Highland Chieftain

Highland Chieftain route map
 Inverness
Carrbridge
Aviemore
Kingussie
Newtonmore
Blair Atholl
Pitlochry
Dunkeld & Birnam
Perth
Gleneagles
Dunblane
Stirling
Falkirk Grahamston
Haymarket
Edinburgh Waverley
Scotland / England
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Newcastle
Darlington
York
Doncaster
Newark North Gate
Peterborough
London Kings Cross

The Highland Chieftain is one of the four named passenger trains operated by Virgin Trains East Coast on the UK National Rail network. Virgin Trains East Coast runs one train a day each way between London King's Cross and Inverness on the East Coast Main Line and the Highland Main Line. Both services are named the Highland Chieftain and are operated by diesel-powered InterCity 125 High Speed Trains (HSTs) as the route is not electrified north of Edinburgh. Because of the limited number of stops between London and Edinburgh, this service has one of the fastest journey times between the two cities, just two minutes longer than the Flying Scotsman.

The route is one of the longest in Great Britain at 581 miles and the journey takes around 7 hours 55 minutes southbound, 8 hr 8 min northbound; the increased time for the northbound journey is to allow for conflicting movements on the single-line sections north of Perth) to cover the journey. Longer routes include the Caledonian Sleeper and a CrossCountry service from Aberdeen to Penzance, which covers over 705 miles.

Virgin Trains East Coast's three other named services are the Hull Executive, the Northern Lights and the Flying Scotsman.

Origins

The Highland Chieftain was introduced with the May 1984 timetable, the running time then being 8 hours 40 minutes southbound and 8 hours 50 minutes northbound. It was intended to replace the Clansman as the "principal train" between the Highlands and London. [1]

References

  1. ↑ Vallance, H. A. (1985) [1938]. The Highland Railway (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David St. John Thomas. p. 168. ISBN 0-946537-24-0.


External links