| Provincial | |
 | |
 A Class 156 atBristol Temple Meads (May 1989) | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Main regions | East Anglia,North West England,North East England,Wales,South West England |
| Other regions | East Midlands,Merseyside,Scotland,West Midlands |
| Parent company | British Rail |
| Dates of operation | 1982–1997 |
| Successors | Central Trains,First North Western,Midland Mainline,Arriva Trains Merseyside,Wales & West,Valley Lines,Arriva Trains Northern |
Regional Railways (originallyProvincial) was one of three passenger sectors ofBritish Rail. It was created in 1982 and was the most subsidised (per passenger km) of the three sectors; upon formation, its costs were four times itsrevenue.[1] The sector was broken up into eight franchises during theprivatisation of British Rail and ceased to exist on 31 March 1997.
Uponsectorisation in 1982, three passenger sectors were created:InterCity, operating principal express services;London & South East (renamedNetwork SouthEast in 1986) operating commuter services in the London area, andProvincial (renamedRegional Railways in 1989) responsible for all other passenger services.[1] In themetropolitan counties, local services were managed by thePassenger Transport Executives.
Regional Railways inherited a diverse range of routes, comprising both express and local services. Expresses mainly ran to non-principal destinations or on less popular routes, such asBirmingham orLiverpool toNorwich, or Liverpool toScarborough, and were chiefly operated by older locomotives and second-hand InterCity coaches. Later, these services were operated bySprinter units – mainlyClass 158 on express services. There were also the internalScottish Region local services and expresses, the latter including theEdinburgh-Glasgowpush-pull service.[1]
Local services ran on both main lines and branch lines and were often operated byfirst generation diesel multiple units dating back to the 1950s. Longer distance trains were often formed of older coaches and locomotives ofClass 31,Class 40 andClass 45, which were of a similar vintage.
TheAlphaline brand was introduced in December 1994 on express services operated by Regional Railways in the Midlands, Wales and the South West. These services linked various provincial towns and cities, complementing and connecting with the more prestigious InterCity network.[2]
In the early 1980s, large numbers of first generationdiesel multiple units (DMUs) andlocomotive-hauled coaches were found to containasbestos. Removing it would be a considerable cost while generating no extra revenue; coupled with the increasingly unreliable old locomotives and DMUs, this prompted BR to look for a new generation of diesel multiple units.[3]
The prototypeClass 210, in service on a trial basis since 1981, was considered too expensive to be put into production, so British Rail (BR) looked elsewhere for new designs.[1]
The first design, thePacer, used bus technology from theLeyland National, in classes numbered in the14x range. Not long after their introduction to service, large numbers of them suffered from a number of technical problems, particularly with theirgearboxes. InCornwall, it was found that their longwheelbase caused intolerable squealing noises and hightyre wear on tight curves; they were quickly replaced by the old DMUs.[1] The solution lay elsewhere, although, after much modification, the Pacers eventually proved themselves in traffic.
BR needed something midway between the Pacers and the Class 210s. In 1984/1985, two experimental DMU designs were put into service:BREL-builtClass 150 andMetro-Cammell-builtClass 151.[4] Both of these usedhydraulic transmission and were less bus-like than the Pacers. After trials, Class 150 was selected for production, entering service from 1987. Reliability was much improved by the new units, with depot visits being reduced from two or three times a week to fortnightly.[1]
The late 1980s and early 1990s also saw the development of secondary express services that complemented the main line InterCity routes.Class 155 andClass 156Super Sprinters were developed to replace locomotive-hauled trains on these services; their interiors were designed with longer distance journeys in mind. Key Scottish and trans-Pennine routes were upgraded with newClass 158Express Sprinters, while a network ofAlphaline services was introduced elsewhere in the country.
By the end of the 1980s, passenger numbers had increased and costs had been reduced to two-and-a-half times revenue.[1]
TheClass 323electric multiple units were built byHunslet Transportation Projects and Holec Ridderkerk between 1992 and 1995,[5][6] although mock-ups and prototypes were built and tested in 1990 and 1991.[7] Forty-three 3-car units were built for inner-suburban services in and around Birmingham and Manchester, including theCross-City Line in the Birmingham area and services to the newManchester Airport station.
| Class | Image | Quantity | Formation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotive-hauled stock | ||||
| Class 31 |  | Diesel locomotive | ||
| Class 37 | .jpg) | |||
| Class 47 | .jpg) | |||
| Mark 1 |  | Coach | ||
| Mark 2 |  | |||
| Mark 3 | .jpg) | |||
| Diesel multiple units | ||||
| Class 101 | .jpg) | 35 | 2, 3 or 4 | |
| Class 117 |  | 3 | 3 | |
| Class 121 |  | 26 | 1 | |
| Class 122 | 29 | |||
| Class 142 Pacer |  | 96 | 2 | 60 units scrapped, 31 units preserved, 4 units converted for off-railway use |
| Class 143 Pacer |  | 25 | 11 units preserved, 12 units scrapped, 2 units converted to non-railway use. | |
| Class 150 Sprinter | | 137 | 2 or 3 | 12 unitsequiv. scrapped, 1 unit preserved[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] |
| Class 151 Sprinter |  | 2 | 3 | Both scrapped |
| Class 153 Sprinter | _(cropped).jpg) | 70 | 1 | 12 units scrapped, 2 units converted to non-railway use, 1 unit preserved, 3 units converted to non-passenger use.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] |
| Class 154 Sprinter |  | 1 | 2 | A converted Class 150, later converted back. |
| Class 155 Super Sprinter |  | 47 | ||
| Class 156 Super Sprinter |  | 114 | ||
| Class 158 Express Sprinter | .jpg) | 182 | 2 or 3 | |
| Electric multiple units | ||||
| Class 304 | .jpg) | 45 | 4 | All scrapped |
| Class 305 | .jpg) | 3 or 4 | ||
| Class 323 |  | 43 | 3 | |
Initially, many vehicles carried standardBritish Rail blue livery.
From 1986, Provincial adopted a version of the prototype Class 150 livery: aircraft blue over white, with a light blue stripe at waist level. All new units, plus a few existing ones, such as selectedClass 304 EMUs, received it.[29] Some units and coaches received the livery with eitherScotRail orRegional Railways branding.[30] In the North West, the light blue stripe was replaced with a mid-green one onClass 156 refurbishments from 1995 to 1998.[31]
The Class 158s, introduced in 1989, appeared inExpress livery: dark grey window surrounds over light grey, with light and dark blue stripes at waist level.[32] Later,Alphaline would replace theExpress wording; this colour scheme was also applied to some Class 156 units around privatisation.[32]
The Class 323 EMUs introduced in 1994 appeared inWest Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE)Centro livery for its units[33] andGreater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) livery for Manchester-based sets.[34]
After privatisation, many vehicles continued to carry the basic Regional Railways colour scheme, but with the addition of different branding, e.g.Central Trains.[32]
The final British railway vehicle to carry Regional Railways livery was aClass 153, which was repainted in July 2008 intoEast Midlands Trains' colours.[35]
As part of the process of privatisation between 1994 and 1997, Regional Railways was split into several different shadow train operating units, which later became independenttrain operating companies:[36]
| Train Operating Unit | Routes |
|---|---|
| Anglia Railways | Routes in East Anglia (combined with InterCity services in the region) |
| Valley Lines | Urban 'Valley Lines' services around Cardiff, previously integrated within the South Wales and West divisions |
| Central Trains | Regional Railways' Central division, minus the services transferred to Anglia Railways and the Oxford to Worcester service. Covered the Midlands of England and mid-Wales |
| Arriva Trains Merseyside | The network of electrified routes centred on Liverpool |
| First North Western | Routes in North West England and in North Wales |
| Arriva Trains Northern | Routes in the North East of England. |
| ScotRail (National Express) | The vast majority of services within Scotland |
| Wales & West | A wide network of services centred on South Wales and South West England |
