Great British Railways - First Train in New Livery

[RUK]

Did it ever specifically call out that it was a GA service?

Not that I recall, which is why it stuck out to me, though I was only on it for 1 stop in either direction. YouTube videos confirm that Class 720s used to say “Greater Anglia service”, so it seems to be a deliberate change.

 

[720144]

Again Ai but as said, the Flirt might not look bad at all
View attachment 207804

745106 has been absent from service for a few months, could that possibly be getting the GBR vinyl added?

I thought that 357 008 would be the last Class 357 to get re-liveried, as it previously had a Gold Goose charity livery on it.

Originally it was going to be 357312 and 020, but unfortunately 312 is having some urgent repairs done at Ilford still in nx. So in the end it was the final 2 /0’s left in nx that were chosen.

 

[Ben Anslow]

I hope this is okay to post what I think would have been great for A nationalisation livery would have been to take the livery style they have chose and created it in a way so intercity services ran with the red white blue and other operators had the livery with their regional colours I know it wouldn’t work for some operators so it would have to have some exceptional design considerations. I do think the livery looks good on some units and not so great on others I think it suits Arterio and aventras but not so much on the others it’s appeared on

 

[GoneSouth]

Presumably that's '1 train from every TOC that's currently under DfT control' and not '1 from every TOC in England', given that GWR have just put a 175 in green...

Have they? Is it one that runs for more than 10 minutes without failing? Looking forward to seeing that. I would have been more than happy to see GWR adopted across the whole network

 

[Dhansak]

Side-on shot of 387172 on the 1J92 0702 Bognor to London Bridge service, back on 7th July

 

[Cach17]

Being all blue already (aside from the Networkers), you'd think Southeastern would have a field day GBR-fying their fleet.

Would be better if people edited images themselves to put this (admittedly already terrible) livery on trains instead of using AI, which is just lazy and always looks terrible.

Glad I'm not the only one! I really wish there was some way of filtering out generative AI *four letter word* on this forum.

 

[vuzzeho]

Being all blue already (aside from the Networkers), you'd think Southeastern would have a field day GBR-fying their fleet.

Glad I'm not the only one! I really wish there was some way of filtering out generative AI *four letter word* on this forum.

I agree - on both points! SE really should be able to get GBR-ified within a few months if they got started. Maybe with the City Beams?

 

[800001]

We didn’t see it on the Azumas in late June as was apparently planned unfortunately.

From 'X'

LNER source tells me that the first GBR branded Azuma will be released within the next six weeks. It will be a sight to behold, as it passes Brookmans Park.

Chime Whistle Publishing (@ChimeWhistle) on X

LNER source tells me that the first GBR branded Azuma will be released within the next six weeks. It will be a sight to behold, as it passes Brookmans Park.

x.com

 

[Sorcerer]

If the LNER Azumas are set to get the new GBR livery, I suppose all the renditions of the Serenza fleet wearing red and white will have to be redrawn in the GBR red, white and blue.

 

[800001]

If the LNER Azumas are set to get the new GBR livery, I suppose all the renditions of the Serenza fleet wearing red and white will have to be redrawn in the GBR red, white and blue.

I'm hoping that they keep the Azuma in basically same livery as now, but put GBR livery on the first class catering car where they currently place there special liveries eg Greasley.

 

[thomalex]

From 'X'

Will be fascinating what name they go with. Surely it won’t be GBR LNER so maybe a return of the East Coast name? Or North Eastern?

Presumably will be the end of the Azusa brand as well.

 

[800001]

Will be fascinating what name they go with. Surely it won’t be GBR LNER so maybe a return of the East Coast name? Or North Eastern?

Presumably will be the end of the Azusa brand as well.

GBR - East Coast is what I've seen on a list published on X, can't remember which account I saw it on though.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I'm hoping that they keep the Azuma in basically same livery as now, but put GBR livery on the first class catering car where they currently place there special liveries eg Greasley.

Why would they do that though?
They're creating a uniform look, and keeping LNER trains alone in most of their original livery with a random GBR branded carriage is not going to do that.

 

[800001]

Why would they do that though?
They're creating a uniform look, and keeping LNER trains alone in most of their original livery with a random GBR branded carriage is not going to do that.

I said I'm hoping, not that they are!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I said I'm hoping, not that they are!

No that's fair enough, I get that it's what you'd like, but out of interest do you actually think there's a chance they'd do that?

I can't see a reason why they would.

 

[800001]

No that's fair enough, I get that it's what you'd like, but out of interest do you actually think there's a chance they'd do that?

I can't see a reason why they would.

With the way the dft and GBR is going, with bits here and bits there, it honestly wouldn't surprise me if LNER sets came out like I'd hope for.

Personally i don't see how one livery for all TOCS/units works.

As several people have commented on previously, at busy stations if you see a certain colour train you have a good idea it's the one you need, if everything is all GBR blue, every train looks the same.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

With the way the dft and GBR is going, with bits here and bits there, it honestly wouldn't surprise me if LNER sets came out like I'd hope for.

Personally i don't see how one livery for all TOCS/units works.

As several people have commented on previously, at busy stations if you see a certain colour train you have a good idea it's the one you need, if everything is all GBR blue, every train looks the same.

Yeah I understand that, but I think personally they would have started doing that on the other trains if that was the case. But we'll see!

 

[DesDobramento]

With the way the dft and GBR is going, with bits here and bits there, it honestly wouldn't surprise me if LNER sets came out like I'd hope for.

Personally i don't see how one livery for all TOCS/units works.

As several people have commented on previously, at busy stations if you see a certain colour train you have a good idea it's the one you need, if everything is all GBR blue, every train looks the same.

Never recall ‘every train looks the same’ being a problem in the 1970s with every train service provided by rolling stock in blue (‘suburban’) or blue-grey (main-line’ liveries ……….

 

[800001]

Yeah I understand that, but I think personally they would have started doing that on the other trains if that was the case. But we'll see!

Also. Another thought. Hitachi were very controlling over what LNER 'stick' to there trains, hence any special liveries (pride excluded) have only been on the first class kitchen carriage.

Now, unless hitachi and LNER have amended the contract allowing them to fully vinyl the full train, then I'm struggling to visualise the livery on the Azuma fleet.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Jul 2026 ==

Never recall ‘every train looks the same’ being a problem in the 1970s with every train service provided by rolling stock in blue (‘suburban’) or blue-grey (main-line’ liveries ……….

Things have changed since the 70s after all it is over 50 years ago!

As someone who worked at a busy station it was amazing how many people came onto the platform of a station served by 5 different TOCs and said to there friends we need that train over there and commented on the colour.

So yes people have become acclimatised to a certain degree about trains having different liveries.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Also. Another thought. Hitachi were very controlling over what LNER 'stick' to there trains, hence any special liveries (pride excluded) have only been on the first class kitchen carriage.

Now, unless hitachi and LNER have amended the contract allowing them to fully vinyl the full train, then I'm struggling to visualise the livery on the Azuma fleet.

Well there you go, Pride excluded, if Hitachi will allow that, and indeed the "Together we roll" stuff on Avanti, then surely they can allow a train to receive the new National livery!

 

[800001]

Well there you go, Pride excluded, if Hitachi will allow that, and indeed the "Together we roll" stuff on Avanti, then surely they can allow a train to receive the new National livery!

Avanti and LNER will have different contracts.

LNER lease the Azumas, Avanti own there fleet (I think).

Regards LNER pride, how have they got that livery but not allowed on other units? Maybe financial payments to hitachi to go over and above on the contract?

I'm not saying it isn't possible to cover an Azuma, but hitachi will be very controlling.

I recall LNER and hitachi would engage in contract discussions for 6 months or longer (Change Process) even just to add one sticker per carriage internally.

 

[Sorcerer]

As several people have commented on previously, at busy stations if you see a certain colour train you have a good idea it's the one you need, if everything is all GBR blue, every train looks the same.

I think people overestimate just how much distinctive liveries help people know which service they are taking, and I'd like to see actual evidence that it works. The point of every train looking the same is exactly the point otherwise the whole unified branding idea falls apart. I can see why that might not appeal to some, especially when you have great liveries like GWR and TPE, but the fact is variety goes against the image the railway is trying to build.

 

[800001]

I think people overestimate just how much distinctive liveries help people know which service they are taking, and I'd like to see actual evidence that it works. The point of every train looking the same is exactly the point otherwise the whole unified branding idea falls apart. I can see why that might not appeal to some, especially when you have great liveries like GWR and TPE, but the fact is variety goes against the image the railway is trying to build.

this is just my observations of people from several years working on a busy stations platforms.

Multiple times a day hearing people and seeing them point to the train.

 

[Sorcerer]

this is just my observations of people from several years working on a busy stations platforms.

Multiple times a day hearing people and seeing them point to the train.

Oh well, if this actually comes from lived experience working on a platform who would I be to argue?

I do think passengers will probably be able to get around a unified branding, but it might take a bit of time getting used to if the variety is a giveaway as it is. Perhaps an argument for more regionalised branding with a common InterCity livery?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Jul 2026 ==

LNER lease the Azumas, Avanti own there fleet (I think).

As I understand it Avanti lease the Pendolino from Angel Trains while the Evero fleet are leased from a company called Rock Rail West Coast. Not sure about the finer details of the contract though.

 

[Southend Rider]

You never know with GWR, I remember the saying when I was a child in the sixties. British Rail and the Great Western, as they always did their own thing.

 

[dosxuk]

Do LNER get an increase in assistance requests for services operated by the Pride liveried set compared to the others?

If not, then it would suggest that the colour of the trains isn't as important as some suggest.

 

[43096]

LNER lease the Azumas, Avanti own there fleet (I think).

Avanti lease their 80x fleet from Rock Rail. So whilst both LNER and Avanti lease their fleets, the LNER sets are on the appallingly IEP contract.

 

[johnw]

I have no issues with the flag colours, but firstly I would have used an established deign company, like Best Impressions who understand how a livery works. Secondly I think the intercity routes should have a more distinctive premium identity compared to suburban or regional.

 

[Riverside Redz]

this is just my observations of people from several years working on a busy stations platforms.

Multiple times a day hearing people and seeing them point to the train.

I know it won’t happen but I personally (certainly for the likes of GWR and the iconic green for example) would love to see the current GBR template stay but the colours varied in some regions. I know would never happen but would be nice

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

It always makes me laugh the amount of people on here that can't seem to comprehend the idea of Great Western services not being green, as though they weren't corporate blue, pink and purple for a good 15 years or so.