Regional Railways inherited a diverse range of routes, comprising both express and local services.
In the early 1980s, large numbers of diesel multiple unit (DMU) and locomotive-hauled coaches were found to contain asbestos.
The prototype British Rail Class 210, in service on a trial basis since 1981, were considered too expensive to be put into production, so BR looked elsewhere for new designs.
In Cornwall it was found that their long wheelbase caused intolerable squealing noises and high tyre wear on tight curves, and they quickly had to be replaced by the old DMUs.
[1] The late 1980s and early 1990s also saw the development of secondary express services that complemented the mainline InterCity (British Rail) routes.
Key Scottish and Trans-Pennine routes were upgraded with new British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinters, while a network of 'Alphaline' services was introduced elsewhere in the country.
The British Rail Class 323 EMUs introduced in 1994 appeared in the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (Centro) livery for the West Midlands-based sets,[6] and the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) livery for Manchester-based sets.
After privatisation, many vehicles continued to carry the basic RR colour scheme but with the addition of different branding, e.g. Central Trains.