High-speed rail in the United Kingdom

Operational high-speed lines in the UK:
  140–186 mph (225–300 km/h)
  125 mph (200 km/h)
  <110 mph (180 km/h)

High-speed rail in the United Kingdom is provided on five upgraded railway lines running at top speeds of 125 mph (200 km/h) and one purpose-built high-speed line reaching 186 mph (300 km/h).

Trains currently travel at 125 mph (200 km/h) on the East Coast Main Line, Great Western Main Line, Midland Main Line, parts of the Cross Country Route, and the West Coast Main Line. On the latter line, only tilting trains can reach this maximum speed due to the difficult track geometry.

The 67 miles (108 km) long High Speed 1 (HS1) line connects London to the Channel Tunnel, with international Eurostar services running from London St Pancras International to cities in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands at 186 mph (300 km/h).[1] The line is also used by high-speed commuter services from Kent to the capital, operating at top speeds of 140 mph (225 km/h).

Beginning in 2019, construction had been ongoing on a major new purpose-built high-speed rail line, High Speed 2 (HS2) which would link London with major cities in the North and the Midlands at 224 mph (360 km/h) and reduce journey times to Scotland.[2] Government-backed plans to provide east–west high-speed services between cities in the North of England are also in development, as part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail project.[3] In addition to these plans, the East Coast Main Line is currently in the process of an upgrade to cab signalling, which will allow trains to run at 140 mph (225 km/h) on some parts of the east coast line, and the Transpennine Route Upgrade aims to increase the speed of the Leeds-Manchester railway to 125 mph (200 km/h).

There has been no single national rail operator in the UK since British Rail was privatised in the 1990s. High-speed services are provided by Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Eurostar, Grand Central, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, London North Eastern Railway, Lumo, Southeastern and TransPennine Express.

  1. ^ "About Us – High Speed 1". Archived from the original on 11 June 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  2. ^ "All stations to regeneration? Work on HS2 begins in earnest". TheGuardian.com. 19 January 2019. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Northern Powerhouse Rail". Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.