West Somerset Railway to run HST set for passenger use on Saturday 5th July 2025

The West Somerset Railway is offering the opportunity for visitors to travel on a HST set on Saturday 5^th July 2025.

High Speed Trains (HSTs) were introduced over forty years ago by British Railways in 1976, and remain the fastest diesel-powered trains in the world. They have run in many parts of the UK, but were particularly familiar on the former Western Region lines out of London Paddington, running to South Wales, Bristol and the West of England. They also became very familiar (and popular) on cross country routes between the South West, and the Midlands, the North and Scotland. As electrification spread west from Paddington, they were replaced by IET (Inter-City Express Trains) which can run on both electricity and diesel power. For Great Western, some of the former HSTs have been reformed into sets of four coaches, with a power car at each end (“2 + 4”), known as 'Castle sets'.

This particular HST set consisting of power cars 43155 and 43154 has been stored at the West Somerset Railway since last year. 

Please check the West Somerset Railway timetable page for running times for the HST set: https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/calendar

During this time, Flying Scotsman will be visiting the West Somerset Railway. Flying Scotsman events start on Thursday 26^th June until Monday 14^th July 2025.

Please see the West Somerset Railway website for further information about the event: https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/events/flying-scotsman-events-and-tickets