Cornish Riviera Express
 |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Passenger train |
| First service | 1 July 1904 |
| Current operator(s) | Great Western Railway |
| Former operator(s) |
InterCity Great Western British Rail Great Western Railway |
| Route | |
| Start | London Paddington |
| End | Penzance |
| Average journey time | 5 hours 30 minutes |
| Service frequency | Daily |
| Train number(s) | 1C77 (westbound) 1A81 (eastbound) |
| Line used |
Great Western Reading to Taunton Taunton to Exeter Exeter to Plymouth Cornish |
| Technical | |
| InterCity 125 | |
| Operating speed | 125 mph |
The Cornish Riviera Express is a British express passenger train that has run between London Paddington and Penzance in Cornwall since 1904. Introduced by the Great Western Railway, the name Cornish Riviera Express has been applied to the late morning express train from London to Penzance continuously through nationalisation under British Rail and privatisation under First Great Western, only ceasing briefly during the two World Wars. The name is also applied to the late morning express train running in the opposite direction from Penzance to London. Through performance and publicity the Cornish Riviera Express has become one of the most famous named trains in the United Kingdom and is particularly renowned for the publicity employed by the Great Western Railway in the 1930s which elevated it to iconic status. Today it is operated by Great Western Railway (train operating company).
Through trains from London Paddington to Penzance began running on 1 March 1867 and included fast services such as the 10:15 Cornishman and 11:45 Flying Dutchman, but these still took nine hours or more for the journey.
A new express service with limited stops was promoted by the Great Western Railway, commencing on 1 July 1904. It left London at 10:10 and was timed to reach Penzance at 17:10. It conveyed six carriages to Penzance, including a dining car, and one more carriage for Falmouth that was detached at Truro then added to a branch train to complete its journey. Other stops were made at Plymouth North Road, Gwinear Road (for the Helston branch), and St Erth (for the St Ives branch). The return train from Penzance started at 10:00 and called additionally at Devonport.
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