InterCity 125 (Class 43 and Mark 3)
British Rail's diesel InterCity 125, the High Speed Train: a Class 43 power car at each end of a rake of Mark 3 coaches. It entered service on the Western Region in 1976 and now runs only in Scotland, where ScotRail's last sets are due out of service by December 2028.
- Type
- Diesel-electric power cars and coaches
- Builder
- British Rail Engineering Ltd: power cars at Crewe, Mark 3 coaches at Derby
- In service
- since 1976
- Operators
- ScotRail
- Formation
- A Class 43 power car at each end of four Mark 3 coaches (ScotRail, 2026); rakes of four to eight coaches in all, seven on CrossCountry
- Fleets
- ScotRail: 25
- Top speed
- 125 mph in service (a power car set the world diesel record of 148 mph in 1987)
- Power
- Diesel-electric: a power car at each end
- Car height
- 3.81 m
- Profile
- main-line
- Status
- In service with ScotRail on its Inter7City routes between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness since October 2018; Class 222s are to replace them from late 2027, the last HST by December 2028. LNER's last ran on 15 December 2019, EMR's on 15 May 2021, CrossCountry's on 18 September 2023 and GWR's four-coach Castle sets, the last in England, on 13 December 2025. Network Rail's New Measurement Train is a converted HST.
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | Class 43 power car | 17.79 m | |
| TF | Mark 3 first-class trailer (TF) | 23.00 m | 2 single |
| RB | Mark 3 restaurant buffet | 23.00 m | 2 single |
| TS | Mark 3 standard-class trailer (TS) | 23.00 m | 2 single |
Sources
- HST Class 43 Power Car, Angel Trains (Class 43: BREL, length 17.79 m, width 2.74 m, 125 mph, one at each end of a rake of Mark 3 trailers)
- HST Trailer Cars, Angel Trains (Mark 3 trailers: BR Derby, length 23.0 m, rakes of 4 to 8 cars)
- High Speed Train Power Car 43002 (object 2020-105), Science Museum Group Collection (43002, the first production power car, built by BREL Crewe in 1976; first units introduced 1976; 148 mph diesel record, 1 November 1987)
- England says goodbye to long-serving HSTs, Railnews, 15 December 2025 (began running on the Western Region in 1976; up to 125 mph; GWR's four-car Castle sets the last in England, Saturday 13 December 2025; still in use in Scotland)
- Report 02/2022: Derailment of a passenger train at Carmont, Aberdeenshire, 12 August 2020 (v2), Rail Accident Investigation Branch, March 2022 (updated January 2024), pp. 45-46 (paragraphs 19-20) (a ScotRail set of four Mark 3 coaches and two Class 43 power cars; built by British Rail Engineering Ltd; power sliding doors fitted by Wabtec)
- First HST enters service on ScotRail, Railnews, 11 October 2018 (ScotRail's first HST in service on 10 October 2018; former GWR sets; 26 Inter7City sets planned)
- ScotRail announces plans to replace high speed trains, ScotRail, 19 March 2026 (intercity routes between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness; introduced to ScotRail in 2018; Class 222s from late 2027; last HST out by December 2028)
- ScotRail confirms Class 222 leasing deal to enable withdrawal of HSTs, Rail Business UK (Railway Gazette), 19 March 2026 (22 Class 222s leased to replace ScotRail's 'short set' HSTs, in service late 2027 to end 2028)
- ScotRail confirms Class 222s to replace HSTs, Rail, 19 March 2026 (last HSTs expected to be withdrawn by December 2028)
- LNER bids farewell to the Inter125 High Speed Train, LNER, 4 December 2019 (LNER's last HST service on Sunday 15 December 2019)
- EMR celebrates the iconic HSTs with farewell documentary, East Midlands Railway, 24 May 2021 (EMR's HSTs retired on Saturday 15 May 2021 after 39 years on the Midland Main Line)
- Thousands raised as CrossCountry HSTs bow out, Rail Forum, 29 September 2023 (CrossCountry's last HST in regular service on 18 September 2023; its usual 2+7 formation)
- New Measurement Train (NMT), Network Rail (the New Measurement Train, a converted InterCity HST, records track condition at up to 125 mph)
- LNER555 HST Farewell: Paint Colours (side elevations of the Class 43 and Mark 3 coaches), LNER (released under FOI: 'Class 800/801 Livery Designs'), November 2019 (released 26 May 2022), p. 1 (side elevations of the Class 43 and three Mark 3 coaches, and the 1976 livery's colours (measured))
unverified builders: Crewe for the power cars is the Science Museum Group's record for 43002, the first production power car; Derby for the coaches is Angel Trains', ScotRail's five-coach sets: reported in the trade press but not confirmed from a primary source; RAIB's 2020 Carmont set had four coaches, Mark 3 width: Angel Trains prints 2.82 m against the power car's 2.74 m; not shown, the drawing's car height (3.81 m), coach wheels and bogies are as LNER's artwork draws them, not printed figures, the drawing: LNER's vehicles in the 1976 livery, not a ScotRail set; the coach order is illustrative