Train or Plane

Birmingham to Edinburgh by train city centre to city centre is just over 4 hours, every two hours. Compared to three flights a day. So if a flight is cancelled or goes tech you have a long wait.

That is faster than air when you include check in time and airport to city centre transit at either end.

There are no current rail strikes scheduled, and do planes never get delayed? The answer is they do especially when used intensively with low cost carriers such as Easyjet- the only carrier on the BHX to EDI route.

If the west coast rail route is having problems then the hourly service on the east coast route should be running, if one hour slower.

Booked ahead the train should be less than £50. Unless you can manage with just a small under seat cabin bag the flight will be £20 or even more, more expensive.

And train is a quantum leap better travel experience.

I would normally say take the train but it depends on the day of the week and day. (Weekends are when maintenance takes place.)

On the bright side, if a strike is called, the union has to give two weeks notice so you will know ahead of time.

There are two train companies offering direct service--Cross Country and Avanti. Personally, if the timing and price works for you, I would choose Avanti. I prefer them over Cross Country but YMMV.

Thank you for the information!

CrossCountry (XC) trains from Birmingham to Edinburgh have two further disadvantages -

They go the long way, so take 5 hours instead of 4 and are often only 4 or 5 coaches (train cars) long.

Avanti's services are 9 or 11 and because they have more capacity their Advance fares are almost always cheaper than CrossCountry; they have more seats to fill.

The one advantage of XC is perhaps the fact they offer an hourly direct service more-or-less all day, Avanti's only run every two hours.

We flew from the South of England to Edinburgh via Easy Jet, and later took the train from Edinburgh back south. The train experience was soooooo much more enjoyable. Less hassle, time to stare out the window, easy access to food and facilities, more comfortable seats, better embark/debark experience. And as Stuart says, add in the cost to check a bag, and the time pre- and post-flight, and you save neither money nor time by flying. Train for sure is my vote.

We are now considering London instead of Birmingham to Edinburgh via train. Any practical advice on train travel from London to Edinburgh? Thanks!

You have a choice of companies and routes. LNER and Lumo travel up the east coast and are the fastest. Lumo is a discount train company.

I've done the trip numerous times. The best scenery is in the northern part of England and just as you enter Scotland.

If you are going from London (Kings Cross) to Edinburgh - you will be on the east coast mainline (you only see the coast N of Newcastle). York is on this route (Lumo don’t call) and I would suggest you consider a stop over at this city. See >https://visityork.org

You have a choice of companies and routes.

You also have Avanti up the west coast with far better quality trains, and a lot more scenery, through the Lake District and South West Scotland. Some dismiss them because they take 90 minutes longer due to going through the West Midlands and only run every two hours. However if you do a same platform change at Carlisle the journey time is only 30 minutes longer, and that then becomes an hourly service. It is also normally a cheaper route than via the East Coast.

The third way is LNER to Leeds, change trains, the very scenic Settle- Carlisle line to Carlisle, change trains, then the hourly service to Edinburgh. Booked in advance (and I don't mean months in advance, a week or two will do) this is normally the cheapest of the routes. That route will give you scenic overload, but is the slowest at around 7 hours.

Until relatively recently there were through trains to London St Pancras over this route.

Sometimes speed is not everything. For me as a very regular virtual commuter the best mix of value, scenery, time and train quality is Avanti West Coast.

You could go north on the east route and south on the west route - or vice versa.