Following the privatisation of British Rail, the type has served with various operators, including Greater Anglia, Virgin Trains and Great North Eastern Railway (GNER); it was, however, displaced largely from regular passenger services during the 2000s and 2010s.

Appraisals had also determined that the Class 89 was comparatively inferior in financial terms to the InterCity 225, which decreased the likelihood of the former ever attaining quantity production.

[5] While it was intended for the InterCity 225 to be ubiquitous, even potentially having the capability built into it to operate over the southern third-rail network and within the Channel Tunnel, such fanciful ideas had been curtailed by mid 1984.

[5] BR officials opted to deprioritise the freight haulage capabilities of the InterCity 225; instead, they planned to meet the outstanding traction needs for the sector via other platforms.

The Class 87 locomotive, having been introduced a decade earlier, had proven itself capable; thus there was considerable interest procuring additional units as a low-cost option with virtually no risk for the West Coast Main Line (WCML).

[5] As result of this procurement, the freight business refused to finance a planned upgrade to InterCity 225's traction equipment, which would have given the former an equal haulage capability to the Class 87/2.

Three locomotives (90128, 90129 and 90130) received special continental liveries: (NMBS/SNCB blue, Deutsche Bahn red and SNCF grey respectively) to celebrate the Freightconnection event in 1992.

Due to the Class 91s' initial unreliability, Railfreight Distribution leased some of their 90/0s to InterCity for use on the East Coast Main Line with Mark 4 coaches.

[7] In July 2023, DB Cargo announced that it was withdrawing its entire Class 90 locomotive fleet from active service, due to high energy costs, and stated that this would be a permanent move.

Managing director, Andrea Rossi, stated that the company would focus instead on alternative methods to meet their climate targets, including expansion of the use of biofuels and HVO-based resources; in the meantime, electric-hauled traction would be replaced by diesel power.

[9] Eight of these have been sold to Sandbach Commercial Dismantlers; the first three, 90030 90033 and 90038 left Crewe Electric depot by road for storage pending final scrapping in late April 2024.

After purchase by LSL, the two locomotives were repainted into their original InterCity Swallow livery; 90001 was named Royal Scot and 90002 Wolf of Badenoch.

These locomotives had their original louvered horn covers replaced with a single plate design with V-patterned holes, matching the Mark 3 DVTs.

The National Express franchise came to an end in February 2012, with the replacement franchisee Greater Anglia taking over and continuing to operate the locomotives.

[citation needed] In 1998, 90002 became the first locomotive to be repainted in Virgin Trains' red and black livery; it was named Mission: Impossible to launch the challenge of upgrading passenger services on the WCML.

[citation needed] In 2002, Class 390 Pendolino electric multiple units started to enter service to replace locomotive-hauled trains on the WCML.

Therefore, from March 2004, Virgin started to return its Class 90 fleet to the ROSCO, allowing the locos to transfer to the new 'one' (later National Express East Anglia) franchise.

As a result, Virgin used Class 90 locomotives hired from DB Schenker, and later Freightliner, along with a rake of Mark 3 coaching stock and a DVT.

[27][28] Virgin used this set, with a Class 90 locomotive hired from Freightliner, on a Friday relief service between Euston and Crewe, via Birmingham, until December 2012.