We will be touring Scotland and Ireland in September of 2018. I would like to visit London for a few days and then take a train (bullet train?) to Edinburgh to meet up with friends and start our tour. Not sure where I begin to find out information on trains from London to Edinburgh, cost of train ride, how long is the journey, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We will be making flight arrangements in the next month and would like to find out if this would be feasible prior to making flight arrangements.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Trains between London and Edinburgh are run by "Virgin East Coast". The trip takes just over 4 hours, and there are 1-2 departures per hour.
You can look up times and prices on their website: https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/
The site only lists times up to the annual timetable change in December. No way you will be able to book for September 2018 for many months, but you will be able to see times and prices for the next few months as an indication.
Note: This is not a "Bullet train". "Bullet train" was a name applied by English-language journalists to the original Japanese "Shinkansen" train in the 1960's, because they thought "Shinkansen" was a too complicated word.
Modern High Speed trains in Europe run at about 300 Km/Hr (190 MPH). The London-Edinburgh trains run at 200 Km/Hr (125 MPH), which is pretty fast but not officially a "High Speed Train" by the modern definition.
Posted by
11 posts
We just did this very thing. We took a Virgin Train from King's Cross Station (London) to Edinburgh, Scotland. We spent a little extra and upgraded to first class, which was very nice! You can reserve your seat in advance, on all Virgin trains. Note: trains are priced by supply and demand. By leaving 30 minutes later, I saved considerably. My train stopped 4 times - stops are listed before you buy the ticket. Using the Virgin Train app is also helpful in making your arrangements; I think it even has a fare watcher.
Enjoy!
(Some people are sensitive to facing forward or backwards - turns out I'm one of them. Facing forward is easier.)
The Edinburgh airport is about 30 minutes outside of town and will cost 20 - 25 pounds).
Posted by
OP
8 posts
Last year we took a train ride into Berlin from the north and were disappointed in the scenery. Is the train ride from London to Edinburgh worth it, or should we just fly. By taking the train I am imagining wonderful scenery.
Posted by
Freedonia
15181 posts
The scenery is okay. Some good, some not that thrilling. But it's a lot easier to take the train than to fly.
The plane flight is between one hour and fifteen minutes and one and a half hours.. One hour to get to the airport. Be there two hours ahead of time. Then airport security. Wait to board plane. Once you arrive it will take about 45 minutes to get from the airport to the center of town if not a little longer.
With the train, you show up a few minutes before departure, get on board (no security) and go. The seats are more comfortable, you can get up and walk around, there is a snack bar car if you get hungry. It will take about five hours city center to city center.