Rate of HST withdrawal to increase in December

The number of withdrawn High Speed Trains will rise rapidly in December, as Great Western Railway and LNER remove sets from traffic.

They are likely to join sets already stored at various locations such as Ely Potters Group and Long Marston.

Porterbrook has already confirmed plans to scrap HSTs. Angel Trains is still looking for potential uses for the vehicles, some of which have been stored for almost a year.

Currently stored at Ely are 43017/024/025, 43165/174/ 185/190 (owned by AT), while 43053/056/069/070/078/079/ 087/091, 43159/193/197 are stored at Long Marston (owned by Porterbrook).

43018 is at Haymarket for component recovery, while 43195 is at Laira for the same purpose having been damaged in an accident at Plymouth on January 1 2018. Ownership has transferred to FirstGroup.

Two power cars (East Midlands Railway 43048/089) will be donated to the 125Group once they are retired from the main line. They will join 43002 Sir Kenneth Grange in preservation, with the latter now part of the National Collection at York.

Four power cars (43088, 43156/160/162) have also been purchased by FirstGroup - initially for component recovery, although they have also been used to cover for unavailable ‘Castle’ sets with GWR not ruling out keeping them in traffic.

Due to be sent off-lease by GWR are 43009/010/020/022/ 023/027/029/063/071/086/091, 43159/161/171/172/180/191/196.

The EMR power cars with no current future are 43043-047/ 049/050/052/054/055/058-060/ 064/066/073/076/081-083.

The Angel Trains power cars used by LNER are 43206/208/ 238/239/295/296, 43305-320/ 367. Many of these will transfer to EMR. Those that do not will likely be scrapped.

The only power cars previously scrapped have been 43173 (written off after the Southall crash in September 1997), 43011 (in 2002 having been written off following the Ladbroke Grove crash in October 1999), and

43019 (in July 2005 having been written off in the Ufton Nervet crash in November 2004).