East Midlands Railway salutes ‘iconic’ Intercity fleet

East Midlands Railway is paying a special tribute to its fleet of Intercity trains, which it is set to retire after almost 40 years.

The Derby train operator will begin retiring its existing fleet of high-speed trains (HSTs) from May this year.

The trains, which are owned by Derby-based train leasing firm Porterbrook, are to be replaced by newer ones.

As a tribute to the iconic trains, which operate on the Midland Main Line, EMR and Porterbrook have painted one of them – Power Car 43302 – in the Intercity Swallow livery and reinstated its original number 43102.

View fullsize

Power Car 43102 famously broke the Intercity world speed record in November, 1987, when it reached 148.5 mph between Northallerton and York during a test a run.

Although it was formally renumbered to 43302 by its previous operator, today it regains its original number 43102 and the livery it carried when it broke the record.

Upon its retirement in May, the Power Car will be donated by Porterbrook to the National Railway Museum in York.

Neil Bamford, fleet director for EMR, said: “The team at our Neville Hill depot in Leeds have been working hard behind the scenes to strip unit 43302 of its current livery, repaint it in its legacy colours and reinstate its original number in homage to the ‘end of the HST’ era.

“What an incredible way to pay tribute to the HSTs and the magnificent efforts from all our staff, who have operated and maintained the fleet over the years.”

Neil Foster, fleet services director at Porterbrook, said: “EMR and Porterbrook have worked closely together for many years to collaboratively manage the iconic HST fleet. These trains are much loved by the millions of passengers they have carried over the decades.

“With their reputation for comfort and speed, these icons of British engineering re-invigorated rail travel between Yorkshire, the East Midlands and London.”