train times for August from Glasgow to Paddington?

Hi Heather,

Schedules for next August are not currently loaded, but they rarely change much. You can do a search for a Sunday next week or month to get an idea of the schedule, then check back next Spring to see how much they have changed. Basically, there are trains at least hourly, taking a bit more than 4.5 hours to London's Euston station. See www.nationalrail.co.uk for schedules and sample prices. When it gets closer to your trip, you can buy tickets ahead online for a substantial savings.

To get from Euston to Heathrow, you have several options. You can take the Tube (or walk) to King's Cross station where you can take the Tube directly to Heathrow (Piccadilly line). You can also take the Tube or taxi from Euston to Paddington station, where you can catch the Heathrow Connect or Heathrow Express trains to Heathrow.

The alternative is to fly from GLA to LHR. Schedules already available, although always subject to change. Price currently £45.95.

Scot Rail do not serve the Glasgow to Paddington line.

The company with the fastest service would be East Coast train which run fast frequent trains down the east coast from Edinburgh to London Kings Cross. There are frequent services by Scot Rail between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

There are also the Virgin trains which go between Glasgow and London Euston on the West Coast route via Carlile and the Lake Country and Crewe. These are somewhat slower because the line is not straight and there are many more built up areas along the route.

There is also the Sleeper which goes most nights between both Edinburgh and Glasgow, arriving London Euston around breakfast time.

I'm not giving the name of the operator with the sleeper because it has just changed and I don't know what it will be called, nor do I know yet what changes there will be in the operation. That is the one sleeper I would still ride - it has a fabulous reputation and is very comfy.

The name of the trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow, and throughout all of Scotland may be changing from Scot Rail because the Dutch have just won that franchise away from First Group.

It was First Group that just lost the running of the Sleeper, too.

There will be 2 timetable changes before you travel, in December and May, and with all the chairs moving around the table certainty will be light on the ground. We also have no idea how the new operators will run their operations.

And, to add to the hilarity, there is likely to be a new owner for the East Coast fairly soon.

Paddington from Kings Cross or Euston can be a false economy of time. The Heathrow Express is certainly the most expensive train in the UK per mile, and while frequent it is not as frequent as the Tube and you have to get to Paddington by Tube or cab first.

Kings Cross to Heathrow is about an hour by Piccadilly Line with no changes.

Euston to Heathrow by Tube involves a change, either one stop on either the outbound Victoria Line or one stop on the inbound Northern Line Bank Branch, both of which will take you to Kings Cross, where you change onto the Piccadilly. The ride from Euston to Kings Cross is about 4 minutes. That connection can be made step free at both ends.

Or Euston to Green Park on the inbound Victoria, then onto the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow. That can also be made (nearly) step free.

The advice to check in the near future to see how the land lies is a good one. You will need to be flexible.

The biggest concern I have is for such an early departure from Glasgow on a Sunday. There tends to be engineering work on the lines on weekends, especially in August, and British trains tend to sleep in on Sundays anyway.

Thanks for all the great info! I hadn't clicked on the "details" button to see that the train was arriving in Euston station and then we'd have to change to the tube system to get to Paddington. And it's great to have the "insider" info about the upcoming changes to ownership on the trains.

There will be 6 of us on the trip so I had assumed it would be cheaper to take the train than fly... but I hadn't added in the extra tube ride from Euston Square to Paddington and the Heathrow Express. Looks like flying from Glasgow to Heathrow will be cheaper PLUS we won't have the extra travel time getting from London to Heathrow. I was worried about the short time frame of the 9:30am train arriving in London at 2:30pm, putting us very close to the recommended 3 hours pre-flight arrival at the airport and leaving no room for train delays... that's why I was hoping there might be more trains during the vacation season of August so we could get an earlier departure from Glasgow.

Our outbound trip from London to Glasgow (my mom's bagpipe band is competing in the Championships) is on a Wednesday after 3 days in London so no time pressure on that end. We do want to take the train to see a little bit of the countryside and so my kids can have the experience. How early in the year would you recommend we purchase those train tickets? The RS Great Britain book suggests using the nationalrail.co.uk website - is this the right place to buy the tickets?

Thanks again and I'm so glad to have found this forum!
Heather

Trains tend to be sparser and slower on a Sunday morning as a built in allowance for engineering work, and they start later in the day

The easiest option of a through ticket already seems to have passed. If you are travelling transatlantic on BA or AA however, you would still be able to check through any bags if you have any at GLA.

As to the outwards journey, tickets are typically available three months ahead, sometimes a little more. National Rail do not sell tickets themselves but direct you in general to the online sales of the appropriate operator.

Kings Cross to Heathrow by Piccadilly Line can be done step-free at both ends I think - there are definitely now lifts at Kings Cross and I think also at Heathrow.

As Marco has mentioned, flying might be a better option, especially if you buy tickets several months ahead. See www.skyscanner.com for options. If you decide to take the train both ways and since you have a large group, a Britrail Party Pass could be a good deal for you, especially if you have children aged 5-15. With the Party Pass, the first 2 travelers pay full fare and any additional travelers get a 50% discount. For each adult traveling, a child travels free. The pass also works on virtually all British trains - Virgin, Great Northern, etc. See this webpage for details:
http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/britain-rail-passes

Since advance-purchase tickets on many British train companies can be pretty cheap, you should do the math to find out which option is best for you. For instance, go to National Rail and look at ticket prices for 2-3 months from now, then check the price of the Party Pass for your group to compare.

If you fly back to Heathrow from Glasgow, then advance-purchase, individual tickets purchased a few months ahead will be your best option. Just be ready to commit at time of purchase, as many of these advance purchase tickets are non-refundable, non-exchangeable.

To elaborate on Rich's answer about flying, just above, dealing with the airlines directly when the tickets go on sale will likely be some of the cheapest tickets. Be careful about Little Red, the little Virgin airline about to shut its doors for good.

To add to the comments above, I would fly if the purpose is a connecting flight. The Glasgow trains are either King's Cross or Euston in London. The ScotRail brand will probably disappear from the sleeper as that is now a separate company, but not the ScotRail branding for trains in Scotland as the Scottish Government has added the branding of the stations and trains into the franchise paperwork. Only the small operator's name and logo, and it is small in comparison to others and what it was when First took over, will change.