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Great Britain has numerousIntercity services traversing the country, however, unlike in other countries, these are not clearly defined. Most of these trains arehigh speed, and some operate intoFrance,Belgium and theNetherlands.
In 1830, the first intercity railway in the world was built between the cities ofLiverpool andManchester in northwestEngland for the purpose of transporting both passengers and goods.[4] A railway mania ensued, with intercity railways springing up across the country. The UK's main intercity routes, theWest Coast Main Line fromLondon toGlasgow opened in 1849, and theEast Coast Main Line from London to Edinburgh opened in 1860.[5] Before the Grouping in 1923, most services were operated by joint stock as various rail companies owned separate sections of track that intercity services operated over. Following the Grouping, intercity services were amalgamated with local services under the "Big Four", theLondon and North Eastern Railway, theGreat Western Railway, theLondon Midland and Scottish Railway and theSouthern Railway. Named trains became increasingly prominent during this period, as did the luxury of such services. These luxurious services included theFlying Scotsman on the east coast, theRoyal Scot on the west and theCornish Riviera Express in the south west.
In 1948 the Big Four were nationalised to formBritish Railways. However, after the demise of steam in 1968 the number of luxury services and named services declined. In 1966 the brand nameInter-city was introduced by British Rail. The hyphen was later dropped.[6] InterCity ran trains fromLondon toSouth West England,Wales, theWest Midlands, theEast Midlands,North West England,Yorkshire and the Humber,North East England,Scotland andEast of England. There were also numerouscross-country services, which were inter-city services that traversed several regions and usually avoidedGreater London. Intercity was broken into varying franchises during theprivatisation of British Rail.
Since privatisation, the distinction between InterCity and regional express has become increasingly blurred. Many services once considered regional express are now operated and marketed as intercity, includingTransPennine Express andScotRail. There are also numerous companies which operate a mixture of inter-city, regional express and local services.
The UK's current longest direct rail service is operated by CrossCountry from Aberdeen toPenzance, and takes 13 hours 23 minutes to complete. The service is due to cease operation on 16 May and after this date the service will terminate inPlymouth, and no longer hold the title for the UK's longest direct rail journey.[7]
Inter-city trains from London operate out of the following London terminals:
The followingtrain operating companies operate inter-city trains in Great Britain (operators marked with an asterisk are open-access operators and only inter-city routes listed):
InNorthern Ireland, there are inter-city services between it and theRepublic of Ireland known asEnterprise.
