Motorail (British Rail)


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. 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.
Not highlighted are the earlier services from Glasgow, St Enoch to London and the South Coast, in the 1960's. The cars were conveyed in covered vans and passengers coaches at the front of the train, similar to the one from Waverley with ‘Anglo Scottish Car Carrier’ emblazoned over the specially built vans. I travelled from Glasgow to the South coast overnight, took the cross channel ferry, boarded the French equivalent and thus reached the French Riviera, with a car in 36 hours from Glasgow having driven 40 miles!
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.

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