Looking at the ageing InterCity 125 trains belching out fumes at London’s Paddington, St Pancras or King’s Cross stations, it is hard to remember they once represented the pinnacle of British rail technology. The diesel-electric trains, first brought into service in 1976, were the first British passenger trains designed to reach speeds of 125mph (200kph). Now they look obsolete – they need more fuel and accelerate more slowly than their modern equivalents.
Yet the trains – known in the industry as high-speed trains (HSTs) – are set to remain a mainstay of long-distance rail on Britain’s unelectrified routes for at least another seven years.
