page_title: British Rail Class 91
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: British Rail Class 91 / History
caption_attribution_description: 91115 operating flat-end first at Kings Cross. Class 91s have this asymmetric design so they can operate as normal locomotives, however they do not normally operate flat-end first because they are limited to 110 mph when operated this way.
context_page_description: The British Rail Class 91 is a class of high-speed, 4,830 kW electric locomotive ordered as a component of the East Coast Main Line modernisation and electrification programme of the late 1980s. The Class 91s were given the auxiliary name of InterCity 225 to indicate their envisaged top speed of 225 km/h; they were also referred to as Electras by British Rail during their development and throughout the electrification of the East Coast Main Line. The other end of the InterCity 225 train set is formed of a Mark 4 Driving Van Trailer, built with a similar body shell to the Class 91 locomotives. The locomotive body shells are of all-steel construction. Unusually, the motors are body mounted and drive bogie-mounted gearboxes via cardan shafts. This reduces the unsprung mass and hence track wear at high speeds. The locomotive also features an underslung transformer, so that the body is relatively empty compared to contemporary electric locomotives. Much of the engineering specification for the locomotive was derived from the research and operational experience of the APT-P.
context_section_description: In 1985, ASEA, Brush and GEC Transportation Projects  tendered for the design and construction of the Class 91s. GEC subsequently won the bid and the fleet was built by sub-contractors British Rail Engineering Limited's Crewe Works between 1988 and 1991.
  The Class 91s began passenger service on 3 March 1989, when 91001 worked 1P26 17.36 London Kings Cross to Peterborough train. This train was formed of InterCity 125 Mark 3 coaches and a Class 43 power car, which had been converted for use as a DVT as the Mark 4 coaches were not then ready. The Class 91s then began service on King's Cross to Leeds trains on 11 March 1989, when 91008 with a rake of Intercity 125 Mark 3 coaches and power car 43068 worked the 1D32 06:50 Kings Cross to Leeds service. The set then worked 1A12, the 10:00 Leeds to London Kings Cross service.
  In the early 1990s, after the cancellation of InterCity 250, British Rail examined the option of ordering a further set of ten Class 91s to operate on the West Coast Main Line with UK Treasury support, however the business case for these failed to prove sufficiently worthwhile  and led to the electric Networker Classes 365, 465 and 466 EMU Networker stock's procurement being taken forward.
  The asymmetric body style is streamlined at one end to allow high-speed operation, with the fixed sets of Mark 4 coaches in normal push-pull passenger operation. An additional requirement of the design was that they could operate as normal locomotives. This led to a second cab being incorporated into the unstreamlined 'blunt end'. Operating with the blunt end first limits the maximum speed of the locomotive to 110 mph (180 km/h), due to the aerodynamics of the pantograph's knuckle creating excessive uplift force on the OLE.
  Since privatisation, the fleet has been owned by Eversholt Rail Group who lease it to the operators. Between 2000 and 2003, the whole fleet underwent a refit (Project Delta) to improve reliability. The Class 91 units were refurbished at Bombardier Transportation at its Doncaster Works. This has resulted in the renumbering of the fleet from 910xx to 911xx. During this time, GNER hired in Class 90 locomotives to provide cover.
caption: 91115 running blunt-end first at London King's Cross
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