Transport and travel factsheet

Plymouth enjoys excellent communications by road, rail and air with the rest of the UK, and by sea to Europe.

Road

Plymouth is linked to Exeter and the M5 some 40 miles (64 km) to the east by Britain's first Expressway, which is in effect an extension of the motorway network that continues into Cornwall. The Devon Expressway enables easy access to other major cities in the UK, and set out below is an example of journey times from Plymouth.

(*) Source: AA website 'Route Planner' (June 2005)

National Express provide regular daily coach services from Plymouth to many parts of the country, including several to London, offering journey times of approximately four hours to Heathrow Airport and four-and-a-half hours to Central London.

Rail

Plymouth is on the main rail network from London (Paddington) to Penzance, and First Great Western provide 15 direct Intercity 125 trains per weekday (including a sleeper service) with 14 on Saturdays and 16 on Sundays, giving a fastest journey time to London of just three hours.

A high-speed service enables passengers from Devon and Cornwall to arrive in London by 9am, the journey time from Plymouth being three hours.

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Sea

Brittany Ferries operate regular foot passenger and roll-on/roll-off car and freight services to Roscoff in France and Santander in Northern Spain. A summary of the services available is set out below. More detailed information and full timetables may be found on Brittany Ferries' website.

Air

Plymouth City Airport is located approximately five miles from the city centre from where Air South West operate services to the following destinations, many of which offer international connections.

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