Retirement of our HST's
We understand the retirement of our remaining High Speed Trains from passenger service in May is an important milestone and one which everyone at EMR is determined to recognise.
However, we are also living in unprecedented times and our absolute priority must always be to protect the safety of our colleagues and our customers and operate within the Government's restrictions to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
In marking the retirement of our HST’s we must balance both of these considerations.
As shown below, we are taking the opportunity to mark this occasion. We have renumbered the historic 43102 and reintroduced the Swallow livery as well as introducing the first (and only) EMR power car. There is much more to come and in the coming weeks we will be unveiling more ways to mark this occasion and providing opportunities for our passengers, partners and fans to get involved too.
However, we will not be advertising the final HST in passenger service.
Our HST's remain in passenger service up until the introduction of our new timetable. We are sure all of you will take the opportunity to ride on these iconic trains in the weeks to come.
Watch the team at Neville Hill depot as they pay homage to this well-loved ‘HST era’ as they welcomed back power car 43102, the famous World Speed Record holder for Rail Diesel Traction, in its Intercity Swallow livery.
The team at Neville Hill depot mark the occasion by re-livering a power car in our EMR brand colours. The 43274 is the first (and only) unique purple HST to enter service on the Midland Main Line.
Mark the retirement of the Intercity 125 safely
Help us send our HSTs off in style by playing your part to keep everyone safe.
Use the train doors and windows safely.
If you travel onboard one of our HSTs between now and their retirement remember that train door windows should remain closed at all times while the train is in motion. Only open the train door windows when it has come to a stop at a station platform.
Leaning out the windows of moving trains can cause serious injury or death. Anybody caught disregarding these rules may be removed from the train.
Take photos responsibly
We get it, our HSTs are photogenic and we love seeing your snaps of the great work our team at Neville Hill have done on our celebrity power cars. Remember if you are taking photographs at a station to be mindful of other people around you and follow these simple rules:
- Stay clear of the platform edge and behind the yellow lines where they are provided for safety reasons.
- Do not trespass onto any area of the railway that is not available to passengers.
- Do not climb on any structure or interfere with platform equipment.
- Ensure that you do not obstruct any signalling equipment or signs which are vital to the safe running of the railways.
- Avoid wearing anything which is similar in colour to safety clothing, such as high -visibility jackets, as this could cause confusion to drivers or other railway employees.
- Avoid congregating at busy areas of the platform (e.g. customer information points, departure screens, waiting areas, seating etc.) or where this may interfere with the duties of station staff.
Travelling close to the HST's retirement date.
As we get closer to the final day in service our HST services might get busier than usual. We are still in the midst of a pandemic so we need to monitor overcrowding closely. In some instances, boarding controls may be in place at the station meaning not everyone who would like to board a certain service will be able to, even if you have a ticket for a specific service. Please keep this in mind when making your travel arrangements and be prepared to respect our team's decision to deny boarding if we deem it necessary.
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