View source for Named train services

Britain has a long history of '''named train services''', dating back to the very earliest days of the railways. Names were traditionally given to high profile express passenger services, such as those with expedited journey times or limited stopping patterns.

Named trains have fallen out of favour in recent years, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, but a handful of services retain names, officially or otherwise.

''All trains operate Mondays to Fridays only unless otherwise noted.''

==[[East Midlands Railway]]==
'''East Midlands Railway''' operates six named trains every week day - three in the morning and three in the evening, in peak direction only.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Name
! [[Headcode]]
! Departure time
! Departure station
! Arrival time
! Arrival station
! Notes
|-
|[[Sheffield Continental]]<ref>https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/media/2681/download</ref>
|1C05
|0458
|[[Sheffield]]
|0709
|[[London St Pancras]]
|''Operates in one direction only''
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[Robin Hood]]<ref>https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/media/2681/download</ref>
|1B19
|0640
|[[Lincoln]]
|0927
|London St Pancras
|
|-
|1D63
|1735
|London St Pancras
|1913
|[[Nottingham]]
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[Master Cutler]]<ref>https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/media/2681/download</ref>
|1C20
|0734
|Sheffield
|0939
|London St Pancras
|
|-
|1F60
|1702
|London St Pancras
|1917
|Sheffield
|
|-
|[[South Yorkshireman]]<ref>https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/media/2681/download</ref>
|1F65
|1802
|London St Pancras
|2002
|Sheffield
|''Operates in one direction only''
|}

==[[Great Western Railway]]==
'''Great Western Railway''' (GWR) traditionally operated a large number of named train services, however all, with the exception of the [[Night Riviera]] [[sleeper service]] ceased to be named with the withdrawal of [[InterCity 125]] High Speed Trains in 2019. In May 2023 a new named train service, the [[Flying Carolean]], was reportedly introduced between [[London Paddington]] and [[Swansea]], however it is unclear whether this related to the naming of the ''service'' or the naming of the [[class 802]] [[Intercity Express Train]], and the train had ceased operating by December 2023.

In a welcome development, named trains returned to GWR in June 2024, including labelling and announcing the named services on passenger information displays across the network. This makes GWR the largest operator of named train services, reviving the erstwhile tradition.

Trains denoted with an asterisk (*) also convey [[Pullman Dining]].

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Name
! [[Headcode]]
! Departure time
! Departure station
! Arrival time
! Arrival station
! Notes
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Golden Hind]]
|1A73
|0503
|[[Penzance]]
|0955
|[[London Paddington]]
|
|-
|1C92
|1803
|London Paddington
|2259
|Penzance
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Cathedrals Express]]
|1P02
|0523
|[[Hereford]]
|0824
|London Paddington
|
|-
|1W03
|1734
|London Paddington
|2025
|Hereford
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Armada]]
|1A71
|0555
|[[Plymouth]]
|0859
|London Paddington
|''Does not operate on Fridays''
|-
|1C94*
|1904
|London Paddington
|2218
|Plymouth<br />
FO: Penzance 
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Capitals United]]
|1L06
|0558
|[[Swansea]]
|0846
|London Paddington
|
|-
|1B27*
|1748
|London Paddington
|2154
|[[Carmarthen]]
|''Pullman Dining to Swansea''
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Bristolian]]
|1A06
|0624
|[[Weston-super-Mare]]
|0829
|London Paddington
|
|-
|1C27
|1801
|London Paddington
|1936
|[[Bristol Temple Meads]]
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Devon Express]]
|1C70
|0703
|London Paddington
|1016
|[[Paignton]]
|
|-
|1A98
|1904
|Paignton
|2229
|London Paddington
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[Y Cymro - The Welshman]]
|1L10
|0720
|Swansea
|1014
|London Paddington
|
|-
|1B30
|1848
|London Paddington
|2138
|Swansea
|
|-
|[[The Red Dragon]]
|1L12
|0723
|Carmarthen
|1112
|London Paddington
|''Operates in one direction only; The Carolean Express is corresponding westbound service''
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Cheltenham Spa Express]]
|1G07
|0832
|London Paddington
|1031
|[[Cheltenham Spa]]
|
|-
|1L80
|1459
|Cheltenham Spa
|1658
|London Paddington
|
|-
|[[Flying Carolean]]
|1B07
|0848
|London Paddington
|1130
|Swansea
|''Operates in one direction only; The Red Dragon is corresponding eastbound service''
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Pembroke Coast Express]]
|1C74
|0904
|London Paddington
|1348
|[[Pembroke Dock]]
| rowspan=2 | ''Operates on Saturdays only''
|-
|1L20
|1000
|Pembroke Dock
|1512
|London Paddington
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Atlantic Coast Express]]
|1C74
|0904
|London Paddington
|1422
|[[Newquay]]
|
|-
|SX: 1A94<br />SO: 1A86
|SX: 1455<br />SO: 1120
|Newquay
|SX: 2023<br />SO: 1629
|London Paddington
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Torbay Express]]
|SX: 1C75<br />SO: 1C77
|SX: 0937<br />SO: 1035
|London Paddington
|SX: 1239<br />SO: 1347
|Paignton
|
|-
|SX: 1A87<br />SO: 1A77
|SX: 1355<br />SO: 0855
|Paignton
|SX: 1707<br />SO: 1208
|London Paddington
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[Cotswolds & Malvern Express]]
|1W01
|0952
|London Paddington
|1246
|Hereford
|
|-
|1P06
|1518
|Hereford
|1829
|London Paddington
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Cornish Riviera]]
|1C76
|1003
|London Paddington
|SX: 1500<br />SO: 1509
|Penzance
|''Does not operate on Fridays''
|-
|SX: 1A84<br />SO: 1A83
|SX: 1020<br />SO: 1015
|Penzance
|SX: 1527<br />SO: 1529
|London Paddington
|
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Saint David]]
|1B11
|1048
|London Paddington
|1332
|Swansea
|
|-
|1L20
|1127
|Carmarthen
|1515
|London Paddington
|''Pullman Dining from Swansea''
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Royal Duchy]]
|1A88
|SX: 1215<br />SO: 1218
|Penzance
|SX: 1731<br />SO: 1729
|London Paddington
|
|-
|1C80
|1203
|London Paddington
|1708
|Penzance
|''Operates Saturdays only''
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Mayflower]]
|1C82*
|1303
|London Paddington
|1612
|Plymouth
|
|-
|1A86*
|1118
|Newquay
|1629
|London Paddington
|''Pullman Dining from Plymouth''
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Cornishman]]
|1C86
|1503
|London Paddington
|2010
|Penzance
|''Does not operate on Fridays''
|-
|SX: 1A96<br />SO: 1A84
|SX: 1615<br />SO: 1100
|Penzance
|SX: 2124<br />SO: 1557
|London Paddington
|''Pullman Dining from Plymouth weekdays only''
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[Night Riviera]]
|1C50
|MFO: 2345
SuO: 2350
|London Paddington
|0754
|Penzance
|
|-
|1A50
|MFO: 2145
SuO: 2115
|Penzance
|0504
|London Paddington
|
|}

==[[London North Eastern Railway]]==
'''London North Eastern Railway''' (LNER) operates arguably the most prestigious of the remaining named train services, with all having unusual features that set them apart from other trains - for example, [[The Flying Scotsman]] is the only LNER service to operate non-stop between [[Newcastle]] and [[London Kings Cross]], giving an Anglo-Scottish journey time of just four hours.

The remaining named services are just a handful of those traditionally operated by LNER, with further services denamed as, generally, they have received slower journey times or additional stops added. A new named service, The Carolean Express, was added in May 2023 for the Coronation of King Charles III. All remaining services, except for the West Riding Limited, operate between London and Scotland.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Name
! [[Headcode]]
! Departure time
! Departure station
! Arrival time
! Arrival station
! Notes
|-
|[[The Carolean Express]]<ref>https://www.lner.co.uk/globalassets/lner_december-may_2024_timetable_guide_web-min-min.pdf</ref>
|1S13
|1100
|[[London Kings Cross]]
|1524
|[[Edinburgh]]
|''Operates in one direction only; The Flying Scotsman is corresponding southbound service''
|-
|[[The Flying Scotsman]]<ref>https://www.lner.co.uk/globalassets/lner_december-may_2024_timetable_guide_web-min-min.pdf</ref>
|1E01
|0540
|Edinburgh
|0940
|London London Kings Cross
|''Operates in one direction only; The Carolean Express is corresponding northbound service''
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Highland Chieftain]]<ref>https://www.lner.co.uk/globalassets/lner_december-may_2024_timetable_guide_web-min-min.pdf</ref>
|SuX: 1E13
SuO: 1E17
|SuX: 0755
SuO: 0940
|[[Inverness]]
|MFO: 1550
SO: 1549
SuO: 1749
|London Kings Cross
|
|-
|1W16
|1200
|London Kings Cross
|2007
|Inverness
|''Service operates Monday to Sunday inclusive''
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[The Northern Lights]]<ref>https://www.lner.co.uk/globalassets/lner_december-may_2024_timetable_guide_web-min-min.pdf</ref>
|1E15
|SuX: 0952
SuO: 0947
|[[Aberdeen]]
|1648
|London Kings Cross
|
|-
|1W11
|1000
|London Kings Cross
|1710
|Aberdeen
|''Service operates Monday to Sunday inclusive''
|-
|[[West Riding Limited]]<ref>https://www.lner.co.uk/globalassets/lner_december-may_2024_timetable_guide_web-min-min.pdf</ref>
|1A07
|0630
|[[Bradford Forster Square]]
|0859
|London Kings Cross
|''Operates in one direction only''
|}

==[[Transport for Wales]]==
'''Transport for Wales''' (TfW) do not currently, as of December 2023, operate any named train services on an official basis. However, the [[Premier Service]], operating between [[Cardiff Central]] and [[Holyhead]], is still unofficially known by staff, passengers and other stakeholders alike as ''Y Gerallt Gymro'' or ''Gerald of Wales'', often shortened to ''The Gerald''. The service was originally introduced at the request of the Welsh Assembly to allow politicians to be able to travel to and from Cardiff for the day, and used [[class 57]] locomotives and [[mark 3]] coaching stock to set it apart from [[diesel multiple unit]]-operated trains. Since June 2021, [[class 67]] locomotives and [[mark 4]] coaching stock has been used instead, with three return services now operating on weekdays. Whilst all of these services are considered part of the Premier Service offering, only the first train to Cardiff and last return to Holyhead are rightfully known as ''Y Gerallt Gymro'' or ''Gerald of Wales''.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Name
! [[Headcode]]
! Departure time
! Departure station
! Arrival time
! Arrival station
! Notes
|-
| rowspan=2 |[[Y Gerallt Gymro]] / Gerald of Wales
|1V91
|0530
|[[Holyhead]]
|0959
|[[Cardiff Central]]
|
|-
|1W96
|1714
|Cardiff Central
|2143
|Holyhead
|
|}

==References==
<references />