Lner train (Azuma) London to Edinburgh for September 24 travel

10-12 weeks usually. You are too early.

First class vs second class is really personal preference. I like first class because it is usually quieter. Plus as a solo traveler, I can get a seat by myself.

Lumo may well be cheaper than LNER.

You can book for 24 September now- LNER are open for bookings including Advance Cheap Fares until 3 October except these black out dates (due to planned engineering work)- 24, 25, 26 August 2024, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30 September 2024

With the railcard fares as low as £32 standard class or £63 1st class Kings Cross to Edinburgh are available tonight. With first class you also get food and drink, plus the better seat. For £30 more you may well feel that is "worth" it

LNER tells you dates when tickets are available

https://www.lner.co.uk/travel-information/travelling-later/early-bird-ticket-alerts/

Thank you for you advise. I too, had heard tickets weren't available until 10 weeks out, but I also read different advise, so I went to the Lner site to book. At their site tickets were booking only into August. Someone suggested that the tickets would be released last night. I went back to the Lner site and I saw tickets available. The prices were much more than I had seen posted, like almost twice as much. We weren't ready to book because 2 people in our party haven't got their railcard discount pass. Just puzzled about the whole process and the different advise and prices. Also is the Azuma train a special Lner train that gies ti Edinburgh? Just trying to figure this out whether to book or wait.

Azuma is the name of the type of trains LNER operate https://www.lner.co.uk/the-east-coast-experience/azuma-trains/azuma-is-here/

Ticket prices won't go down now they are selling Advance tickets.

You can buy tickets without a railcard at the railcard price, but you must buy the railcard before you travel

Lumo are less expensive on this route https://www.lumo.co.uk/

Before I posted last night I checked the LNER website and those fares I gave you existed last night. I know the calendar ends in August but just click on the date of 24 September and the cheap fares will appear as I quoted them.

Booking with a railcard is best value. But groups of 3 to 9 people who don't qualify for a railcard get 30% off. I'm not sure how low you expect prices to be for a 400 mile journey, but the prices I quoted are fantastic value.

Yes there is a lot of conflicting advice out there, including from Rick- because people do not keep up with developments. LNER tickets are available so early largely due to Lumo.

With fares that cheap it is not necessarily true that Lumo are cheaper- sometimes they are, sometimes they are not. Also Lumo have baggage restrictions, and are short trains (half the length of LNER) and always packed- that is their business model. And catering has to be pre-booked. LNER run every half hour, LUMO a few times a day.

If you want really keen prices you need to book now and buy your railcards far closer to the time.

the time to buy a Railcard sort of depends on your preferences in your ways of buying and planning, and what you expect to be doing in the next 12 to 16 months.

The Railcard is valid for 12 months from purchase. If you will be back in the UK within the 16 months then you might want to buy the Railcard as late as possible, perhaps the same day as the first train. As said above, you only have to have the Railcard in your hand when boarding the train, and it is perfectly proper to buy tickets claiming the Railcard discount before you actually buy the Railcard as long as you have it when the ticket is checked for travel.

On the other hand, if you won't be back within the validity of the card, there is no reason why you can't get it now when you are thinking about it. It is all up to you.

On the other hand if you buy the Railcard now and your plans change so you don't get to England in September you would have possibly wasted that money.

The choice is yours. Just remember to get those tickets at the right time...

Thank you for your help. It is much appreciated. Our travel date is Friday, September 13. Traveling on Friday probably makes the cost higher. We can't wait for our trip to come together. We've been planning for months. Thank again.