Crosscountry axe UK's longest direct rail route

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Cornish News (FB) reports that final run

After more than a century of service, the iconic Aberdeen to Penzance cross-country train has made its final journey today. Spanning the entire length of mainland Britain, the route was the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)’s longest direct train service, beloved by rail enthusiasts and weary travellers alike. Its cancellation marks the end of an era, with many passengers describing the farewell trip as emotional. The service had connected the granite coast of Cornwall to Scotland’s rugged northeast, passing through over 40 stations and weaving together countless memories across generations.

[PhilWakely]

Cornish News (FB) reports that final run

........ Spanning the entire length of mainland Britain......

Not quite - unless it had a Wick to Aberdeen portion   

[grahame]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) report at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c753zzvd6gno - not sure if that link will work in UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

It is a route which has operated for more than 100 years, but for the UK's longest direct train service linking Aberdeen and Penzance it is finally the end of the line.

The connection - first established back in 1921 - is 775 miles (1,247km) long.

However, the packed train from the north east of Scotland on Friday morning was the last to run the route, and arrived in Cornwall more than 13 hours later at 21:40. Operator CrossCountry said the decision to end the service was aimed at a "more efficient timetable".

The BBC is more accurate than other reports, not suggesting it runs from end to end of the country.  We on the Coffee Shop all know that Penzance is some mile short of Land's End, and I understand that Aberdeen is not quite Cape Wrath or Duncansby Head.

Yesterday excepted, the number of passengers making distances between the extreme points of the service must have  been very limited.  According to data we have at https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/ABD.html?limit=1550&sortby=0 there were just 180 tickets sold (90 journeys each way) between Aberdeen and Penzance in the year round April 2024.  Not  a total story, or course - there will be rovers and interrail and splits and onward journeys beyond Aberdeen to consider.

[Mark A]

There's surely be a bus connection from Unst to Lerwick, and the Crosscountry train's timed to take passengers from the 19:00 (ferry) from Lerwick, calling at Kirkwall around 23:00 and into Aberdeen the next morning a good hour before the train leaves. This will still benefit passengers heading as far as Plymouth (and, with a change of trains, Cornwall... overnight at Penzance and you can probably be on St Agnes by lunchtime)

Mark