TEZZ

IND
2012
2hrs 01mins
Dir: Priyadarshan Soman Nair
Starring: Anil Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut

To revenge his past, a man plants a bomb on a train endangering the lives of all onboard

This Hindi-language action thriller is based on the 1975 Japanese movie The Bullet Train and the name translates literally to ‘fast’. The story centres around a disgruntled illegal immigrant who returns to the UK to blow up a train. The film is a bit like the movie Speed for if ‘London-Glasgow Train 112’ drops its speed below 60 mph, then the bomb will detonate. Although the stunts are good it is quite forgettable and the director in typical Bollywood style has taken considerable liberties in the way that railway operations and procedures are portrayed (and even geography, 10 hours from London-Glasgow whilst travelling at 100mph for instance!). The faults and failings occur far too often to repeat here but, unsurprisingly, there is a lot of railway material in the film, as well as some obvious model work using a Hornby layout! The railway scenes open with a sequence filmed at Southwark Underground station on the Jubilee Line with a train of 1996-built tube stock arriving. There are then scenes filmed at London Euston and Class 390 ‘Pendolino’ EMU No.390005 City of Wolverhampton provides the centrepiece of these after which the main action begins. There is a whole plethora of shots of ‘Pendolinos’ passing through the countryside though some locations are recognisable. These include an aerial shot of one passing through Watford Junction with a pair of Class 350 ‘Desiro’ EMUs in an adjacent platform; one passing over Bushey Arches; another aerial shot of a Class 390 passing through Tring with another Class 350 ‘Desiro’ visible; a shot that shows a ‘Pendolino’ passing some sidings where a DB Class 66 and a First Group-liveried Class 90 electric are stabled, and an aerial shot of Linslade Tunnels just north of Leighton Buzzard. There are also a couple of scenes filmed in a railway yard and among all the wagons there is a glimpse of another DB Class 66 and a First Group-liveried Class 90 (the same two perhaps?), plus a Class 67. This is thought to have been filmed at Crewe Basford Hall. Scenes towards the end were shot at London St Pancras station which inexplicably merges in with other shots of London Euston with a ‘Pendolino’. Perhaps most odd of all though is the random shot of a Class 170 ‘Turbostar’ DMU crossing the Forth Rail Bridge, part of the story of course, but nothing at all to do with the journey! Initially, a pre-planned explosion to show the bomber’s intent uses a Class 66 hauled Freightliner train (known as London-Manchester Goods Train 509 which exploded near York!!). There are a couple of shots of actual Freightliners passing hauled by Class 66’s (one of which is 66565) but the explosion is a computer-generated sequence using 66546. There are lots of scenes filmed onboard a ‘Pendolino’, and the in-cab sequences used a simulator. Finally, Network Rail’s Aérospatiale AS355F1 Ecureuil 2 helicopter G-NETR is also seen in several sequences, though with ‘POLICE’ branding.

Southwark station on the Jubilee Line
The top of the escalators at Southwark with its distinctive ‘drum’ window providing plenty of light
The cab of Class 390 Pendolino No.390005 City of Wolverhampton at Euston
A ‘Pendolino’ speeds north through Watford Junction as a pair of Class 350 ‘Desiros’ pick up passengers in the adjacent platform
Another shot of a ‘Pendolino’, this time crossing Bushey Arches
And another heading south through Tring with another Class 350 in the adjacent platform
This cropped shot shows a Freightliner approaching the camera powered by a Class 66. When slowed down to freeze frame the loco’s identity is revealed to be 66565.
A good broadside view of another Freightliner Class 66
Nice pair of boots. A Class 390 speeds non-stop through Rugby, where of course it should of called even though the ‘co-driver’ of the train (!) announces at the start of the journey that the first stop is Warrington.
A 390 speeds towards the camera in a high-speed run-by probably filmed on the section between Hanslope and Rugby (either on the Northampton Loop, or the section through Kilsby).
A First Group-liveried Class 90 is captured as the ‘Pendolino’ passes a yard somewhere
A near deserted railway yard, possibly Crewe Basford Hall, shows wagons being inspected by the railway police though another First Group Class 90 and a Class 66 are just creeping into the upper left of the shot .
In this view of the yard a Class 67 is partly hidden on the right. The yellow wagons on the far left are a part of Network Rail’s High Output Ballast Cleaner (HOBC).
The Forth Bridge. Now THAT is what you call a bridge.
A Class 170 ‘Turbostar’ DMU (masquerading as a Class 390 ‘Pendolino for the sake of the film!!??) crosses the Forth Bridge
This is an aerial view of Linslade Tunnels with the town of Leighton Buzzard in the background
There are many, many shots of ‘Pendolinos’ streaking through the countryside and this is just one such example
There is, however, this one closeup shot of a passing ‘Pendolino’. When the image is moved through freeze frame the number looks as though it might be 390023 Virgin Glory.
This is the rarely viewed eastern side of St Pancras station, as seen from Pancras Road
This is part of the new undercroft at St. Pancras
Again, this is part of the undercroft at St. Pancras. The escalators in the background take you to or from the platforms.