First full run for tilting trains

The tilting technology promises a faster ride

Virgin's new high-speed tilting trains are finally coming into passenger service on the West Coast Main Line.

The Virgin Pendolino should cut journey times between London and Glasgow by about half an hour.

However, the trains will only tilt and reach their top speed of 125mph south of Crewe because the line between there and Glasgow still needs upgrading.

The £7.6bn project, which has caused disruption to millions of passengers, is due for completion by 2008/2009.

From Monday, the new timetable between London and Manchester will see a journey of just over two hours - a reduction of 35 minutes - while 20 minutes will be taken off the trip from London to Birmingham.

Network Rail chairman Ian McAllister said: "This is a significant achievement and marks a massive step forward in the continuing modernisation of the West Coast Main Line.

FACTS ABOUT TILTING TRAINS British Rail tried and failed to launch tilting trains in the 1980s The first Pendolino train was launched in July 2002 The trains were originally forced to run in non-tilt mode Features on the trains include video and audio entertainment Virgin Trains claim journey times will soon be cut by 25% Travelling at full tilt APT - The lean machine

"Passengers along the route have been incredibly patient as we've practically ripped up the route and rebuilt it, but the benefits are considerable with faster, more frequent services."

He added: "I would like to thank the thousands of railway people who have made this achievement possible. We will now continue our work to prepare the route for the next stages of the upgrade project."

The upgrade between London Euston and Manchester started in May 2003 and involved about 9,000 people working a total of 24 million hours.

Some 460 points have been installed on the completed section as well as 600 miles of overhead wiring and more than 1.1 million tonnes of ballast.

'In tilt'

The first stretch of track that allowed for 125mph trains running "in tilt" was completed in December last year between Rugby and Atherstone in Warwickshire.

New platforms have been built at Birmingham New Street station and Wolverhampton to help increase capacity. Platform extensions have also been completed south of Northampton.

The West Coast Main Line was built in the 1830s and has developed into the UK's busiest mixed-use rail route and now serves about 75 million people each year.

It handles more than 2,000 trains each day, including 43% of the country's freight traffic.