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Edinburgh to Dundee by train
How to travel by train from Edinburgh to Dundee
The fabulous V&A Dundee museum is steps away from the city's station and it is just one reason to head to Dundee from Edinburgh by train.
Even if you have no interest in experiencing Dundee, if you happen to be in Edinburgh when the sun is shining and have an interest in engineering or landscapes, then jumping on a train is a fabulous means of spending a couple of hours.
That's because the trains from the Scottish capital to Dundee travel over the iconic Forth and Tay Bridges.
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Routes
From Edinburgh Waverley to Dundee
Journey Summary
from 1hr 17min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Aberdeen or Arbroath or Dundee
All trains also call at: Kirkcaldy and Leuchars (for St Andrews)
In most hours* on Mondays to Saturdays there are two departures per hour:
(1) a slightly faster train, by around 10 minutes, which will be heading to Aberdeen - the Inter7City services are used on most of those departures.
(2) a slower train which will be heading to Arbroath or Dundee - the Turbostar trains are used for these departures and on the trains that are used on this route, first class is not available.
There are far fewer departures on this route on Sundays, so if you will be travelling on that day of the week and plan to purchase tickets at the station just before boarding, it can be worth looking up the departure times before heading off to Edinburgh Waverley.
However, in some hours, the trains which depart Edinburgh for Dundee have travelled from destinations further south.
These include Azuma trains operated by LNER which originate in Leeds and London and a daily train operated by CrossCountry.
These non ScotRail trains are usually scheduled to depart Edinburgh at:
10:28 on Mon-Sat (LNER)
14:28 on Mon-Sat (LNER)
14:33 on Sunday (LNER)
18:13 daily (Cross Country)
18:33 on Mon-Sat (LNER)
18:36 on Sunday (LNER)
20:32 on Mon-Fri (LNER)
Which can be worth be keeping in mind, as because these trains don't commence their journeys in Edinburgh, they are more likely to have a delayed departure.
Mon-Sat = 2 x trains per hour
Sunday = 12 x trains
Tickets
Book Early and Save: No
ScotRail does not place discounted Advance tickets on sale for train journeys from Edinburgh to Dundee, so you will pay the same price per departure whether you book ahead online, or purchase tickets at the station just prior to boarding.
Though you can save money by travelling at less busy times when Off-Peak tickets will be available, so on this route you can save money by not departing from Edinburgh between 16:20 and 18:20 when Mondays to Fridays are working days.
Because if you do depart Edinburgh at those times only the more expensive type of Anytime tickets will be available
ScotRail offers ticketing deals when Adults travel with children or in groups
Though there's no need to book ahead online to obtain these discounts - you will be charged the same prices when booking these ticket at the station just before boarding .
If you will be booking these deals at the station it can be less confusing to book in person at a ticket counter, rather than using a ticket machine.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| ScotRail | * |
On this journey
Journey Features
Good to Know
All trains also depart from: Haymarket
If the starting point of your journey is at the western end of the city centre, you can save time by heading to Haymarket station rather than Edinburgh Waverley, in order to board these trains.
There are very few journeys between two European cities, taken by express trains, that are as consistently fabulous as this route between Edinburgh and Dundee.
Though the sea views on this journey can only be seen on the right-hand side of the train when facing north.
For much of the journey between Edinburgh and Dundee the railway line is beside the coastline of East Fife.
Virtually any time a UK coastal train journey is shown on film and television, what will be seen is a train travelling by the sea in South Devon, but from inside the trains, the views are just as spectacular on this journey – and they’re sustained for longer.
Though the views from the train as it travels by the shore are superseded by those from two of the most stunning train journey experiences which can be found anywhere in Europe!
Namely the views from the Forth Bridge, which occur around 12 -15 mins after the train has departed from Edinburgh, and the views from the Tay Bridge just before the train arrives in Dundee.
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This is one of more than 1000 journey guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
