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Widely recognised as the best train British Rail ever produced, the HST set has been the mainstay of inter city services for many years and remains the first choice for long distance diesel powered services. Each set has a power car at each end of a set of (usually) 8 Mk3 vehicles. Each power car features a Paxman Valenta or 12VP185 engine, producing 2250hp, driving 4dc motors. Many components have been upgraded and the coaches refurbished, the example above being the “Rio” version for Midland Main Line. Passenger vehicles are air conditioned, double glazed and offer a smooth ride on air suspension bogies. Full catering facilities are available, along with a train manager’s office and van space. Recently one set has been converted for network data measurement, its high route availability (RA5) making it the ideal train for such work.