Midland Mainline High Speed Train HST, InterCity 125 Remembered

A look back at the HSTs at work on the MML with Midland Mainline, East Midlands Trains and East Midlands Railway (EMR). Plus a look at the Data Acquisition & Testing Services Ltd (DATS) Midland Mainline Overhead Line Inspection Train.

The HSTs were first introduced onto the Midland Mainline in May 1983.

As part of the privatisation of British Rail in the mid-1990s the train operating company Midland Mainline owned by National Express was awarded the intercity franchise in April 1996.

Between May 2003 until September 2004 an hourly service between St Pancras and Manchester Piccadilly was introduced at the request of the Strategic Rail Authority. This extra capacity was needed while the neighbouring West Coast Main Line was being upgraded.

This temporary initiative was named Project Rio and involved the transfer of 23 HST power cars and associated Mark 3 carriages from Virgin CrossCountry.

The lines HSTs also began to appear in a new livery around this time.

On the 11th November 2007 the Department for Transport awarded the franchise to East Midlands Trains which was owned by rival operator Stagecoach.

On the 18th August 2019 the franchise changed hands again when it was awarded to East Midlands Railway and EMR branding began to be applied to it’s trains.

As part of the new franchise agreement EMR agreed to withdraw its current HSTs from service which used powers cars fitted with VP185 engines.

These would be replaced with ex-LNER sets with power cars fitted with MTU engines.

However, time was fast running out for the Midland Mainline HSTs with the final day of operations coming on the 15th May 2021.

Before the end two power cars received celebrity liveries.

43274 was the only power car to be painted in the EMR corporate purple livery and 43102 which holds the world record for the fastest diesel locomotive received retro InterCity swallow livery.

Data Acquisition & Testing Services Ltd or DATS for short have acquired four powers cars numbers 43050, 43054, 43066 and 43076 to work their Midland Mainline Overhead Line Inspection Train.

Here we see it in action testing the newly installed overhead lines between Bedford and Kettering with a pair of Class 91s also in the formation.