InterCity 225 (Class 91 and Mark 4)
The East Coast's electric intercity train of the late 1980s: a Class 91 locomotive at one end and a driving van trailer at the other. LNER keeps eight sets, mostly on West Yorkshire services.
201.8 m over couplers
- Type
- Electric locomotive and coaches
- Builder
- BREL, Crewe (Class 91); Metro-Cammell (Mark 4 coaches)
- Built
- Class 91s to 1991
- Operators
- LNER
- Formation
- Class 91 locomotive, seven Mark 4 coaches and a driving van trailer (LNER, 2026); nine coaches in Eversholt's unit formation
- Fleets
- LNER: 8
- Top speed
- 125 mph in service (designed for 140 mph; a Class 91 reached 162 mph on test in 1989)
- Power
- 25 kV AC overhead
- Car height
- 3.768 m
- Profile
- main-line
- Status
- In service: eight sets, to be replaced by the Class 897s. No end date has been published.
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | Class 91 locomotive | 19.40 m | |
| TOE | Mark 4 standard open end (TOE, coach B) | 23.40 m | 2 single |
| TO | Mark 4 standard open (TO, coaches C and D) | 23.40 m | 2 single |
| TOD | Mark 4 standard open with accessible toilet (TOD, coach F) | 23.40 m | 2 single |
| SV | Mark 4 catering vehicle (SV, coach H) | 23.40 m | 1 single |
| PO | Mark 4 first open (PO, coach K) | 23.40 m | 2 single |
| POD | Mark 4 first open with accessible toilet (POD, coach L) | 23.40 m | 2 single |
| DVT | Mark 4 driving van trailer (DVT) | 18.60 m |
Sources
- Prepped and ready: the unseen railway heroes gearing up for more trains, LNER, 23 November 2025 (eight InterCity 225 sets)
- Class 91, Eversholt Rail (12 locomotives leased to LNER, BREL Crewe, length)
- Mark 4 coaches, Eversholt Rail (Metro-Cammell, coach and DVT lengths)
- 225 on the Toon: much-loved LNER trains back in the North East, LNER, 31 March 2026 (daily King's Cross to Newcastle working from 30 March 2026)
- The next generation: LNER reveals exciting new details of upcoming East Coast trains, LNER, 2 February 2026 (to be replaced by the Class 897s)
- LNER1170 225 Fleet Livery Specification, version 4.3, LNER (released under FOI: 'NEW 225 Livery Designs'), 1 February 2022, pp. 5-9, 11-16, 38-45 (side elevations of every vehicle, band heights, colours, Mark 4 and DVT lengths (measured))
- LNER livery artwork: Class 91 and Mark 4 layout guides, LNER (released under FOI: 'Class 800/801 Livery Designs'), December 2019 (second measurement of every vehicle; coach letters)
- Intercity 225 coach layouts: 7 coach train, LNER, January 2026 (the seven-coach formation)
unverified formation: drawn with seven coaches, as LNER's January 2026 coach layout shows; Eversholt's unit formation and LNER's livery documents have nine, Mark 4 wheelbase (2,470 mm) and wheels (914 mm) as drawn; no printed figure, the Class 91's bogie figures are Wikipedia's (citing the 1988 technical information and the 2008 vehicle diagram book)