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.

Name	Headcode	Departure time	Departure station	Arrival time	Arrival station	Notes
Sheffield Continental	1C05	0458	Sheffield	0709	London St Pancras	Operates in one direction only
Robin Hood	1B19	0640	Lincoln	0927	London St Pancras
	1D63	1735	London St Pancras	1913	Nottingham
Master Cutler	1C20	0734	Sheffield	0939	London St Pancras
	1F60	1702	London St Pancras	1917	Sheffield
South Yorkshireman	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.

Name	Headcode	Departure time	Departure station	Arrival time	Arrival station	Notes
The Golden Hind	1A73	0503	Penzance	0955	London Paddington
	1C92	1803	London Paddington	2259	Penzance
The Cathedrals Express	1P02	0523	Hereford	0824	London Paddington
	1W03	1734	London Paddington	2025	Hereford
The Armada	1A71	0555	Plymouth	0859	London Paddington	Does not operate on Fridays
	1C94*	1904	London Paddington	2218	Plymouth FO: Penzance
The Capitals United	1L06	0558	Swansea	0846	London Paddington
	1B27*	1748	London Paddington	2154	Carmarthen	Pullman Dining to Swansea
The Bristolian	1A06	0624	Weston-super-Mare	0829	London Paddington
	1C27	1801	London Paddington	1936	Bristol Temple Meads
The Devon Express	1C70	0703	London Paddington	1016	Paignton
	1A98	1904	Paignton	2229	London Paddington
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
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
The Pembroke Coast Express	1C74	0904	London Paddington	1348	Pembroke Dock	Operates on Saturdays only
	1L20	1000	Pembroke Dock	1512	London Paddington
The Atlantic Coast Express	1C74	0904	London Paddington	1422	Newquay
	SX: 1A94 SO: 1A86	SX: 1455 SO: 1120	Newquay	SX: 2023 SO: 1629	London Paddington
The Torbay Express	SX: 1C75 SO: 1C77	SX: 0937 SO: 1035	London Paddington	SX: 1239 SO: 1347	Paignton
	SX: 1A87 SO: 1A77	SX: 1355 SO: 0855	Paignton	SX: 1707 SO: 1208	London Paddington
Cotswolds & Malvern Express	1W01	0952	London Paddington	1246	Hereford
	1P06	1518	Hereford	1829	London Paddington
The Cornish Riviera	1C76	1003	London Paddington	SX: 1500 SO: 1509	Penzance	Does not operate on Fridays
	SX: 1A84 SO: 1A83	SX: 1020 SO: 1015	Penzance	SX: 1527 SO: 1529	London Paddington
The Saint David	1B11	1048	London Paddington	1332	Swansea
	1L20	1127	Carmarthen	1515	London Paddington	Pullman Dining from Swansea
The Royal Duchy	1A88	SX: 1215 SO: 1218	Penzance	SX: 1731 SO: 1729	London Paddington
	1C80	1203	London Paddington	1708	Penzance	Operates Saturdays only
The Mayflower	1C82*	1303	London Paddington	1612	Plymouth
	1A86*	1118	Newquay	1629	London Paddington	Pullman Dining from Plymouth
The Cornishman	1C86	1503	London Paddington	2010	Penzance	Does not operate on Fridays
	SX: 1A96 SO: 1A84	SX: 1615 SO: 1100	Penzance	SX: 2124 SO: 1557	London Paddington	Pullman Dining from Plymouth weekdays only
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.

Name	Headcode	Departure time	Departure station	Arrival time	Arrival station	Notes
The Carolean Express	1S13	1100	London Kings Cross	1524	Edinburgh	Operates in one direction only; The Flying Scotsman is corresponding southbound service
The Flying Scotsman	1E01	0540	Edinburgh	0940	London London Kings Cross	Operates in one direction only; The Carolean Express is corresponding northbound service
The Highland Chieftain	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
The Northern Lights	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	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.

Name	Headcode	Departure time	Departure station	Arrival time	Arrival station	Notes
Y Gerallt Gymro / Gerald of Wales	1V91	0530	Holyhead	0959	Cardiff Central
	1W96	1714	Cardiff Central	2143	Holyhead