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Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) was owned by Sea Containers Group.

GNER operated the InterCity East Coast franchise from 1996 to 8th December 2007, running trains from London King's Cross to Yorkshire and Scotland.

• Trains running north beyond Edinburgh served Glasgow Central (via Carstairs, 8 trains a day), Aberdeen (4 trains a day) and Inverness (1 train a day).

• GNER's first term franchise started on 28 April 1996 for seven years, later extended another 2 years to April 2005. GNER won a second term, starting 1st May 2005 for seven years with a further three years if specified performance targets are met. However, GNER found that terms of new franchise it had agreed were unsustainable, and combined with the financial difficulties of its parent group, led to the franchise being terminated early.
• The East Coast franchise was transferred to National Express East Coast on 9th December 2007.

• The GNER livery of navy blue with red waist stripe first appeared on a train in October 1996 with an official launch of the Great North Eastern Railway brand in January 1997.
• The GNER livery was tweaked a few times. The initial repaints had gold GNER logos, but in 1997 this changed to silver-white logos. By 1998 gold was back in favour. Towards the end of 2003, passenger doors began to painted red to comply with accessibility regulations.

• GNER operated Craigentinny depot in Edinburgh, and Aberdeen Clayhills.
• GNER was the station operator for a number of stations in the East Coast Main Line, including Dunbar (it's only one in Scotland).
• GNER also refurbished the travel centre and opened a new first class lounge at Edinburgh Waverley.
• During the later years of its first term, GNER extended its HSTs from 8 to 9 coaches (from December 2003) including a wheelchair accessible toilet , improved the buffet cars on the HSTs, started the "Mallard" refurbishment of the IC225 Mk.4 trains and introduced Wireless Internet - (WiFi) on its trains.

• The first Mk.4 refurbished Mallard train entered service on 28th October 2003, and the last of the 30 trains in November 2005. Internally these had completely new Primarius seating (with dark blue or grey seat covers), one of two toilets per coach was removed to extend the saloon. The Kitchen-Buffet coach was reconfigured from first class seating to have a bar area and standard class seating. All sets now had three whole first class carriages. Externally the passenger doors were painted all red.

• An HST refurbishment scheme was started by GNER, bringing the interiors up to the same standard as the "Mallard" trains. The first refurbished HST (set EC61) entered service in March 2007. Four had been completed before the end of the GNER.
• Class 43 HST Power-car refurbishment including replacement of the original Paxman Valenta engines with new MTU engines, plus cab improvements and other upgrades. The refurbished power-cars had 200 added to the number. The first, 43300, entered service in December 2006.

• The Class 91 fleet was given a mid-life refurbishment and renumbered from Class 91/0 to Class 91/1. The first to appear was 91127 (newly named 'Edinburgh Castle') in January 2001. The final loco completed was 91124 'Reverend W Awdry' handed over in April 2003.

GNER rolling Stock

• Electric Class 91 and Mk4 push-pull trains
• Diesel High Speed Trains (HSTs)
• Class 67 locos hired from DB Schenker to act as "Thunderbirds" (replacing Class 47s in May 2003).
• Class 08 shunting locos for use at Craigentinny Depot.

GNER Class 43 fleet (December 2007)

Original no.	New no.	Engine	Name	Admitted	Released	In service
43006	(43206)	MTU	Kingdom of Fife	24th October 2007
43008	43208	MTU	City of Aberdeen	17th July 2007	1st October 2007	20th October 2007
43038	43238	MTU	City of Dundee	28th June 2007	29th August 2007	1st October 2007
43039		Valenta	The Royal Dragoon Guards
43051		Valenta
43053		Valenta
43056		Valenta
43057		Valenta
43077		Valenta
(43090)	43290	MTU	MTU fascination of power	23rd March 2006	15th December 2006	27th December 2006
43095		Valenta	Perth
43096	43296	MTU	Stirling Castle	15th May 2007	17th July 2007	21st July 2007
43099		Valenta
(43100)	43300	MTU	Craigentinny	23rd March 2006	1st December 2006	7th December 2006
43102		Valenta	Diocese of Newcastle
43105		Valenta	City of Inverness
43106	43306	MTU	Fountains Abbey	9th January 2007	12th March 2007	3rd May 2007
43107		Valenta	Tayside
43108		Valenta	Old Course St. Andrews
43109	43309	MTU	Leeds International Film Festival	24th April 2007	28th June 2007	3rd July 2007
43110		Valenta	Stirlingshire
43111		Valenta	Scone Palace
43112		Valenta	Doncaster
43113	43313	MTU	The Highlands	1st October 2007	30th November 2007	XX? December 2007
43114	43314	MTU	East Riding of Yorkshire	30th November 2006	16th February 2007	21st February 2007
43115	43315	MTU	Aberdeenshire	30th November 2007
43116	43316	MTU	The Black Dyke Band	29th August 2007	30th October 2007	31st October 2007
43117		Valenta	Bonnie Prince Charlie
43118	43318	MTU	City of Kingston upon Hull	12th March 2007	15th May 2007	30th May 2007
43119		Valenta	Harrogate Spa
43120	43320	MTU	National Galleries of Scotland	23rd October 2006	9th January 2007	11th January 2007
43167	43367	MTU	Deltic 50 1955 - 2005	15th February 2007	24th April 2007	2nd May 2007

Bodyside adverts:

• 43051: Tutankhamun.
• 43099: WiFi is here.
• 43290: Leeds/London.
• 43039, 43367: Online booking.
• 43116, 43120: London 2012

• Names were gold lettering on the blue bodyside.
• 43290, 43300 & 43167/43367 had cast metal name plates towards the non-cab end.
• 43096 also carried the name "The Great Racer" (with red lettering) from May 1997 to December 2000, at the time the only one in the HST fleet with a name.

• The original HST fleet at the start of the franchise in 1996 was 21 power-cars (43038/39/95/96, 105-120/167) and nine 8-coach trailer sets (later known as EC51-EC59) leased from owner Angel Trains.
• 43006 & 43008 plus a trailer set (EC60, Angel Trains owned) transferred from Virgin West Coast in January 2003.
• Porterbrook owned HST sets were added to the fleet from 2004.
• Buffer fitted 43067 & 43080 were part of the GNER fleet from July 2004 until April/May 2005.
• 43099 & 43102 moved permanently to GNER in July 2004
• 43078 & 43197 were with GNER from September 2004 to November 2005 & April 2006 respectively.
• 43090 & 43100 went straight to Brush for MTU engines in 2006.

• 43051/053/056/057/077 formerly with Midland Mainline moved to GNER in the first quarter of 2007. (43053 & 43056 would later leave the fleet when MTU programme was complete.)

HST Trailer sets in 2007.

Set	Owner	B (TGS)	C (TS)	D (TS)	E (TS)	F (TS-D)	G (TS)	J (TRFB)	L (TF)	M (TF)
EC51	A	44094	42154	42150	42146	42091	42215	40748	41150	41120
EC52 M	A	44019	42059	42058	42057	42189	42323	40735	41040	41039
EC53	A	44045	42065	42064	42063	42127	42340	40737	41044	41159
EC54	A	44056	42219	42172	42171	42161	42104	40706	41088	41087
EC55 M	A	44058	42106	42181	42180	42188	42179	40704	41092	41091
EC56	A	44098	42244	42243	42242	42363	42241	40720	41118	41170
EC57	A	44080	42190	42186	42182	42128	42226	40740	41152	41151
EC58 M	A	44061	42193	42192	42191	42238	42158	40750	41098	41097
EC59	A	44063	42199	42198	42240	42239	42235	40711	41100	41099
EC60	A	44031	42355	42134	42357	42116	42122	40742	41164	41066
EC61 M	P	44057	42110	42109	42160	42159	42117	40805	41165	41115
EC62	P	44075	42307	42237	42330	42326	42306	40811	41095	41185
EC63	P	44050	42286	42228	42165	42164	42163	40708	41083	41080
EC64	P	44083	42352	42294	42147	42102	42101	40701	41153	41058
Spares	A	44077	42354					40705	41090
Spares	P							40804
.
EC61 $	P	44055	42117	42169	42168	42167	42103	40811	41167	41085

• M after set number indicates 'Mallard' refurbishment by December 2007.
• EC61 $: Former Virgin XC set in service from August 2004, most vehicles off-lease by end of 2005 (after completion of Mk.4 refurbishment).
• EC61 M: The first HST 'Mallard' refurbished set in service March 2007, (ex VXC).
• EC62 consisted of 'refreshed' ex-Midland Mainline 'Operation RIO' stock. In service from 2005.
• EC63 & EC64 were ex-Midland Mainline sets transferred in for May 2007. (EC64 went off-lease in December 2008).
• TF 41043 was written off in a shunting accident at Neville Hill 10/09/2005.
• TF 41153 joined the GNER fleet late in 2005, initially ran in MML white & blue livery. In GNER livery by July 2007.

GNER Class 91 fleet

91101	City of London
91102	Durham Cathedral
91103	County of Lincolnshire
91104	Grantham
91105	County Durham
91106	East Lothian
91107	Newark on Trent
91108	City of Leeds
91109	Samaritans
91110	David Livingstone	Named for the famous explorer
91111	Terence Cuneo	Named for the railway artist
91112	County of Cambridgeshire
91113	County of North Yorkshire
91114	St Mungo Cathedral	Named for the cathedral in Glasgow
91115	Holyrood
91116	Strathclyde
91117	Cancer Research UK
91118	Bradford Film Festival
91119	County of Tyne and Wear
91120	Royal Armouries
91121	Archbishop Thomas Cranmer
91122	Tam the Gun	Named for the gunner of the One o'clock gun
91124	Reverend W Audry	Named for the author of Thomas the Tank Engine
91125	Berwick upon Tweed
91126	York Minster
91127	Edinburgh Castle
91128	Peterborough Cathedral
91129	Queen Elizabeth II
91130	City of Newcastle
91131	County of Northumberland
91132	City of Durham	Originally numbered 91023

DVT - Driving Van Trailer

A few had vinyl names and advertising applied in the later years of the franchise

• 82219 named Duke of Edinburgh (from October 2003,the 1st Mallard set)
• 82217 Off to the Races
• 82218 International Indian Film Academy Awards (from June 2007)
• 82224 Passionate People Passionate Places

Named Trains

• The Flying Scotsman: 1S11 1000 London KX - Edinburgh, 1E15 1200 Glasgow C. - London KX
• The Northern Lights: 1S12 1030 London KX - Aberdeen, 1E10 0955 Aberdeen - London KX
• The Highland Chieftain: 1S15 1200 London KX - Inverness, 1E12 0755 Inverness - London KX

See Also

External Links

• GNER website (Web archive, September 2007)
• GNER Press Release: New Management Agreement, December 2006
• DfT: Intercity East Coast franchise
• Great North Eastern Railway - Wikipedia