#4112· APT-E
British Rail APT-E
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by British Rail Research Division· from 1972· prototype Advanced Passenger Train tilting train unit
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. ATP-E IN YARD: Dave coxon at English Wikipedia· Public domain
what is it?
The APT-E, for Advanced Passenger Train Experimental, was the prototype Advanced Passenger Train tilting train unit. It was powered by gas turbines, the only multiple unit so powered that was used by British Rail. The APT-E consisted of two driving power cars (PC1 and 2) and two trailer cars (TC1 and 2).
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 54 years ago, in 1972.
- Top speed is 1.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 10 minutes.
- Served for 4 years (1972–1976).
high-speed train: Built for 200–350 km/h on dedicated lines, like the TGV, ICE or Shinkansen.
spec sheet
- built
- 1972
- in service from
- 1972
- retired
- 1976
- status
- retired
- number built
- 1
- kind
- high-speed train
- traction
- gas turbine
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- British Rail Research Division
- operators
- British Rail
- top speed
- 251 km/h
- power
- —
- formation
- 4 cars
- Dutch name
- APT-E
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q3303968, Wikipedia: British Rail APT-E (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.