APT_P 162 mph (260km/h) 1979
| Top Planned Commercial Speed | 150 mph (240km/h) |
| Speed Records | APT_E 152 mph (244km/h) 1975 APT_P 162 mph (260km/h) 1979 |
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The Great Success of the Diesel High Speed Train, the Inter City 125 causing a surge in demand lead British rail to want to develop a new high speed train for the northern sections, which were all stuck in the 100mph zone. The west coast in particular was in mind, because it was all electrified. This was an unusual period, because the fastest train in the UK was a diesel.
The Advanced Passenger Train (APT) was a project in the late 70s to early 80s for a British high speed train like on the continent. Because railways in the UK are much more curved than in Europe (more hills) high speed trains start to get uncomfortable for passengers, even when negotiating curves of radius of 3 miles. The idea of the APT was to allow the train to use a centre of gravity of its own to be free to tilt when going round corners, to get rid of the turning effects on the passengers. In the 1970s this was cutting edge technology and three prototypes were built.
The first one was the APT_E which stood for Experimental, which was only four cars long and used only for research and never for services. The next one used Gas Turbines, again a French innovation in the TGV Turbo. However it was realized Gas Turbines were not best suited to the stop/start demands of railways, and were not particularly fuel efficient.
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| Above: Plagued with failures, note cars 1 and 4 have failed to tilt. |
However it was realized that electric was the best option. The final result was the APT_P which stood for Prototype. This was a full sized proper train with passenger accommodation and actually served the London-Glasgow line for a period, although unreliability hampered its operation, and because of braking problems it had to be withdrawn. Although the problems were sorted out by that time BR had lost interest in the project because of money shortages.
The APT_P now survives but it lies derelict in Crewe yards. If you take a trip along the West Coast Mainline you can see it, as indeed I did, and I am sorry to say it is looking very sorry for itself, in a very poor condition with the paint fading.
However the APT wasn't a complete failure. The BoBo power car design was used to build a new locomotive, the Class 91 capable of 140mph, which pulls the Inter City 225 today. Also the tilting technology was exported to Italy, which formed the basis of the Italian Pendolini, and perhaps Ironically we shall be buying back the technology when the Pendolini comes to the UK again to form the Inter City 250
Because the APT was never introduced, we are stuck with 110mph intercity trains along the West Coast Mainline, but thanks to a new investment program that should be improved to 140mph and possibly 160mph by 2005.
See Also:
The Inter City 225 - The Class 91 using
APT design but without the tilting.
The Inter City 125 - The Success of this
high speed train helped boost the APT project
The Pendolini - The Italian high speed
train based on APT technology for tilting
Inter City Trains in the UK (Class
86, 87,
90 pull inter city trains
along the west coast mainline)
The Inter City 250 - The APT tilting technology
is coming back to the UK after taking a trip to Italy
The £2billion Upgrade to the West Coast Mainline
Related Links:
The APT - greatest British non starter?
Alex Lu's page on the APT
Platform 13 - The APT history
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