A train is due to set off from London to Bath on what is believed to be the world's first speed dating journey on a train.

First Great Western is pioneering the first speed dating journey for singles hoping to find that special someone. Passengers have paid £45 for the first class ticket from Paddington with a bell sounding every 5 minutes to signal time to swap partners.

After dinner in Bath passengers will return to London.

"Trains and train stations have long been portrayed as romantic settings for films and we're convinced they still are a great place for romance," said First Great Western's Customer Services Director, Glenda Lamont.

"On top of that, how much faster can speed dating be? Our trains travel at up to 125mph," she added.

The idea came about after a survey showed that 13% of people had met new people or had been chatted up on a train.

One in ten men in the survey carried out by First Great Western said they had asked someone on a date or chatted someone up on a train journey.