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#5249· Class 390

British Rail Class 390

🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Alstom· from 2002· type of electric high-speed train

🚄 high-speed train electric ✓ in service
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. 390 011 City of Lichfield Avanti Pendolino unit: kitmasterbloke· CC BY 2.0
  2. 2. 390rugeley: Vanmanyo· CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. 3. Half of a Class 390 in new livery: Alex S. Transport Photography· CC BY 2.0
  4. 4. Avanti Class 390 Passing Liverpool South Parkway: Finn315· CC BY 4.0
  5. 5. Class 390 Passing Crewe (8920926748): Jim· CC BY 2.0
  6. 6. Class390-Window-P1280255 (24591445043): citytransportinfo· CC0
  7. 7. Virgin Trains - British Rail Class 390 Pendolino (Ank Kumar) 01: Ank Kumar· CC BY-SA 4.0
  8. 8. Virgin Trains - British Rail Class 390 Pendolino (Ank Kumar) 02: Ank Kumar· CC BY-SA 4.0
  9. 9. Hugh llewelyn 57 307 (5582407984): Hugh Llewelyn· CC BY-SA 2.0
  10. 10. 17221 57308 with Pendo (7296232064): penske666 from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland· CC BY-SA 2.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
British Rail Class 390, photo 1 of 10
1/10 kitmasterbloke· CC BY 2.0

what is it?

The British Rail Class 390 Pendolino is a type of electric high-speed passenger train operated by Avanti West Coast in Great Britain, leased from Angel Trains. They are electric multiple units, using Fiat Ferroviaria's tilting train Pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three eight-car units were originally built between 2001 and 2005 for operation on the West Coast Main Line (WCML).

who runs it

Virgin TrainsAvanti West Coast

base stats

  • speed 201 km/htop speed
  • built 57made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

  • First built 24 years ago, in 2002.
  • Top speed is 1.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 12 minutes.
  • Still in service after 24 years.

high-speed train: Built for 200–350 km/h on dedicated lines, like the TGV, ICE or Shinkansen.

spec sheet

built
2002
in service from
2002
status
in service
number built
57
kind
Electric multiple unit
traction
electric
origin
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
builders
Alstom, Fiat Ferroviaria
operators
Virgin Trains, Avanti West Coast
top speed
201 km/h
power
—
Dutch name
Class 390

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q681896, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 390 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.

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