 The trustees had been concerned for some time about the worrying state of electric train preservation in Britain and wanted to raise the profile of the issue and to deal with the issues of financial support and covered accommodation.The project was launched at the National Railway Museum following the acquisition of two of the surviving 14 cars; by early 2009 four out of the five cars needed to form a complete unit had been acquired and the trust had set in place agreements to cover refurbishment of the cars, which began at Pullman restoration specialists Rampart Engineering at the Barrow Hill Engine Shed in February 2009.When the 5-BEL project is completed, it will be returned to mainline service.