"There was a time when every railway station in the country had something they don't have any more - a railway map of the UK. Not a total map of every railway line and station, as that map would need to be huge to be legible, but a map of the key lines and stations served by Intercity trains. Intercity was (mainly) introduced in 1966 as a brand for long-distance travel,"
"but really came into its own when British Rail was sectorised in 1982, creating a fully stand-alone brand operating the much-admired Intercity 125 trains across the country. There was something exciting about Intercity travel at the time - it was a unique brand name that took you to far-flung places across the country. As a young thing, my geography of the country I had arrived in was dominated by the names of the Intercity stops."
"Learned by bored staring at maps on train trips to Outward Bound holidays or the announcements in stations, all I knew was that these were obviously Important Places, because the big trains called there. Bristol Parkway, Coventry, Penzance, Crewe, Preston, Bedford, Peterborough, Swindon. These were served not by small local trains but by the big grown up trains with the pointy front."
Every railway station once displayed a compact map showing key Intercity lines and stations rather than every local route. Intercity began in 1966 and became prominent after British Rail sectorisation in 1982, operating Intercity 125 trains nationwide. Intercity conveyed excitement and a sense of importance to its named stops, shaping personal geographic knowledge. Intercity services offered larger trains, table seating, and a more grown-up experience compared with local services, sometimes including amenities like honey roast nuts. Intercity remained a specific, sometimes-shared brand for long-distance services. Contemporary major stations now present unified local branding, erasing the clear separation between regional and national services.
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