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Edinburgh to London by train
How to take a rail journey from Edinburgh to London
There are two options available for taking the train from Edinburgh to London
1: Taking the scenic journey by day,
2. Travelling overnight on one of Europe's smartest night trains.
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Routes
Option 1: travelling by day
Journey Summary
4hr 20 min - 4hr 40min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: London King's Cross
Some trains also call at: Doncaster and Peterborough
The Edinburgh to London King's Cross rail service has been transformed - on Mondays to Fridays there will now be 2 x trains per hour during the day and after 41 years of service, the 125 trains have ceased operating on the East Coast main line!
Aside from environmental considerations there are two very good reasons for opting to take the train from Edinburgh to London
(1) Edinburgh Waverley station has a fabulous location in the heart of the Scottish capital, so you will be departing from the city centre,
(2) Much of the Edinburgh to London train journey is glorious.
The alternative overnight train:
Travel by these daytime trains and you won't arrive in London until at least 09:40, but the overnight train is scheduled to arrive in the capital at 07:07.
The overall journey time will be around three hours longer, but you will be travelling on Europe's newest overnight train service.
Though note that the overnight train arrives at Euston station and not at King's Cross station.
There are 2 x trains per hour for most of the day, there is always at least 1 x train per hour.
The travel time of 4hr 20min - 4hr 40min was the typical travel time pre-pandemic.
LNER has amended its timetable and most of the trains which only operated between Newcastle and London have been temporarily suspended, so as a result most of the Edinburgh to London trains are currently making more station calls than usual.
At weekends maintenance work on the railway line can also cause trains to be diverted on to longer routes.
Tickets
If you want to travel at the cheapest possible price, look for the 'Advance tickets', though the two key things worth knowing about booking and using 'Advance' tickets are:
(1) This type of ticket can't be refunded if you subsequently change your travel plans, or miss the train in circumstances not to do with a connecting train.
(2) A £10 admin fee will be payable if you want to exchange your ticket to a different departure to the same destination, to that which you selected when making your booking PLUS you will ALSO be charged any price difference with the new ticket you'll then have to purchase.
On the least busy Monday to Friday departures 'Super Off-Peak; tickets are usually available, they'll be more expensive than Advance tickets, but will give you greater flexibility with your travel-plans.
You will only have to pay any price difference with the new ticket - if you swap them to a different departure more than 24 hours ahead, there will usually be no difference in price to pay.
They can also be refunded for an admin fee of £10.
Travelling on Monday - Friday:
Tickets are usually available 12 weeks ahead of the travel date.
However, when you look up a journey you may see dates further ahead on the calendar, but you'll be informed that tickets aren't yet available for those dates.
On the LNER website you'll be prompted to sign up to a Ticket Alert service - if you will be using a PC, over on the right on the screen you'll be taken to, you'll see the furthest date ahead that tickets can be booked for.
Travelling on Saturday-Sunday
Tickets are usually available 12 weeks ahead of the travel date, but maintenance work on the route is periodically undertaken at weekends and if it is scheduled on your travel date, it can affect when tickets will be released for sale.
If you're looking up a journey less than 12 weeks ahead and tickets aren't available, it can be a good indication that works will be impacting on your travel date.
It can be worth checking this on the National Rail website - enter LNER as the operator.
Making an end-to-end journey will still be possible, so it can be worth signing up to LNER's ticket alert service, though you MAY ultimately have to take a substitution bus service for part of the trip.
It's the confirmation of these alternative travel arrangements which can hold up the release of the tickets for sale.
Choosing a departure
There can be significant differences in prices of Advance tickets between departures on your travel date, it's often possible to save more than £30 by taking an earlier or later train.
The LNER website makes it clear what the cheapest price is available per day.
Reservations:
When you book an Advance ticket for an Edinburgh to London train journey, you will be automatically assigned a seat(s), but if you book the other types of ticket ahead, you can request a complimentary reservation - more info on this
Tickets can now be booked online up to a couple of hours prior to departure
However, if you buy Off Peak or Anytime tickets just prior to boarding at the station, a seat reservation WON'T be automatically included with your booking.
That's because reservations at stations need to be booked by the end of the previous day for morning departures and around two hours ahead for afternoon/evening departures - so also keep that in mind if you will be using a rail pass, including a Britrail or Eurail pass.
Receiving Your Ticket(s)
The four options for receiving your ticket(s) are:
(1) You will receive a booking reference number on your order confirmation email and you can use this reference number to collect ticket(s) from a ticket machine.
Some stations will have dedicated ticket collection machines, but standard ticket machines will also have an option for collecting pre-booked tickets.
You will need to enter your reference number into the machine, so make sure you'll have easy access to it when you are using the machine.
You will also need to insert the specific credit or debit card you used when making the booking, so have that with you too.
Showing the email you have received to staff at the ticket gates won't get you on to the train, nor will this be valid if you can only show the email to the conductor when you are on the train.
If you forget to bring your ticket(s) with you to the station, but do have the card with you that you used when booking, you can use the machines to collect your ticket(s).
Take your time and take care that you have picked up all your ticket(s) and seat reservations.
(2) Print off the tickets you receive before heading to the station - the instructions for doing this are available here.
(3) Opt to pay an additional charge to have your tickets posted to you - not available when booking tickets from outside the UK.
(4) Mobile tickets - if you select this option when making a booking you will need to download the LNER Travel Buddy app so that you can 'Activate' your ticket.
The LNER website states that 'Advance' tickets will be automatically activated, but there's no suggestion on the LNER website that it will be OK to save the ticket(s) you will receive as a PDF to your mobile device.
So download the app to be sure that you can use a mobile ticket.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| LNER | from £34 | |
| NationalRail | from £34 | |
| RailEurope | from £34 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
There are also up to seven trains per day, which are operated by Avanti West Coast, which take an alternative route and arrive at London Euston station.
But it's best to avoid those trains as the journey time to London is around two hours longer and there isn't a particular advantage to be had in arriving at Euston station instead of King's Cross.
The route from Edinburgh to London by train is a journey of three phases:
(1) Until Darlington,for the first two hours of travel it's an epic journey, with coastal views and numerous other highlights.
However all of the best of the views are on the left hand side of the train (when facing the direction of travel).
(2) Between Darlington and Hitchin the train predominantly travels through pleasant, but unremarkable countryside; though if you are in a forwards facing seat on the left, look out for a view of York Minster as the train nears the station.
(3) For the final 20 -25 minutes the train is travelling through the London suburbs and the commuter towns which surround the capital - though look out for the view from Welwyn Viaduct around 15 before journey's emd.
If you haven't lucked out and have been assigned a seat(s) on the right-hand side when making a booking, when boarding see if you can find available seats on the left hand side of the train.
If you move to a different seat(s) it won't affect the validity of your ticket.
For most of the part of the journey between Edinburgh and Newcastle the railway lives up to its name of the 'The East Coast Mainline'.
The trains take a route on which the coast can be seen before the train has even left Edinburgh behind; and the sea views initially continue until south of Dunbar.
To the north of Berwick-upon-Tweed the train will travel across the clifftops as it crosses the border into England, these are the most dramatic coastal views on the journey (though they are tricky to photograph).
Minutes after the train has passed through Berwick-upon-Tweed, the next highlight is the view from the majestic Royal Border Bridge.
Between there and Alnmouth there are views on the left over the dramatic Northumberland coast.
The next highlight of the journey is the passage over the River Tyne, as the train departs from Newcastle Central station and heads over the King Edward VII Bridge.
Looking to the left, five other bridges that span the river can be seen - and there are also some great views of the Tyne Bridge as the train arrives in Newcastle station.
Around 15 mins after leaving Newcastle comes the final highlight of the journey, the stunning views over the city of Durham.
Over on the left before and after the station, the town's stunning castle and cathedral can be clearly seen in all their glory.
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