The Age of the Train2012

Peter Snow - Broadcaster:
We owe it to the 125 for rescuing British Rail from near destruction and near collapse in the early 70s and mid 70s. And I think if it hadn't been for the 125 we'd be in terrible trouble.

Roger Ford - Railway Writer:
I think it's a train whose time is still coming. It was originally a stop-gap with perhaps a thirty-year life, but it's been re-engineered with new engines and the coaches have been modernised.

Peter Snow - Broadcaster:
The scale of the improvement in rail passengers over the past ten or fifteen years has been extraordinary, and I think a lot of that is due to the 125 catching the public imagination.

Narrator:
More than eighty of the trains are still in service. Rail engineers now say the Intercity 125 is capable of running until 2035.

Kenneth Grange - Designer:
If I'd been asked to guess how long it would last, I would *never* have guessed as long as it has. And so I'm thrilled to bits that it's still out there holding its own, and it will see a few more liveries and a few more owners, I expect. I only regret not having one! I've got one of most of everything else I designed, but I don't have a train!