InterCity 225

The InterCity 225 is the fastest domestic train in the United Kingdom, comprising of a class 91 electric locomotive, nine Mark IV coaches and a DVT (Driving Van Trailer). The class 91 locomotive was built by BREL at the Crewe works as a spin off from the failed APT (Advanced Passenger Train) programme during the 1980s.

The InterCity 225 entered service with British Rail on the East Coast Main Line in 1989. In 1996, after the privatisation of British Rail, the InterCity 225s were sold to HSBC Rail, who now lease them to GNER.

GNER and Bombardier have been carrying out a complete rebuilding and refurbishment programme for the Mark IV coaches, called Project Mallard since late 2003. Trains with these rebuilt coaches are known as Mallard sets, to distinguish them from unrefurbished 225s; the name echoes the Mallard steam locomotive, which was built in the 1930s by GNER's predecessor, the London and North Eastern Railway, and holds the world record for steam locomotives. Mallard sets are distinguished by their livery - coach doors are coloured GNER red, rather than the unmodified blue of the unmodified coaches. Within, the coaches have slightly amended layouts of, for instance, toilets, buffet car and kiosk, wheelchair width doors, &c., and have new styles of seats and tables. Mallards also provide one mains power electrical socket per seat pair, are the first British trains to offer 802.11b Wireless LAN access to the internet, available free in first class and for circa £10 for three hours use in standard class. GNER's wireless internet connectivity was introduced in the closing months of 2004. As at the end of January 2005, some 100 of a fleet of circa 300 coaches had been transformed into Mallards.

The InterCity 225 is still one of the fastest passenger trains running in the UK, with a top speed of 140MPH although during a test run on Stoke Bank between Peterborough and Grantham an Intercity 225 reached 162MPH. The InterCity 225 is, however, only signalled to run at a top speed of 125MPH on the East Coast Main Line.