Travelling from one end of the country to another for more than an hour via train sounds daunting for most. Add another 10 hours on top of that and suddenly rail fanatics would consider it a bucket list journey.
When it comes to travel, convenience surely ranks top in demands for most people. And so while flying the distance of the UK from Scotland all the way down to Cornwall is the quickest option, how many Brits actually want the faff of an airport.
However, as of May 16, the CrossCountry train service which has been operating for more than 100 years embarked on its final journey, as it served as the UK’s longest direct train of 13 hours with 30+ train stops over 774 miles.
Departing from the Scottish city at 8.20am and arriving in the west of Cornwall at 9.31pm.
The train stopped at 35 stations along the way, including Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, Bristol, Taunton and Truro as it wound its way across the country to reach its final destination.
Operator CrossCountry made the decision to end the service, declaring a “more efficient timetable”. Rail bosses said most customers only made short journeys along the route, and mentioned the difficulty of keeping such a long running service for a long time.
Train lovers boarded the train as it travelled the scenic route for one last time, spending a total of two hours stopping at each station along the way.
An advance single ticket in a standard class cabin on the final service started at £138.60 per adult.
Michael Cleaver, a train enthusiast, was on board. “It’s the last train ever and it’s such a long route. It’s a route I’ve wanted to do for ages and this is the last ever chance to do it. I’m hoping it will be a bit of a party train all the way down to Penzance,” he said. Cleaver also went on to say “I’ve got a book and a phone so I’m not too worried about getting bored.” amid the 13 hour journey.
On May 19, 2025 the service began its new running schedule from Aberdeen which will travel only as far as Plymouth, an 11.5-hour journey.
The route between Aberdeen and Plymouth is now the UK’s longest direct journey, at 695 miles.
Passengers wishing to travel further will need to take a connecting train on the main line through Cornwall.
Another service will run from Penzance to Edinburgh, covering 694 miles.
A CrossCountry spokesman said: “Amending our Aberdeen to Penzance service from May 2025 will mean a more efficient timetable for our train crews and a more convenient service for our customers, making a day trip from Bristol and the west of England to Penzance more viable. The new timetable will also deliver an additional service in each direction between Glasgow and the northeast of England towards Birmingham.”
The cancellation was announced earlier this year.
The service was launched in October 1921, and ran once daily. It stopped in major cities including Edinburgh, Newcastle, and Leeds.