Motorail (British Rail)

Motorail

Logo from 1966 to 1995.
A Motorail service to Scotland at Carlisle in 1988
Overview
Stations called at	28 (Not all were served in all years of operation.)
Parent company	British Rail
Dates of operation	1955 British Rail 1999 First Great Western–1995 British Rail 2005 First Great Western
Route map This diagram is a guide: not all destinations shown were served in all years of operation. Inverness Perth Fort William Aberdeen Stirling Edinburgh Waverley Scotland England border Carlisle York Newcastle Newton-le-Willows Sheffield Birmingham (Sutton Coldfield) Worcester Shrub Hill Fishguard Harbour for ferries to Ireland Swansea Cardiff Central Bristol Temple Meads Reading London (Kensington Olympia) St Austell Dover for ferries to France Newton Abbot Brockenhurst Totnes Exeter St Davids Penzance Plymouth

Motorail was the brand name for British Rail's long-distance services that carried passengers and their cars, ultimately part of the InterCity sector. It originated with the June 1955 introduction of the Car-Sleeper Limited between London and Perth. (Due to the enginemen's strike that summer the precise start date is uncertain.) The Motorail brand was introduced in 1966 with BR press releases and the opening of London Kensington Olympia terminal.

Routes

Motorail operated from London to many places including Penzance, Plymouth, Fishguard Harbour, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Perth, Inverness and Fort William. A short-lived service from London to Glasgow was introduced in the early 1990s.

The service was popular at a time when long distance travel by car involved long journey times, and additional services were introduced in 1972 between Stirling and Dover, London Kensington Olympia and Carmarthen and Birmingham and Inverness. An overnight service was also introduced between London Kensington and Carlisle to supplement the daytime service.

A variety of rolling stock, both open and enclosed, was used. Many routes were operated with overnight sleeper services. The open double deck Cartic 4 was first used on a Kensington Olympia to Perth Motorail on 22 June 1966. and last used in 1978.

Withdrawal

Usage on many routes had declined by the early 1990s. In 1989 the London to Stirling service was discontinued. The services operated at a significant loss and the service ceased in 1995 when British Rail was privatised.

First Great Western relaunched a service from London Paddington to Penzance as part of its Night Riviera overnight sleeper service in September 1999, with eight converted General Utility Vans but withdrew it at the end of summer 2005.

Gallery

• 
  Night Riviera Motorail van NVA at Penzance in August 2003
• 
  Motorail ended in summer 2005; there were still signs for it at Paddington in April 2006.
• 
  The former Motorail terminal at Kensington Olympia, in 2009. Since Motorail services here ceased, the building has been designated "Olympia Motorail Car Park P4".

See also

• Accompanied car train
• Auto-Train, a similar service in the United States