The 'Carolean Express', new named service from LNER

[eldomtom2]

I don’t. It isn’t. It’s a TOC’s brand. By that logic GTR’s Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink services, or WM Trains’ London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services would also be named services.

Named trains are "brands" by their very nature. Gatwick Express differs from, for instance, LNWR/WMT in that it refers to a very limited set of services.

 

[Condor7]

Named trains are "brands" by their very nature. Gatwick Express differs from, for instance, LNWR/WMT in that it refers to a very limited set of services.

While there is no exact definition of a named train, and as you point out there is an argument to include brands, traditionally named trains refer to one train a day going from A to B and in most cases back again, where as a brand name is given to multiple trains running from A to B on the same day.

 

[eldomtom2]

While there is no exact definition of a named train, and as you point out there is an argument to include brands, traditionally named trains refer to one train a day going from A to B and in most cases back again, where as a brand name is given to multiple trains running from A to B on the same day.

That may be a specifically British interpretation. Other countries see no contradication in running multiple trains with the same name per day.

 

[Gaelan]

That may be a specifically British interpretation. Other countries see no contradication in running multiple trains with the same name per day.

Indeed - Amtrak, for instance, names all their "routes", with no distinction between ones that get ≤1 tpd and those that get more. Even the 1tpd ones like the Empire Builder will be served by multiple trains at any given time, as the routes are longer than 24 hours.

 

[WAB]

GWR have launched the Flying Carolean, the 0848 Paddington to Swansea service.

Linkedin link here

 

[Condor7]

Indeed - Amtrak, for instance, names all their "routes", with no distinction between ones that get ≤1 tpd and those that get more. Even the 1tpd ones like the Empire Builder will be served by multiple trains at any given time, as the routes are longer than 24 hours.

I accept that, it is similar in the UK with some routes getting a branding, but to me at least that makes it a named route rather than a named train. in the end not that it really matters, but an interesting point.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 May 2023 ==

GWR have launched the Flying Carolean, the 0848 Paddington to Swansea service.

Linkedin link here

Thanks for that. I was trying to work out if this was a one off train or will regularly be the 08:48 Paddington to Swansea the promotional information doesn’t make it clear and there is no mention of it in the online GWR timetable, I don’t know if anyone else has any idea?

Since posting the above I have had confirmation from GWR that it is a permanent naming.

 

[Gaelan]

I accept that, it is similar in the UK with some routes getting a branding, but to me at least that makes it a named route rather than a named train. in the end not that it really matters, but an interesting point.

Not sure that this changes anything, but the Amtrak “routes” aren’t necessarily geographically distinct - the Acela and the Northeast Regional are more or less the same route (albeit with some variation in the Northeast Regional’s service pattern), the Acela is just faster. It’s not like, say, the UK’s “East Coast Main Line”, which is used for any train that runs on a given bit of track.

I suppose the most prominent example of named routes in the UK is the Tube - for instance, the Circle Line has almost no track in not shared with another line.