Avanti West Coast record attempt fails… by 21 seconds!
AN ATTEMPT by an Avanti West Coast (AWC) Pendolino to beat a record for the fastest journey time from London to Glasgow, set by an Advanced Passenger Train (APT) in 1984, failed by the narrowest of margins on June 17.
The event, sponsored by our sister title The Railway Magazine and organised by AWC in collaboration with Network Rail, saw 390044, newly named Royal Scot, complete the non-stop journey in three hours, 53 minutes and one second, failing to beat the 37-year-old record breaking journey by just 21 seconds.
The nine-coach train achieved an average of 103mph for the journey, which was operated to raise funds for the Action for Children and Railway Benefit Fund charities. Speaking at the end of the record attempt AWC managing director, Phil Whittingham, said: “While we’re disappointed we’ve not broken the record today, we are proud to have worked with industry partners to showcase the vital role rail can play in enabling cleaner, greener travel and connectivity across the United Kingdom.”
The ill-fated APT was plagued with problems throughout its development and two of the three trains were scrapped, with the other set now preserved at Crewe Heritage Centre.