#5310
New Measurement Train
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by British Rail Engineering Limited· from 2003· specialised train which operates in the United Kingdom
_at_Shipley_Station_P2.jpg)
4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Tamworth railway station MMB 27 43062: mattbuck ( category )· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. New Measurement train , Danesmoor: Phil Sangwell from United Kingdom· CC BY 2.0
- 3. New Measurement train Danesmoor: Phil Sangwell· CC BY 2.0
- 4. The New Measurement Train (HST) at Shipley Station P2: Jacobs-transport· CC0
what is it?
The New Measurement Train (NMT), nicknamed the Flying Banana, is a specialised train which operates in the United Kingdom to assess the condition of track so that engineers can determine where to work. It is a specially converted InterCity 125, consisting of two Class 43 power cars and five or six Mark 3 carriages. It can check the condition of most main lines and some secondary routes operating on a four weekly cycle.
who runs it
base stats
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 23 years ago, in 2003.
- 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 23 years.
carriage / wagon: Unpowered passenger coaches or freight wagons, pulled by a locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 2003
- in service from
- 2003
- status
- in service
- number built
- 1
- kind
- carriage / wagon
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- British Rail Engineering Limited
- operators
- Network Rail
- top speed
- 201 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- formation
- 2 Class 43 power cars, 5 Mark 3
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q3304126, Wikipedia: New Measurement Train (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.