List of named passenger trains of the United Kingdom

This article contains a list of named passenger trains in the United Kingdom. These are specific regular journeys identified by a special name in the timetable, not to be confused with the names of engines or individual physical train rakes. One-off charter or sporadic special trains are not included. Note: All Pullmans are named trains, but by no means all named trains are Pullmans.

Train Name Railway Train Endpoints Operated
21st Century Limited Grand Central London King's Cross – Sunderland (one way only) 2010
Aberdonian[1][2][3] BR Aberdeen – London King's Cross
(sleeper service - later Night Aberdonian)[4]		 1927 – ?1976
Aberdonian BR Aberdeen – London King's Cross
(daytime High Speed Train service)		  ?1977 – ? (not 2010)
Antwerp Continental (boat train) London Liverpool Street – Harwich Parkeston Quay  ?
Atlantic Coast Express[5][6][7][8] SR / BR London Waterloo – Plymouth, Ilfracombe, Sidmouth, Exmouth, Bude, Padstow, Torrington 1926 –
1948 – 1964
Atlantic Coast Express FGW London Paddington – Newquay 2008 – present
Belfast Boat Express (boat train)[9] BR Manchester Victoria – Heysham and Morecambe  ? – 1960 – ?
Benjamin Britten (boat train)[10] BR London Liverpool Street – Harwich Parkeston Quay  ? – 1988 –
Birmingham Pullman[11][12] BR London Paddington – Wolverhampton Low Level 1960–1966
Bon Accord– BR Aberdeen – Glasgow Buchanan Street 1948-
Bournemouth Belle (Pullman train)[11] SR / BR London Waterloo – Bournemouth Central/Bournemouth West 1931 – 1967
Brighton Belle (Pullman train)[11] SR / BR London Victoria – Brighton 1934 – 1972
Brighton Limited (Pullman train) LBSCR London Victoria – Brighton 1898 – 1908
Brighton Pullman Limited (Pullman train)[13] LBSCR London Victoria – Brighton 1887 – 1898
Bristol Pullman (Pullman train)[11][12] BR London Paddington – Bristol Temple Meads 1960–1966
Bristolian[14] GWR / BR / FGW London Paddington – Bristol Temple Meads non-stop[15] 1935 – present
Broadsman[16][17] GER / BR London Liverpool Street – Cromer and Sheringham 1947 – 1962
Caledonian[9] BR Glasgow Central – London Euston 1950s, 1960s
Caledonian Sleeper (night train) First ScotRail London Euston – Edinburgh Waverley
London Euston – Aberdeen
London Euston – Fort William
London Euston – Glasgow Central
London Euston – Inverness		 2004 – present
Cambrian Coast Express[18] GWR / BR London Paddington (later London Euston) – Aberystwyth
London Paddington – Pwllheli		 1927 – 1991
Capitals Limited[7] BR London Kings Cross – Aberdeen
(non-stop London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley)		 1949 – 1952 (succeeded by Elizabethan)
Capitals United Express[19] BR London Paddington – Cardiff Central
London Paddington – Fishguard Harbour		 1956 – 1963
Carmarthen Bay Express GWR London Paddington – Tenby 1920s
Cathedrals Express[20] GWR / BR / FGW London Paddington – Oxford – Hereford 1957 – present
Cheltenham Spa Express
(aka. the "Cheltenham Flyer")[21]		 GWR / BR / FGW London Paddington – Cheltenham Spa 1923 – present
Clansman[4] BR Inverness – London Euston via Birmingham New Street
Comet[7][22][23] BR London Euston – Manchester London Road 1951 – 1960 – ?
Cornish Riviera Express[6][7] GWR / BR / FGW London Paddington – Penzance 1904 – present
Cornish Scot BR / Virgin Glasgow Central – Penzance  ? (not 2010)
Cornishman GWR London Paddington – Penzance 1890 – 1904
1935 – 1936
Cornishman[24] BR (Bradford) – Wolverhampton Low Level – Penzance and Kingswear 1951 – 1975
Coronation LNER London King's Cross – Edinburgh Waverley 1937 – 1939
Coronation Scot LMS Glasgow Central – London Euston 1937 – 1939
Cotswolds and Malvern Express GWR / BR / Wessex Trains Bristol Temple Meads – Great Malvern May 1984 – May 1997 [25]
Day Continental (boat train) BR London Liverpool Street – Harwich Parkeston Quay  ?
Devon Belle[7] (Pullman train) SR / BR London Waterloo – Ilfracombe
London Waterloo – Plymouth		 1947 – 1954
Devon Scot BR / Virgin Aberdeen – Carlisle – Plymouth  ? (not 2010)
Devonian[22][26] LMS / BR Bradford Forster Square – Sheffield Midland – Bristol Temple Meads (Winter) – Paignton (Summer) 1927 – 1960 – ? (not 2010)
Dorset Scot BR / Virgin Poole – Newcastle Central – Edinburgh Waverley  ? (not 2010)
East Anglian LNER / BR London Liverpool Street – Norwich
The Easterling[17] BR London Liverpool Street – Lowestoft and Yarmouth South Town 1950s
Eastern Belle LNER London Liverpool Street – Clacton-on-Sea 1929–1939
Elizabethan[2][3][7] (summer only) BR London King's Cross – Edinburgh Waverley (non-stop)[27] 1953 – 1962?
Emerald Isle Express[28] BR London Euston – Llandudno and Holyhead  ? - 1960 - ?
Fair Maid[2] BR London King's Cross – Perth 1957-1958 (succeeded by Morning Talisman)
Fenman BR[29] London Liverpool Street – Hunstanton
after 1969 to King's Lynn		 1949 –
Fife Coast Express[29]
(Ran as Fifeshire Coast Express 1912 – 1939) [30]		 NBR / LNER / BR St Andrews – Glasgow Queen Street 1948 –
Flying Dutchman GWR+BER London Paddington – Exeter St Davids 1849 – 1892
Flying Scotsman[2][3][6] GNR+NER+NBR / LNER / BR / GNER /
East Coast		 London King's Cross – Edinburgh Waverley
From May 2011: Edinburgh to London, one way only[31]		 1862 – present[32]
Golden Arrow[5][6][7][11] (boat train) SR / BR London Victoria – Dover Priory or Folkestone Harbour 1929 – 1972
Golden Hind FGW London Paddington – Penzance present
Granite City[6][7]  ? / BR Aberdeen – Glasgow Buchanan Street 1933 – 1939, 1948 –
Harrogate Sunday Pullman[11][17] BR London King's Cross – Harrogate and Bradford Exchange 1950s to late 1960s
Heart of Midlothian[2][3] BR London King's Cross – Edinburgh Waverley
Highland Chieftain GNER Inverness – London King's Cross 2000s - present[33]
Hook Continental (boat train) London Liverpool Street – Harwich Parkeston Quay
Hull Executive BR / GNER Hull – London King's Cross 1978 – present
Inter-City[18] BR London Paddington – Wolverhampton Low Level 1950–1967
Irish Mail[6] (boat train) LNWR / LMS / BR / Virgin London Euston – Holyhead 1849 – ? (not 2010)
Irishman[6][7] (boat train) BR Glasgow St Enoch – Stranraer 1951 ?
Kentish Belle (Pullman train)
formerly the "Thanet Belle"		 BR London – to Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate 1951-58
Lancastrian[22][23] LMS / BR Manchester London Road – London Euston 1928 – 1930s - 1960 - ?
Liverpool Pullman BR Liverpool Lime Street – London Euston and v.v. 1966 –
Loreley (boat train)[10] BR Blackpool North – Manchester Piccadilly – Nottingham – Harwich Parkeston Quay 1988 –
Man of Kent[7][34] BR London Charing Cross – Dover, Deal, Sandwich and Margate 1953 – 1960 – ?
Manchester Pullman BR / Virgin Manchester Piccadilly – London Euston and v.v. 1966 – 1990s
Mancunian[22][35] LMS / BR Manchester London Road – London Euston 1930s - 1960 - ?
Master Cutler[7] LNER / BR / MML / EMT Sheffield Victoria – London Marylebone
after 1958 to London King's Cross, later to St Pancras[11]
after privatisation from Leeds to London St Pancras via Sheffield.
From 2008 no longer from Leeds starting again at Sheffield.		 1947 – present
Mayflower[36] BR / FGW Kingswear and Plymouth – London Paddington 1957 – present
Merchant Venturer[6][7] BR London Paddington – Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare 1951 –
Merchant Venturer BR / FGW London Paddington – Penzance via Bristol Temple Meads present
Merseyside Express[7] BR London Euston – Liverpool Lime Street 1951 –
Midland Pullman[11][12] BR Manchester Central – London St Pancras
with midday infill
London St Pancras – Nottingham		 1960–1966
Mid-Day Scot[9] LMS / BR Glasgow Central – London Euston 1930s, 1950s, 1960s
Midlands Express BR / MML Sheffield – London St Pancras 2008
Night Ferry SR / BR London Victoria – Paris Nord)
later also to Brussels (Midi/Zuid)
after 1948 also 2nd-class coaches as far as Dover Western Docks		 1936 – 1980
Night Riviera FGW London Paddington – Penzance 19th Century – present
Night Scotsman[2][3] LNER / BR London Kings Cross – Edinburgh Waverley (sleeper train) 1930s to transfer of all Scottish sleepers to Euston
Norfolk Coast Express GER / BR London Liverpool Street – Cromer 1907 – unknown
Norfolkman BR Sheringham – London Liverpool Street 1947 –
Norseman BR London Kings Cross – Newcastle Tyne Commission Quay
(to connect with Bergen Line or Fred Olsen Line shipping services to Norway).		 1947 –
North Briton[6][7] BR Glasgow Queen Street – Leeds City 1952 –
Northern Irishman (sleeper train)[37] BR London Euston – Stranraer Harbour  ? – 1960 – ?
Northern Lights GNER / NXEC Aberdeen – London King's Cross present
The Northumbrian[3][16] BR London Kings Cross – Newcastle Central 1950s – 1960s
Palatine LMS / BR Manchester Central – London St Pancras 1938 – 1964
Peaks Express LMS Manchester Central – London St Pancras 1938–1939
Pembroke Coast Express[7] BR / FGW London Paddington – Pembroke Dock 1953 – present
Pines Express[38] SR and LMS / BR Manchester London Road (or Manchester Mayfield), Liverpool and Sheffield Midland – Bournemouth West and Poole 1927 – 1967, revived in the 1980s/90s
Pullman Limited Express (Pullman train)[39] LBSCR London Victoria – Brighton (via Horsham route) 1881 – 1887
Queen of Scots (Pullman train)[2][3][6][7][17] LNER / BR Glasgow Queen Street – London King's Cross
via Harrogate and Leeds Central		 1927 – 1939
1948 – 1978
Red Dragon[7][40] BR / FGW London Paddington – Carmarthen 1950 – present
Robin Hood BR / MML / EMT Nottingham – London St Pancras 1958 – present
Royal Duchy[41] BR / FGW London Paddington – Penzance and Kingswear 1957 – present
Royal Highlander (sleeper train)[42] BR London Euston – Inverness  ? – 1960 – ?
Royal Scot[6][7] LNWR / LMS /BR / Virgin Glasgow Central – London Euston 1862 – 1939
1948 – 2003
Royal Wessex[43] SR / BR London Waterloo – Bournemouth Central, Weymouth and Swanage 1951 – 1960 – ?
Saint David GWR / BR / FGW London Paddington – Swansea present
St Mungo[7] BR Aberdeen – Glasgow Buchanan Street 1948-
Scarborough Flyer[6][17] BR London King's Cross – Scarborough 1950s – early 1960s
Sheffield Continental EMT Sheffield – London St Pancras (one way only) 2008–present
Silver Jubilee LNER London King's Cross – Newcastle Central 1935 – 1939
South Wales Pullman[11][12] BR London Paddington – Swansea 1960–1966
South Yorkshireman[7] BR Bradford Exchange – Sheffield Victoria – London Marylebone 1948–1960
South Yorkshireman EMT Sheffield – London St Pancras 2008 – present
Southern Belle (Pullman train) LBSCR / SR London Victoria – Brighton 1908 – 1934
Sunny South Express LNWR+LBSCR / LMSR+SR Liverpool Lime Street – Brighton 1905 – 193?
Sussex Scot BR / Virgin Brighton – Glasgow Central
Brighton – Edinburgh Waverley		 1988 – 2002
Talisman[2][3] BR London King's Cross – Edinburgh Waverley 1956 – ?
The Tees Thames[16] BR London Kings Cross – Middlesbrough – Saltburn 1950s – 1960s
Tees-Tyne Pullman[7][11][16] BR London King's Cross – Newcastle Central 1948 – ?
Thames-Clyde Express LMS / BR Glasgow Central – Carlisle Citadel –Leeds City – London St Pancras
before 1966 from Glasgow St Enoch		 1927 – 1976
Thames Forth Express
(aka. Waverley)		 LMS / BR Edinburgh Waverley – Carlisle Citadel –Leeds City – London St Pancras 1927 – 1968
Thanet Belle[7] (Pullman train)
later the "Kentish Belle"		 BR London – to Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate 1948-51
Torbay Express[7] GWR / BR / FGW London Paddington – Paignton 1923 – present
The Tynesider[3][16] BR London Kings Cross – Newcastle Central (sleeper train) 1950s – 1960s
Ulster Express[44] BR London Euston – Morecambe and Heysham 1950s – 1960 – ?
Venice-Simplon Orient Express Orient Express London Victoria – Paris Est – Venice Santa Lucia 1982 – present
Virgin Invader Virgin London Euston – Liverpool Lime Street 2002 – ? (not 2010)
Welsh Dragon/Draig Gymreig Virgin London Euston – Holyhead 2004 – ? (not 2010)
Welshman London Paddington – Llandudno
London Paddington – Porthmadog Harbour
London Paddington – Pwllheli
The Wessex Scot BR / Virgin Poole – Glasgow Central  ? (not 2010)
White Rose[11] BR Bradford Exchange – Leeds City – London St Pancras 1949 –
Yorkshire Pullman[11][17] BR London King's Cross – Hull, Bradford Forster Square and Harrogate  ? 1950s;
Yorkshire Pullman[45] BR London King's Cross – Leeds  ? – 1995 –
Zephyr Grand Central Sunderland – London King's Cross (one way only) 2010

The National Railway Museum has a wall where the headboards of a number of named trains are displayed. These include: ANGLO-SCOTTISH CAR CARRIER, BRISTOLIAN*, BROADSMAN*, CALEDONIAN*, CAMBRIAN RADIO CRUISE, CAPITALS LIMITED*+, CAPITALS UNITED EXPRESS, CHELTENHAM FLYER, COMET*, CONDOR (a named freight train, derived from CONtainer DOoR-to-Door), CORNISH RIVIERA EXPRESS, CORNISHMAN*, CTAC SCOTTISH TOURS EXPRESS+, CUNARD SPECIAL+, DAY CONTINENTAL*, DEVONIAN*, EAST ANGLIAN*, EMERALD ISLE EXPRESS, EMPRESS VOYAGER+, FAIR MAID*+, FENMAN*, HARROGATE SUNDAY PULLMAN*, HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN*, INTER-CITY*, IRISH MAIL*, LAKES EXPRESS*, LANCASTRIAN*, MANXMAN*+, MASTER CUTLER*, MAYFLOWER*, MERSEYSIDE EXPRESS*+, MID-DAY SCOT*+, MIDLANDER*, NIGHT SCOTSMAN*, NORFOLKMAN*, NORSEMAN*, NORTH BRITON*, NORTH YORKSHIREMAN*, NORTHERN IRISHMAN*+, NORTHUMBRIAN*+, PALATINE*, PEMBROKE COAST EXPRESS+, QUEEN OF SCOTS*, RED DRAGON*, RED ROSE*, ROBIN HOOD*+, ROYAL DUCHY*, ROYAL HIGHLANDER*+, SCARBOROUGH FLIER, SCARBOROUGH FLYER*, SHAMROCK*+, SOUTH WALES PULLMAN*, TEES-THAMES*, THAMES-CLYDE EXPRESS*, TORBAY EXPRESS, ULSTER EXPRESS, WELSH CHIEFTAIN*, WELSHMAN*, WEST RIDING*, where * indicates that the name is prefixed by the definite article and + indicates that more than one version is on display.

See also railwaybritain.co.uk for a description of a number of Boat Trains, some of which are included in the lists above.

Notes

  1. ^ LNER Passenger Services Timetable 7 October 1946 to 4 May 1947
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Allen, C J. British Express Trains No 5 - Anglo-Scottish Services and Scottish Region; Ian Allan (1960)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i British Railways (N E Region) leaflet BR 35109/1 Named Trains on the East Coast Main Line
  4. ^ a b British Rail Passenger Timetable 17 May 1982 to 15 May 1983
  5. ^ a b Allen, Cecil J. (1960). ABC of British Express Trains No 2 - Southern Region. Ian Allan. OCLC 226176356. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cited as an example of one of the 'more than 50 named trains' run by British Railways in the 1952 edition of Facts and Figures about British Railways published by the British Transport Commission for railway employees
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Bonavia, Michael R. (1979). The birth of British Rail. London: Allen & Unwin. OCLC 59803166. 
  8. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 468.
  9. ^ a b c Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 590.
  10. ^ a b Semmens, P.W.B. (October 1988). "Blackpool for the Continent". Railway Magazine (London): p. 638. 
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Advertised as a Pullman Train in November 1965 issue of the ABC Railway Giide
  12. ^ a b c d One of the Blue Pullman trains
  13. ^ Smail, H.C.P. (1955). "By Pullman to Brighton". Sussex County Magazine (Eastbourne) 29. http://scm.pastfinders.org/scm_29_pullman.htm. 
  14. ^ Allen, Cecil J. (1960). ABC of British Express Trains No 1 - Western Region. Ian Allan. 
  15. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 24.
  16. ^ a b c d e Allen,C J. British Express Trains No 4 - Eastern, N E Regions; Ian Allan (1959)
  17. ^ a b c d e f British Railways Eastern Region Passenger Timetable 11 June to 16 September 1956
  18. ^ a b Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 201.
  19. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 141.
  20. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 227.
  21. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 159.
  22. ^ a b c d Allen, Cecil J. (1960). ABC of British Express Trains No No 3 - London Midland Region. Ian Allan. OCLC 226176429. 
  23. ^ a b Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 631.
  24. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 207.
  25. ^ "The titled Trains of Britain - Part One". Railway Magazine. November 2011. 
  26. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, pp. 110, 700.
  27. ^ Advertised as non-stop in summer 1962 but stopped for crew change at Newcastle after introduction of Deltic traction
  28. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 618.
  29. ^ a b Bonavia, Michael Robert (1981). British Rail - the first 25 Years. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 9780715380024. 
  30. ^ Lee, Charles E. (August 1958). "Named British Express trains". Railway Magazine (London): pp. 530–535. 
  31. ^ Miles, Tony (July 2011). "East Coast reports successful start". Modern Railways (London): p. 14. 
  32. ^ National Rail Timetable 23 May 2010 - December 2010, Table 26. Network Rail. p. 4. http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/eNRT/May10/timetables/Table26.pdf. 
  33. ^ National Rail Timetable 23 May 2010 - December 2010, Table 26. Network Rail. p. 5. http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/eNRT/May10/timetables/Table26.pdf. 
  34. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 291.
  35. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 629.
  36. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 31.
  37. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 572.
  38. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 492.
  39. ^ Smail, H.C.P. (1955). "By Pullman to Brighton". Sussex County Magazine (Eastbourne) 29. http://scm.pastfinders.org/scm_29_pullman.htm. 
  40. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 32.
  41. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 69.
  42. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 574.
  43. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 440.
  44. ^ Bradshaw's January 1960, p. 571.
  45. ^ "Operations News: InterCity East Coast". Railway Magazine (London): p. 69. March 1995. 

Works cited