British Rail Mark 3
| British Rail Mark 3 | |
|---|---|
Virgin Trains East Coast Trailer Standard No. 42210 at York | |
The interior of Standard Class aboard an LNER refurbished Mark 3 TS vehicle | |
| In service | 1972–present |
| Manufacturer | British Rail Engineering Limited |
| Built at | Derby Litchurch Lane Works |
| Constructed | 1972-1988 |
| Number built | 848 |
| Number scrapped | 300 |
| Capacity | As originally built (typical):
|
| Operators | |
| Lines served | |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Steel fully integral, monocoque |
| Car length | 23.0 m (75 ft 6 in) |
| Doors | Hinged slam, centrally locked/automatic sliding doors, centrally locked |
| Maximum speed | 125 mph (200 km/h) |
| Power supply |
|
| Bogies | BREL BT10 |
| Braking systems | Disc, air operated |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The British Rail Mark 3 is a type of passenger carriage developed in response to growing competition from airlines and the car in the 1970s. A variant of the Mark 3 became the rolling stock for the High Speed Train (HST).
Originally conceived as locomotive-hauled coaching stock, the first coaches built were for the prototype HST in 1972. Production coaches entered service between 1975 and 1988, and multiple-unit designs based on the Mark 3 bodyshell continued to be built until the early 1990s. Most of the surviving fleet of the Mark 3 and its derivatives were still in revenue service on the British railway network in 2020, however, as of 7 April 2021, 300 carriages have been sent for scrap.