page_title: Brighton Belle
section_title: Restoration
hierarchical_section_title: Brighton Belle / Restoration
caption_attribution_description: English: Driving Cars 88 and 91 are coupled together for the first time ever after the arrival of the latter car for restoration at specialists Rampart of Derby.
context_page_description: The Brighton Belle was a named train which was operated by the Southern Railway and subsequently by British Rail from Victoria Station in London to Brighton, on the Sussex coast. Commissioned as the flagship of the Southern Railway's mass electrification project, which commenced in January 1931, the world's only electric all-Pullman service ran daily between London Victoria and Brighton from 1 January 1933 until 30 April 1972.
context_section_description: A campaign to return the Brighton Belle to mainline service was launched by the 5-BEL Trust in 2009. The trustees had been concerned for some time about the worrying state of electric train preservation in Britain and wanted to raise the profile of the issue and to deal with the issues of financial support and covered accommodation. The project was launched at the National Railway Museum following the acquisition of two of the surviving 14 cars; by early 2009 four out of the five cars needed to form a complete unit had been acquired and the trust had set in place agreements to cover refurbishment of the cars, which began at Pullman restoration specialists Rampart Engineering at the Barrow Hill Engine Shed in February 2009.
  When the 5-BEL project is completed, it will be returned to mainline service. Despite the high cost of the restoration (approaching £6 million) the programme is seen as an investment for future generations. Progress with the restoration of the Brighton Belle to mainline use will depend in part on the level of public donations. This is the first time that a complete train will have been restored in Britain. A short train of three cars will undergo mainline proving trials in the near future, with mainline excursions with a four car unit commencing upon testing success. The latest expectation is for testing on the rails in spring 2020 so that charter and public runs might commence a few months after.
caption: Driving Cars 88 and 91 were coupled together for the very first time when the latter arrived at Rampart of Derby for restoration in September 2009.
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