British Rail Class 93 facts for kids
The Class 93 was a type of electric train that was planned for British Rail in the early 1990s. These powerful locomotives were meant to be part of a big project called InterCity 250. They would have run on the West Coast Main Line, one of Britain's busiest railway lines.
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What Was the Class 93?
The Class 93 was designed to be a very fast electric locomotive. It was going to be similar to the Class 91 trains, which started running on the East Coast Main Line in 1989. The Class 93 was expected to reach speeds of up to 155 miles per hour (250 km/h).
How Would It Have Worked?
Each Class 93 locomotive would have pulled a train of up to nine special passenger carriages, known as Mark 5 coaches. At the other end of the train, there would have been a special control car called a DVT. This setup was very much like the InterCity 225 trains that were already in use. The DVT allowed the train driver to control the train from either end, meaning the train didn't need to turn around at the end of its journey.
The InterCity 250 Project
The Class 93 locomotives were a key part of the larger InterCity 250 project. This project aimed to bring new, faster trains to the West Coast Main Line.
Plans and Costs
Plans to build these locomotives and coaches were announced in March 1991. The trains were expected to start running by 1995. The idea was to build about 30 complete trains at first. The total cost for this big project was estimated to be around £380 million.
Why the Project Was Cancelled
However, the InterCity 250 project was stopped in 1992. Because the project was cancelled, the orders for the Class 93 locomotives and the new Mark 5 coaches were never made. So, the Class 93 trains were never actually built.