Motorail was the brand name for British Rail's long-distance services that carried passengers and their cars. During its latter years of operation, it was grouped under the wider InterCity sector.
During June 1955, the Car-Sleeper Limited service was introduced, Britain's first scheduled long distances car-carrying service, between London and Perth. This, and other early services such as the Continental Car Sleeper, proved there was demand for such a facility between many of Britain's major cities. Accordingly, British Rail opted to invest in the expansion of its offerings in this area, launching the Motorail brand in 1966 along with the opening of a dedicated terminal at Kensington Olympia. The service continued to be expanded into the 1970s; at the peak of its operations, 100,000 passengers used Motorail annually.
Passenger numbers noticeably dropped during the 1980s; this was attributed to a myriad of factors including the expansion of Britain's motorway network, the availability of better cars, and even the provision of faster conventional passenger rail services under the Intercity brand. Also in 1909 a train service started running over Connel Bridge between Connel Ferry station and on which road vehicles could be transported. A single car was carried on a wagon hauled by a charabanc. By the 1930s, there were regular services between London and various destinations in Scotland, typically sleeper trains, that carried cars on flatbed wagons. This service, which was operated between June and September, conveying both car and driver for £15 return () inclusive of sleeping berth. The Highlands Car Special was launched at the same time offering a service from York to Inverness and another Continental Car Sleeper service from Manchester to Dover was launched in June 1956 using a ferry to cross the English Channel, for £24 return. The popularity of these car-sleeper trains was such that further investments would be made in the sector. During June 1961, it was reported that over 50,000 cars had been transported by Car-Sleeper Limited; to accommodate growing demand, a new two-tier transporter was introduced to the service.
During 1966, the Motorail brand was introduced in conjunction with the opening of a dedicated terminal for the service at Kensington Olympia, selected for its abundant existing rail connections to various other parts of Britain, which made it a natural hub. Additional services were introduced in 1972 between Stirling and Dover, London Kensington Olympia and Carmarthen, and Birmingham and Inverness. An overnight service was also introduced between London Kensington and Carlisle to supplement the daytime service. At the peak of its use, 100,000 passengers were travelling via Motorail each year. Cartic 4s were last used on Motorail service during 1978, but continued to be actively operated for delivering new vehicles to dealerships into the twenty-first century.
Withdrawal
Over the decades, usage on many of Motorail's services declined considerably. The expansion of Britain's motorway network, along with increasingly capable cars, incorporating innovations such as synchronised gears, front-wheel drive, radial tyres, and air conditioning, had improved comfort levels for long-distance driving, and thus fewer travellers were inclined to head towards Motorail's offerings. Another area of competition was British Rail's own Intercity services which, as they increased in speed over time, led to some travellers favouring them instead.
The death knell of Motorail would be sounded by wider political ambitions to reform Britain's railways in the 1990s. Amid the preparations for the privatisation of British Rail, there was a determined effort to curtail or entirely end unprofitable non-essential activities; the Motorail services, which reportedly carried roughly 20,000 cars per year by this point, had been operated at a significant loss for some time already. Accordingly, during late May 1995, the remaining seven Motorail services, which ran between London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, and Fort William, ceased entirely.
During September 1999, the franchised train operator First Great Western relaunched a service from London Paddington to Penzance as part of its Night Riviera overnight sleeper service using eight converted general utility vans.
Gallery
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File:NVA 96603 at Penzance.jpg|Night Riviera Motorail van NVA at Penzance in August 2003
File:Motorail sign.jpg|Motorail ended in summer 2005; there were still signs for it at Paddington in April 2006.
File:Kensington Olympia Motorail Terminal (former) - geograph.org.uk - 1443634.jpg|The former Motorail terminal at , in 2009. Since Motorail services here ceased, the building has been designated "Olympia Motorail Car Park P4".
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