Named Trains in the UK

[Condor7]

As of the new timetable from next Sunday 17th May below is the updated list of UK named trains. It remains mostly the same from last year 2015, with exceptions of LNER with The Flying Scotsman which has now been reinstated to run in both directions from London to Edinburg with revised timings closer to the old tradition times. in addition the passengers will benefit from a special Scottish themed menu and first class passengers a special Flying Scotsman menu with special themed place mats.

LNER.

Carolean Express. 11:00 Edinburgh to Kings Cross, 11:30 Kings Cross to Edinburgh.

The Flying Scotsman. 10:00 Edinburgh to Kings Cross. 10:30 Kings Cross to Edinburgh.

The Highland Chieftain. 07:55 Inverness to Kings Cross, 12:03 Kings Cross to Inverness.

The Northern Lights. 10:03 Kings Cross to Aberdeen, 09:52 Aberdeen to Kings Cross.

The West Riding Limited. 06:30 Bradford FS to Kings Cross, 15:40 Kings Cross to Bradford


GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY


The Bristolian. 06:24 Western Super Mare to Paddington
18:01. Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads


The Cheltenham Spa Express. 08:32 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa
15:03 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington


The Cotswolds & Malvern Express. 09:52 Paddington to Hereford
15:18 Hereford to Paddington


The Cathedrals Express. 05:33 Hereford to Paddington
17:34 Paddington to Hereford


The Devon Express. 07:02 Paddington to Paignton
19:04 Paignton to Paddington


The Royal Duchy. 12:05 Paddington to Penzance
12:15 Penzance to Paddington


The Torbay Express. 09:34 Paddington to Paignton
13:55 Paignton to Paddington


The Capitals Limited. 05:07 Swansea to Paddington
17:48 Paddington to Swansea


Flying Carolean. Paddington to Swansea. (one way only)


The Pembroke Coast Express. 08:48 Paddington to Pembroke dock (Saturday only)
10:02 Pembroke Dock to Paddington (Saturday only)


The Red Dragon. 07:23 Carmarthen to Paddington
16:18 Paddington to Carmarthen


The Saint David. 19:48 Paddington to Swansea
11:27 Carmarthen to Paddington


The Welshman (Y CYMRO). 07:18 Swansea to Paddington
18:48 Paddington to Swansea


The Armada. 05:55 Plymouth to Paddington
19:04 Paddington to Plymouth


The Cornishman. 15:03 Paddington to Penzance
16:15 Penzance to Paddington


The Cornish Riviera Express. 10:03 Paddington to Penzance
10:29 Penzance to Paddington


The Golden Hind. 05:03 Penzance to Paddington
18:03 Penzance to Paddington


The Mayflower. 13:03 Paddington to Plymouth
1108 Newquay to Paddington

The Atlantic Coast Express. 09:03 Paddington to Newquay (11:05 Saturdsys until mid September)
14:52 Newquay to Paddington (11:29 on Saturdays)


The Night Riviera. 23:45 Paddington to Penzance
21:45 Penzance to Paddington (21:15 Monday only)


*The Caledonian Sleeper sometimes referred to as The Night Caledonian or depending on its Scottish destination The Lowlander or The Highlander I feel has a place on the list. This could be construed a brand name rather than a named train, the fact there are only four train sets as opposed to a large fleet, plus the service includes portions in the finest traditions of named trains I have included it here for completion.

 

[The Prisoner]

Missed the Atlantic Coast Express:

0903 Paddington to Newquay Monday to Friday and 1105 Saturdays til mid September, returning at 1452 (midweek) and 1129 on Saturdays.

The Mayflower (1302 from Plymouth) starts at Newquay at 1108 Monday to Friday, again til mid September.

 

[Tetragon213]

I believe Northern still uses the Yorkshire Flyer name for their express Sheffield-Wakefield-Leeds services.

 

[Condor7]

Missed the Atlantic Coast Express:

0903 Paddington to Newquay Monday to Friday and 1105 Saturdays til mid September, returning at 1452 (midweek) and 1129 on Saturdays.

The Mayflower (1302 from Plymouth) starts at Newquay at 1108 Monday to Friday, again til mid September.

Thank you for your corrections. The Atlantic Coast Express was simply an oversight, with GWR having so many named trains I had simply missed adding it. The Mayflower however I had missed the Newquay connection completely so much I much appreciate the correction.

 

[Justin Time]

The up Highland Chieftain is 7:55 from Inverness, not 7:05.

 

[Envoy]

Good to see these named trains but how much promotion do they get? Does the name appear on screens / announcements at stations & on the trains? Do TFW run stations announce the names of these GWR trains and have the names on platform screens?

 

[Condor7]

The up Highland Chieftain is 7:55 from Inverness, not 7:05.

Thanks very much, a slip of the pen as they say. . I do always appreciate any observations or corrections it is always very helpful.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 May 2026 ==

I believe Northern still uses the Yorkshire Flyer name for their express Sheffield-Wakefield-Leeds services.

Thank you. You raise an interesting point. Named trains have traditionally been one train out and one train back. The Yorkshire Flyer is a named service rather than a named train, which is why I have not included it. See my footnote regarding The Caledonian sleeper. Again I appreciate the feedback though.

 

[lrbvoyager]

Avanti have a “Sky Blue Champion” service from Coventry to Euston in the morning but I can’t remember the exact times.

 

[Tazilly]

There isn’t a 15.03 Hereford to Paddington, but there is a 15.18.

I was a bit worried as I have an advance ticket next month for that train.

 

[Condor7]

Avanti have a “Sky Blue Champion” service from Coventry to Euston in the morning but I can’t remember the exact times.

Yes thanks, this was a one off special celebrating Coventry Cities promotion. There are often one off named specials for one reason or another, again traditionally named trains have to be a regular timetabled service.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 May 2026 ==

There isn’t a 15.03 Hereford to Paddington, but there is a 15.18.

I was a bit worried as I have an advance ticket next month for that train.

Have no fear your 15:18 time is now the correct time.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 May 2026 ==

Good to see these named trains but how much promotion do they get? Does the name appear on screens / announcements at stations & on the trains? Do TFW run stations announce the names of these GWR trains and have the names on platform screens?

Yes it is good to see the tradition of named trains are still there but unfortunately some train operating companies have just used the name without it being any different to other services, such as until recently, East Midland Trains, whose named trains mainly remained just a timetabled entry, until they decided to drop the names altogether.

As far as the two remaining train companies are concerned, and in answer to your question, it seems to be a bit of a hit and miss affair, however many are named on screens and some in announcements but not at every station they stop at. I am always interested however to get feedback on this forum from other members. Also regarding in the train itself, some like the new revamped The Flying Scotsman are including in train promotion but again feedback on this is also welcome.

 

[Justin Time]

Good to see these named trains but how much promotion do they get? Does the name appear on screens / announcements at stations & on the trains? Do TFW run stations announce the names of these GWR trains and have the names on platform screens?

I caught The Northern Lights heading north a couple of weeks back at Newcastle and the name was displayed on the platform information screens, as was The Highland Chieftain, heading south. They pass at Newcastle at 13:00 ish.

 

[tutacre]

CrossCountry seem to be naming the Edinburgh to Cardiff service on the train itself - although seems to vary by Train Manager - "Three Nations Express".

 

[The exile]

Good to see these named trains but how much promotion do they get? Does the name appear on screens / announcements at stations & on the trains? Do TFW run stations announce the names of these GWR trains and have the names on platform screens?

The up Bristolian is definitely announced as such at Bath.

 

[43096]

The Golden Hind is 1803 Paddington to Penzance, not the other way round.

 

[bleeder4]

Good to see these named trains but how much promotion do they get? Does the name appear on screens / announcements at stations & on the trains? Do TFW run stations announce the names of these GWR trains and have the names on platform screens?

I did The Highland Chieftain last month and it was named as such on the departure board at Inverness. The train manager also used the name in the welcome announcement on board.

 

[dk1]

CrossCountry seem to be naming the Edinburgh to Cardiff service on the train itself - although seems to vary by Train Manager - "Three Nations Express".

Always been like that. We used to have The East Anglian but only the enthusiastic types ever bothered to announce it as such.

 

[styles]

Good to see these named trains but how much promotion do they get? Does the name appear on screens / announcements at stations & on the trains? Do TFW run stations announce the names of these GWR trains and have the names on platform screens?

I'm not sure I've ever seen a named train appear as a named train on a departure board.

Regular services are usually just advertised with their usual departure time and destination name. Exceptional services are sometimes on the screen as something like, "Special Service".

I'm sure there are examples of the special service name being used on departure boards etc, I've just never seen it personally.

I suspect also that if it's a regular passenger service there is a balance to be struck between using the train name and the usual destination information so that people aren't confused, especially tourists - if it's used on a departure board it should be in addition, rather than instead of, the usual information.

 

[dk1]

The Devon Express. 07:02 Paddington to Paignton
10:04 Paignton to Paddington

Did you mean 10:55 Paignton to Paddington? I can’t see a 10:04.

 

[enginedin]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a named train appear as a named train on a departure board.

LNER (and other TOC) Named Trains

In the latest edition of Railway Herald there was a news item regarding the new LNER timetable that stated the named train on all LNER services has been removed and no longer in use. This suprised me as the latest online timetable states quite prominently how proud they are of their named...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[The exile]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a named train appear as a named train on a departure board.

Regular services are usually just advertised with their usual departure time and destination name. Exceptional services are sometimes on the screen as something like, "Special Service".

I'm sure there are examples of the special service name being used on departure boards etc, I've just never seen it personally.

I suspect also that if it's a regular passenger service there is a balance to be struck between using the train name and the usual destination information so that people aren't confused, especially tourists - if it's used on a departure board it should be in addition, rather than instead of, the usual information.

In the days of Solari split-flap boards they certainly did.

 

[styles]

LNER (and other TOC) Named Trains

In the latest edition of Railway Herald there was a news item regarding the new LNER timetable that stated the named train on all LNER services has been removed and no longer in use. This suprised me as the latest online timetable states quite prominently how proud they are of their named...

www.railforums.co.uk

Like I say, no doubt it does happen sometimes, but I suspect most of them go on silently.

 

[gerryuk]

Is the Master Cuttler from Sheffield still a thing?

 

[hexagon789]

Is the Master Cuttler from Sheffield still a thing?

As far as I'm aware, EMR has no named trains mentioned in their timetables.

I think it's just LNER and GWR that have individual named services now.

 

[Condor7]

Did you mean 10:55 Paignton to Paddington? I can’t see a 10:04.

I didn’t mean 10:04 that is not a named trains, it should have read 19:04, I pressed the 0 instead of the 9. Thanks though

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 May 2026 ==

As far as I'm aware, EMR has no named trains mentioned in their timetables.

I think it's just LNER and GWR that have individual named services now.

Yes that is correct. EMR sadly ceased naming trains in 2025 although as I previously said for some time they were just names in a timetable. It is a shame because the Master Cutler was an iconic train linking Sheffield and London.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 May 2026 ==

CrossCountry seem to be naming the Edinburgh to Cardiff service on the train itself - although seems to vary by Train Manager - "Three Nations Express".

As with The Northern Flyer mentioned in an above thread, this is a named service covering numerous trains but not a named train in itself, but thanks anyway.

 

[StarCrossing]

I catch the westbound Red Dragon quite frequently and it does get announced at Bristol Parkway, which is where I board. However, it's always a 5 car train and so the Red Sardine might be a more appropriate name.

 

[Condor7]

Just an additional point, LNER’s main timetable from 17th May has a mistake in their list of named trains as someone forgot to update The Flying Scotsman timings and still shows just the old early morning train from Edinburgh. I have been in touch with them and they have acknowledged the mistake and have reported it to the appropriate department.

 

[The exile]

As with The Northern Flyer mentioned in an above thread, this is a named service covering numerous trains but not a named train in itself, but thanks anyway.

Is it really? How many Scotland - Wales services do Cross Country operate every day?

 

[Envoy]

Is it really? How many Scotland - Wales services do Cross Country operate every day?

One service per day (weekdays only) each way between Cardiff > York Newcastle and Edinburgh.

 

[The exile]

One service per day (weekdays only) each way between Cardiff > York Newcastle and Edinburgh.

So it is a named train (by default if it’s named and there’s only one of them each way every day). No other XC trains serve three nations (unless we’re thinking “pre Alfred the Great” or the comparable moments for modern Scotland - in which case it’d be a lot more than three!)

 

[enginedin]

CrossCountry seem to be naming the Edinburgh to Cardiff service on the train itself - although seems to vary by Train Manager - "Three Nations Express".

What's the reason for the daily southbound service joining at Gloucester but the daily northbound service splitting at Birmingham? (yes yes, I'm sure I'm supposed to say the up or down or across service or something, but I'm still not railway enough to understand that jargon!)