All change! UK's longest train route cancelled for good
17 May 2025, 11:23 | Updated: 17 May 2025, 13:53
A CrossCountry train took passengers on a final 13-hour trip on the 775-mile route from Aberdeen to Penzance on Friday, marking the end of a service that ran for 104 years.
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The service departed Aberdeen for Penzance at 8:20am on Friday morning, stopping at 35 stations along the way and arriving at its destination at 9:31pm.
Operator CrossCountry said the decision to end the service aimed to create 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 service running on time.
Train enthusiasts boarded the service as it travelled the scenic route for a final time, spending a total of two hours stopped at stations along the way.
One passenger, Michael Cleaver, said he hoped it would be "a bit of a party train all the way down to Penzance."
He said: “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."
“As with many enthusiasts, this is very much a bucket list item so when I heard they were cutting it back I thought, I’ve got to ride this when I still can, because it is one of a kind."
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An advance single ticket in a standard class cabin on the final service started at £138.60 per adult.
From Monday, the train will now run from Aberdeen 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 695 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.
The UK's longest direct route pales in comparison to the world's longest train journey, which covers 12,000 miles over 21 days and takes passengers from Portugal to Singapore.
