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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. The first full set entered service on 2 October 1989. The first Class 91 to be stood down, 91108, went in July 2019, the first was scrapped in 2021, and 91131 was preserved in 2023. Grand Central leased four Mark 4 sets in 2020 for a Blackpool to Euston service but dropped the plan without carrying passengers; Transport for Wales has leased Mark 4s since 2020, including those four sets, for its locomotive-hauled trains (see TfW Premier, Class 67 and Mark 4). LNER cut its sets to seven coaches in November 2025.
Scale
662 ft (201.8 m) over couplers
InterCity 225 (Class 91 and Mark 4) · schematic drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/ic225/ · CC BY 4.0
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Liveries
Special liveries 3
- 91105 NRM 50th anniversary artwork (temporarily 91150) Multi-coloured swirls with National Railway Museum locomotives, Mallard among them, on 91105, carried as 91150 for the time being; unveiled on 8 July 2025.
- 91110 Battle of Britain Memorial Flight A Lancaster, a Spitfire and a Hurricane, carried since 2 June 2012, with a grey stripe added in 2022.
- 91111 'For The Fallen' WWI Soldiers' silhouettes and poppies, carried since 14 October 2014; the locomotive is designated for the National Collection.
Former liveries 7
BR InterCity ExecutiveRan as British RailFormer1988 to c.1989Not drawn yet
BR InterCity SwallowRan as British RailFormer1989 to 1996/97Not drawn yet
GNERFormer1996 to 2013 (91118 last)Not drawn yet
National Express East CoastRan as NXECFormer2007 to 2009Not drawn yet
East Coast silverRan as East Coast (DfT)Former2010 to 2015Not drawn yet
Virgin Trains East CoastRan as VTECFormer2015 to 2018Not drawn yet
LNERLNER red/whiteFormer2018 to c.2022 (partial)Not drawn yet
- Type
- Electric locomotive and coaches
- Builder
- GEC, assembled by BREL at Crewe (Class 91); Metro-Cammell, Washwood Heath, with bodyshells by BREL and Breda (Mark 4 coaches)
- Built
- 1988–1992
- In service
- since 1989
- 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 (201 km/h) in service; designed for 140 mph (225 km/h); a Class 91 (91010) reached 161.7 mph on test in 1989
- Power
- 25 kV AC overhead · how it works
- Bogies
- SIG BT41 bogies under the Mark 4 coaches and driving van trailers; BREL BP52 bogies (Class 91) · drawn with the same bogie component as TfW Premier (Class 67 and Mark 4)
- Train length
- 662 ft (201.80 m)
- Car height
- 12 ft 4 in (3.768 m)
- Profile
- main-line
- Status
- In service: eight sets, to be replaced by the Class 897s. No end date has been published. Eversholt Rail lists 73 coaches and 9 driving van trailers on lease, and 12 Class 91s.
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | Class 91 locomotive | 63 ft 8 in19.40 m | |
| TOE | Mark 4 standard open end (TOE, coach B) | 76 ft 9 in23.40 m | 2 single |
| TO | Mark 4 standard open (TO, coaches C and D) | 76 ft 9 in23.40 m | 2 single |
| TOD | Mark 4 standard open with accessible toilet (TOD, coach F) | 76 ft 9 in23.40 m | 2 single |
| SV | Mark 4 catering vehicle (SV, coach H) | 76 ft 9 in23.40 m | 1 single |
| PO | Mark 4 first open (PO, coach K) | 76 ft 9 in23.40 m | 2 single |
| POD | Mark 4 first open with accessible toilet (POD, coach L) | 76 ft 9 in23.40 m | 2 single |
| DVT | Mark 4 driving van trailer (DVT) | 61 ft 0 in18.60 m |
Sources
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Show the 28 sources from LNER, Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia and 8 more
- BR 91: fiche 8.2.91 (Traction électrique) Jean-Marc Allenbach and Roger Kaller, Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes (EPFL), 1995, pp. 8.2.91, pp. 1 and 3Class 91: bogie wheelbase 11 ft 0 in (3,350 mm), pivot centres 34 ft 5 in (10,500 mm), length 63 ft 8 in (19,400 mm; 1:115 side elevation); wheels Dm 3 ft 2 in (970 mm); the drawing: the BP52 bogie's layout
- DVT 82226 Crewe South 181023 Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0), 2023-10-18the drawing: the Mark 4 / DVT bogie's layout (layout only); SIG on the axle covers
- British Rail Mark 4 Wikipediabogie types: SIG BT41A (coaches), BT41B/C (DVTs)
- British Rail Class 91 Wikipediabogie type BREL BP52
- Prepped and ready: the unseen railway heroes gearing up for more trains LNER, 23 November 2025eight InterCity 225 sets
- Class 91 Eversholt Rail12 locomotives leased to LNER (status), BREL Crewe, length
- Mark 4 coaches Eversholt RailMetro-Cammell, coach and DVT lengths; 73 coaches and 9 driving van trailers on lease (status)
- 225 on the Toon: much-loved LNER trains back in the North East LNER, 31 March 2026daily 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 2026to 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, 38-45side 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 2019second measurement of every vehicle; coach letters
- Intercity 225 coach layouts: 7 coach train LNER, January 2026the seven-coach formation
- InterCity 225 Story The 225 Group (InterCity 225 preservation and heritage group)Dated chronology: first Class 91 (91001) unveiled at BREL Crewe on 12 February 1988; the Class 91s designed and built by GEC, assembled by BREL at Crewe; the Mark 4s from Metro-Cammell, Washwood Heath, with bodyshells by BREL and Breda; the first full Mark 4 set in service on 2 October 1989; designed for 140 mph (225 km/h), and 91010's 161.7 mph at Little Bytham on 17 September 1989; 91108 the first stood down (30 July 2019), 91132 the first scrapped (March 2021), 91131 preserved (March 2023); Grand Central's lease of four Mark 4 sets (February 2020, dropped September 2020, no passengers carried); Transport for Wales's sets (three from January 2020, 30 more vehicles including the four ex-Grand Central sets in June 2021); LNER's sets cut from nine to seven coaches in November 2025
- Discover the Fleet The 225 Group31 Class 91s built by BREL at Crewe from 1988 to 1991
- This is the East Coast thoroughbred (LNER's 225 Day) RAIL magazine, 2025-06-24Class 91 service introduction on 3 March 1989 (with Mark 3s)
- LNER declares 22nd of May '225 Day' – celebrating its InterCity stalwarts LNER (press release), 2025-05-07Operator confirms InterCity 225s were introduced on the ECML 'nearly 40 years ago', after electrification (general support only)
- BR 91: fiche 8.2.91 (Traction électrique) Jean-Marc Allenbach and Roger Kaller, Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes (EPFL), 1995, pp. 8.2.91, p. 3the Class 91's pantograph: its end, length, folded height and the lowered roof under it (measured)
- LNER livery artwork: Class 91 and Mark 4 layout guides LNER (released under FOI: 'Class 800/801 Livery Designs'), December 2019layout of the underframe equipment (the skirts' outline under the coaches and the DVT; outline only)
- BR Mk.IV TSO No.12437 (8080190500).jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Hugh Llewelyn, via Wikimedia Commons (Flickr), 30 August 2012layout of the underframe equipment (the coaches' holes and recess; layout only)
- BR Mk.IV RSB No.10308 (8080193326).jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Hugh Llewelyn, via Wikimedia Commons (Flickr), 30 August 2012layout of the underframe equipment (the kitchen car's grilles, panel and recesses; layout only)
- BR Mk.IV FO No.11283 (8080183834).jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Hugh Llewelyn, via Wikimedia Commons (Flickr), 30 August 2012layout of the underframe equipment (a check: an open first's skirt and recess; layout only)
- 82222 Offord Cluny 211219.jpg (photograph, CC BY 2.0) kitmasterbloke, via Wikimedia Commons (Flickr), 21 December 2019layout of the underframe equipment (the DVT's slots; layout only, indicative)
- 18117 Intercity East Coast 91108 (7177366893).jpg: 91108 at Doncaster (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (penske666, Flickr; CC BY-SA 2.0), 10 June 2012the Class 91's cab-end buffers: their layout (set BC7, 20 October 2026)
- GM/RT2100 Issue 4: Requirements for Rail Vehicle Structures RSSB (Rail Safety and Standards Board), December 2010the GB buffer height range, 3 ft 1 in to 3 ft 6 in (940-1,065 mm) above rail (8.3.2), against which the buffers are drawn (set BC7, 20 October 2026)
- 91 cab ends (41715404194).jpg: 91120's cab end against another 91's No. 2 end (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (penske666, Flickr; CC BY-SA 2.0), 13 February 2018the Class 91's buffers side on: the case about 0.6 of the head (set BC7 round 2, 21 October 2026)
- LNER livery artwork: Class 91 and Mark 4 layout guides LNER (released under FOI: 'Class 800/801 Livery Designs'), December 2019the Class 91's buffers: the plunger and the case's mouth along the buffer (set BC7 round 2, 21 October 2026)
- British Rail Class 91 Wikipedia, read 13 October 2026the livery, its unit and its dates
- A Guide to Overhead Electrification (132787-ALB-GUN-EOH-000001, rev 10) Network Rail (prepared by Alan Baxter), February 2015, p. 39the contact wire in the In operation drawing: 15 ft 5 in (4.7 m) above rail, Network Rail's normal height
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- 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 (8 ft 1 in (2,470 mm)) and wheels (3 ft 0 in (914 mm)) as drawn; no printed figure
- The Class 91's wheels: drawn 3 ft 3 in (996 mm), from the axle height on LNER's drawing; Allenbach's fiche gives a mean diameter (Dm) of 3 ft 2 in (970 mm). Its bogie type, BREL BP52, is Wikipedia's (citing HSBC Rail's 2008 vehicle diagram book), as are the Mark 4s' SIG BT41A and the DVTs' BT41B/C (citing Watts and Hawkridge, IEE 1989)
- The underframe: the skirts' outline from LNER's artwork, their details from three photographs (positions to about 60 mm on the coaches, 1 ft 4 in (400 mm) on the DVT's slots); the DVT's box foot (about 200 mm) is the sheet's and no side-on photograph of it was found; the louvres are drawn as dark panels
- The years of the former liveries come from Wikipedia's class article and the other sources listed, and haven't been checked against a second source.
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