However the West Coast Main Line infrastructure at the time was incapable of supporting operation of 155 miles per hour (250 km/h) trains in normal service and in need of widespread renewal, therefore a number of factors would be required to deliver this: Concept models for the Class 93 locomotives for the InterCity 250 were styled by Seymour Powell[3] and invitations to build the rolling stock were called for with GEC-Alsthom, Bombardier, Prorail, and an ABB/British Rail Engineering Limited joint venture responding.

[4][5] It was planned the InterCity 250 trains would have commenced operating at 125 miles per hour (200 km/h) around 1995, with incremental increases up to the maximum speed by the end of the 1990s following the implementation of in-cab signalling.

[7][8] In 1993 it was suggested that the InterCity 250 could provide a suitable specification for future replacement rolling stock on both the Great Western and East Coast Main Lines.

[10][11] Due to the impact of the 1990s recession rolling stock orders placed by other sectors of British Rail led to a shortage of funding which saw many projects suspended or scrapped.

A later proposal in 1993 for the procurement of a follow-on set of ten InterCity 225 units for priority express operations on the WCML was not pursued on the basis that it was unable to deliver a commercially viable return on investment[2] and exposed the suppliers (GEC Transportation) to excessive financial risk.

The bid by BR was also hampered by a lack of available manufacturers, as Metro-Cammell and BREL were by that time heavily committed to production of the Class 365/465/466 units for Network SouthEast.

[12] The first phase of the upgrade, between London Euston and Manchester was completed in 2004; however, work at several sites including Rugby and Milton Keynes stations, the Trent Valley and the remainder of the route to Glasgow continued until December 2008.