Inter-city rail in the United Kingdom

Eurostar services are one of only two international rail services serving the United Kingdom. They are also the only services in Great Britain operating at speeds of more than 250 km/h (155 mph).

In Great Britain, there are inter-city trains to numerous parts of the country. Most of these trains are high speed, and some run to France and Belgium.

After the sectorisation of British Rail, inter-city trains were operated by InterCity. InterCity ran trains from London to Devon, Cornwall, Bristol, South Wales, Cheltenham, the Cotswolds, Oxford, the West Midlands, the East Midlands, North Wales, North West England, Yorkshire and the Humber, North East England, Scotland, East Anglia and London Gatwick Airport. There were also numerous Cross Country services, which were inter-city services that traversed several regions and usually avoided Greater London.

The shortest inter-city rail service in the UK is operated by Heathrow Express from London Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 5 and takes 21 minutes to complete. The shortest inter-city rail service which is not an airport rail link is operated by First Great Western from London Paddington to Oxford and takes 59 minutes to complete, although these services also call at the larger town, and station, of Reading (30 minutes). The UK's longest direct rail service is operated by CrossCountry from Aberdeen to Penzance and takes 13 hours and 23 minutes to complete.

Inter-city trains from London operate out of the following London terminals:

• London Paddington (trains to London Heathrow Airport, Devon, Cornwall, Bristol, South Wales, Cheltenham, the Cotswolds, Oxford and the West Midlands)
• London Euston (trains to North Wales, North West England, the West Midlands and Scotland)
• London St Pancras (trains to the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, France and Belgium)
• London King's Cross (trains to the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, North East England and Scotland)
• London Liverpool Street (trains to East Anglia)
• London Victoria (trains to London Gatwick Airport)

The following train operating companies operate inter-city trains in Great Britain (operators marked with an asterisk are open-access operators):

• Abellio Greater Anglia
• Caledonian Sleeper
• CrossCountry
• East Midlands Trains
• Eurostar*
• First Great Western
• Grand Central*
• Heathrow Express*
• Hull Trains*
• Southern (Gatwick Express)
• Virgin Trains East Coast
• Virgin Trains West Coast

See also

• Rail transport in the United Kingdom
• High-speed rail in the United Kingdom