Highland Chieftain

London North Eastern Railway Class 800 Azuma at Kingussie
Overview
Service type	Passenger train
Predecessor	The Clansman
First service	May 1984
Current operator(s)	London North Eastern Railway
Former operator(s)	Virgin Trains East Coast East Coast National Express East Coast GNER InterCity East Coast
Route
Termini	London King's Cross Inverness
Distance travelled	581 miles
Average journey time	8 hours
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	1W16 (northbound) 1E13 (southbound)
Line(s) used	East Coast Highland
Technical
Rolling stock	Class 800 Azuma
Operating speed	125 mph

Highland Chieftain route map
Legend
Inverness Aviemore Kingussie Pitlochry Perth Gleneagles Stirling Falkirk Grahamston Haymarket Edinburgh Waverley Scotland / England Berwick-upon-Tweed Newcastle Darlington York London King's Cross

The Highland Chieftain is a named British passenger train operated by London North Eastern Railway. It operates daily in each direction between London King's Cross and Inverness via the East Coast and Highland Main Line. It is one of the longest train journeys in the United Kingdom at 581 miles with a journey time of eight hours.

Historically, the principal train service between London and the Scottish Highlands was The Clansman, which ran via the West Coast Main Line.

The Highland Chieftain was introduced with the May 1984 timetable on the East Coast Main Line and was intended to replace The Clansman; the running time then was 8 hours 40 minutes southbound and 8 hours 50 minutes northbound.^[1][2] Today, it has a journey time of eight hours.^[3] Originally operated by InterCity 125 sets, the service has been operated by Class 800 Azumas since December 2019.^[4]

Electric locomotive 87023, which operated on the West Coast Main Line, was named Highland Chieftain between 1978 and 1984, but never had an association with the passenger service.^[5] LNER High Speed Train power car 43308, which has operated the service, was later named Highland Chieftain. The nameplate was auctioned by London North Eastern Railway in 2020.^[6]

Presently both of the services are operated by a Class 800 Azuma. This is a bi-modal train due to the line being diesel only beyond Haymarket, with the train being on electric power to and from the latter.

Current

Family	Class	Image	Type	Top speed
				mph	km/h
Hitachi AT300	Class 800 Azuma		Bi-mode multiple unit	125	200

Until December 2019, the Highland Chieftain service was operated by an InterCity 125 HST for a number of years until the whole fleet of HSTs were replaced by the Azuma fleet.

Past

Trainset	Class	Image	Type	Top speed
				mph	km/h
InterCity 125	Class 43		Locomotive	125	200
	Mark 3		Passenger coach

• National Rail Enquiries website - main web portal for UK train fares, times and other travel information
• Sweeney, Val (27 March 2012). "Highland Chieftain train service saved". Inverness Courier. Retrieved 12 July 2013.