What name was given to the 1963 robbery of a Royal Mail train in Britain?

The 1963 robbery of a Royal Mail train in Britain became known as the Great Train Robbery.

On 8 August 1963, a gang stopped the overnight Travelling Post Office train near Bridego Railway Bridge in Buckinghamshire. The robbers tampered with railway signalling, attacked the train crew and escaped with about £2.6 million in stolen banknotes, an enormous sum at the time.

The train was carrying mail between Glasgow and London, and its carriages were being used to sort and transport mail while travelling. The robbery quickly became one of Britain’s most famous crimes because of its scale, planning and dramatic railway setting.

The event is sometimes confused with later fictional films and television dramas that use similar titles. The original case involved a Royal Mail train, the gang led by Bruce Reynolds, and a major police investigation that resulted in convictions for many participants.