British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was the rolling stock manufacturing and maintenance subsidiary of British Rail, formed on 1 January 1970 and headquartered in Derby, England. It operated fourteen rolling stock maintenance centres and provided construction, maintenance and repair services across Britain's railway network. BREL built major British rail vehicles including the InterCity 125 High Speed Train, Mark 3 carriages and Class 58 freight locomotives, and exported rolling stock to countries such as Ireland, Kenya, Taiwan, Sweden and Malaysia. Through the 1980s the company underwent repeated restructuring, closing major works at Ashford in 1981, Shildon in 1984 and Swindon in 1986. BREL was privatised in 1989 through a management buyout involving Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) and Trafalgar House, and in September 1992 ABB became sole shareholder, after which the company was subsumed into ABB Transportation.
Facts
Founded Year Ownership HistoryPurchased by the Swiss-Swedish conglomerate ABB after preparation for privatisation 2 Connections
Has Vehicles
Source British Rail Engineering Limited (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Engineering Limited (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Engineering Limited (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Engineering Limited (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 144 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 150 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 158 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 159 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 165 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 210 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 313 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 314 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 315 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 317 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 318 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 319 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 320 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 321 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 322 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 43 (HST) (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 442 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 455 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 456 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 465 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 507 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 508 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 56 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 58 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 87 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 89 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 90 (Wikipedia)
Source British Rail Class 91, Wikipedia
Source British Rail Mark 3 (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: InterCity 125
Source NIR 80 Class (Wikipedia)
Source Taiwan Railway EMU100 series (Wikipedia)
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Sources
1. British Rail Engineering Limited (Wikipedia)
History
BREL was established by the British Railways Board on 1 January 1970 to take over the management of its 14 rolling stock maintenance centres
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 140, Lead, BREL prototypes
BREL also built numerous prototype rail vehicles, such as the Class 140 and Class 210 DEMUs
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 141, History, Pacer family
The Sprinter and Pacer families of diesel multiple-units (DMUs) were also manufactured with an emphasis on collaboration and competitive forces.
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 142, History, Pacer family
The Sprinter and Pacer families of diesel multiple-units (DMUs) were also manufactured with an emphasis on collaboration and competitive forces.
Has Vehicles: Advanced Passenger Train, Builder
BREL also built numerous prototype rail vehicles, such as the Class 140 and Class 210 DEMUs and the experimental high-speed Advanced Passenger Train (APT) tilting train.
In Group: Locomotive and Rolling Stock Manufacturers, Lead sentence
British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was the rolling stock manufacturing and maintenance subsidiary of British Rail.
Part Of: Rail Transport, Lead sentence
British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was the rolling stock manufacturing and maintenance subsidiary of British Rail.
View the Source2. British Rail Engineering Limited | Science Museum Group Collection
Company historyQuote, Company history
The following year it was purchased by the Swiss-Swedish conglomerate ABB.
British Rail Mark 3 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Mark 3, Infobox: manufacturerQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Mark 3, Infobox: manufacturer
British Rail Engineering Limited
Wikipedia: InterCity 125
WikipediaHas Vehicles: InterCity 125, LeadQuote, Has Vehicles: InterCity 125, Lead
The InterCity 125 (originally Inter-City 125) or High Speed Train (HST) is a diesel-powered high-speed passenger train built by British Rail Engineering Limited between 1975 and 1982.
British Rail Class 90 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 90, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 90, Lead, builder
the type was manufactured by BREL at Crewe Works between 1987 and 1990
British Rail Class 150 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 150, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 150, Lead, builder
they were developed and built by British Rail Engineering Limited at York Carriage Works between 1984 and 1987
British Rail Class 87 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 87, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 87, Lead, builder
is a type of electric locomotive designed and built by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) between 1973 and 1975
British Rail Class 313 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 313, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 313, Lead, builder
Built by British Rail Engineering Limited at Holgate Road carriage works between February 1976 and April 1977
British Rail Class 314 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 314, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 314, Lead, builder
built by British Rail Engineering Limited's Holgate Road carriage works in 1979
British Rail Class 315 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 315, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 315, Lead, builder
that were built by British Rail Engineering Limited at Holgate Road Carriage Works in York between 1980 and 1981
British Rail Class 317 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 317, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 317, Lead, builder
electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains were constructed by British Rail Engineering Limited
British Rail Class 321 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 321, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 321, Lead, builder
built by British Rail Engineering Limited's York Carriage Works in three batches between 1988 and 1991
British Rail Class 322 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 322, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 322, Lead, builder
built by British Rail Engineering Limited in 1990
British Rail Class 442 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 442, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 442, Lead, builder
Twenty-four five-car units were built by British Rail Engineering Limited's Derby Litchurch Lane Works
British Rail Class 455 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 455, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 455, Lead, builder
built by BREL between 1982 and 1985
British Rail Class 456 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 456, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 456, Lead, builder
Twenty-four two-car units were built by British Rail Engineering Limited's York Carriage Works in 1990 and 1991
British Rail Class 158 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 158, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 158, Lead, builder
The Class 158 was constructed between 1989 and 1992 by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) at its Derby Litchurch Lane Works
British Rail Class 318 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 318, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 318, Lead, builder
were built by BREL York works
British Rail Class 319 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 319, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 319, Lead, builder
is an electric multiple unit passenger train built by British Rail Engineering Limited's Holgate Road carriage works
British Rail Class 320 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 320, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 320, Lead, builder
Built in 1990 by British Rail Engineering Limited's Holgate Road carriage works, York
British Rail Class 507 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 507, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 507, Lead, builder
electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains were built by British Rail Engineering Limited at Holgate Road carriage works
British Rail Class 508 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 508, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 508, Lead, builder
electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains were built by British Rail Engineering Limited, at Holgate Road carriage works, York, in 1979 and 1980
British Rail Class 43 (HST) (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 43 (HST), Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 43 (HST), Lead, builder
diesel-electric power cars, built by British Rail Engineering Limited from 1975 to 1982
British Rail Class 89 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 89, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 89, Lead, builder
is a one-off prototype electric locomotive, which was built in 1986 by British Rail Engineering Limited's Crewe Works
British Rail Class 144 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 144, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 144, Lead, builder
placed an order with the manufacturers British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) and Walter Alexander to construct their own variant, the Class 144
British Rail Class 159 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 159, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 159, Lead, builder
by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL)'s Derby Litchurch Lane Works as Class 158
British Rail Class 165 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 165, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 165, Lead, builder
They were built by BREL York Works between 1990 and 1992.
British Rail Class 465 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 465, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 465, Lead, builder
The first two sub-classes (designated 465/0 and 465/1) were built by BREL/ABB
British Rail Class 91, Wikipedia
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 91, Development, tender and productionQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 91, Development, tender and production
Shortly thereafter, BREL established a production line for the type at its Crewe Works.
British Rail Class 210 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 210, Lead, builderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 210, Lead, builder
designed and constructed by British Rail Engineering Limited's Derby Litchurch Lane Works
NIR 80 Class (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: NIR 80 Class, BuilderQuote, Has Vehicles: NIR 80 Class, Builder
Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) placed an order with British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) for 9 new DMUs.
Taiwan Railway EMU100 series (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: Taiwan Railway EMU100 series, BuilderQuote, Has Vehicles: Taiwan Railway EMU100 series, Builder
The Taiwan Railway EMU100 series was a set of rail cars fabricated by British Rail Engineering Limited and the General Electric Company in 1976 that has operated in Taiwan.
British Rail Class 56 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 56, BuilderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 56, Builder
The remaining 105 locomotives were built by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) at Doncaster Works (56031 to 56115) and Crewe Works (56116 to 56135).
British Rail Class 58 (Wikipedia)
Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 58, BuilderQuote, Has Vehicles: British Rail Class 58, Builder
Once the design for the new locomotive had been approved by the British Railways Board, the contract to build the type was awarded to BREL's Doncaster Works.
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