications. ISSN 1368-437X.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)^{[ page needed ]}

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