London to Edinburgh by train

Final Destination:
Edinburgh - the Intercity 225 trains
Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow Inverness and Stirling - the new Azuma trains

All trains also call at: York, Darlington and Newcastle

Most trains also call at: Berwick-upon-Tweed

The London to Edinburgh 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!
They have been replaced by the brand new Azuma trains on all services which continue beyond Edinburgh to serve other destinations in Scotland.
Those trains to destinations beyond Edinburgh are usually scheduled to depart from King's Cross station at
Mon - Sat: 10:00; 12:00; 14:00; 15:00 and 16:00
Sunday: 10:00; 12:00 and14:00
These departures are also all among the fastest services from London to Edinburgh - the departures that complete the journey in around 4hr 20 mins.

The Azuma trains also operate many of the other services to between these capital cities; when you look up the journey on the LNER website, it shows which type of train should be operating each departure.

Why you should take the train

Aside from environmental considerations there are two very good reasons for opting to take the train from London to Edinburgh.

(1) Edinburgh Waverley station has a fabulous location in the heart of the Scottish capital, so you will arrive in the city centre,

(2) Much of the London to Edinburgh train journey is glorious.

It is a journey of three phases:

• For the first 20 -25 minutes the train is travelling through the London suburbs and the commuter towns which surround it - though look out for the view from Welwyn Viaduct around 17 minutes into the journey
• Between Hitchin and Darlington the train predominantly travels through pleasant, but unremarkable countryside - though if you are in a backwards facing seat on the right, look out for a view of York Minster as the train departs the station.
• North of Darlington, approximately 2hr 25mins from London the journey becomes epic!

However all of the best of the views are on the right hand side of the train (when facing the direction of travel).
If you haven't lucked out and have been assigned a seat(s) on the left-hand side when making a booking, see if you can find available seats on the right hand side after Darlington; if you move to a different seat(s) it won't affect the validity of your ticket.

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.

When heading north, the trains which depart London in the middle of the day tend to be cheaper.

Reservations (pre pandemic):

When you book an Advance ticket for a London to Edinburgh 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.

Final Destination: Edinburgh

Note that this overnight train departs from Euston station in London, but the daytime trains depart from King's Cross station.

All trains also depart from: Watford Junction (the night trains take a different route to the daytime trains)

When departing from Euston, these Caledonian Sleeper trains are available for boarding from 22:30 (10:30 pm) which is more than an hour ahead of departure.
Then in Edinburgh passengers can remain on board for 37 minutes after arrival.

On Board - summary:

More information is available by clicking the 'train details', but if you make this journey you will be travelling on Europe's most modern overnight trains.
You can opt to choose from three different types of sleeping cabin, one of which offers the opportunity to travel in a double bed, OR you can travel in reclining seats.

Unusually for UK train tickets, you can book journeys on the Caledonian Sleeper up to twelve months ahead.
If you want a full choice of accommodation in the summer months or around holiday times, it's best to book at least a month in advance.

When making a journey by these Caledonian Sleeper trains, you can choose from three types of sleeping cabin, or you can opt to travel in reclining seats - If you want to travel in the reclining seats, you will in effect only be paying the journey costs.

In common with how tickets are sold to travel in sleeping cabins on other European night train services, there are two elements to the total cost of the sleeping cabin ticket price,

• the cost of making the journey,
• and the accommodation costs of travelling in the cabin.

On these Caledonian Sleeper trains the sleeping cabins  have a fixed price, so how the total costs are calculated is dependent on how the sleeping cabins will be occupied.

If you will be making an individual booking you will have sole occupancy of a Club Room or Classic Room - booking a Caledonian Double isn't an option for solo travellers.
Although the total cost per person is more expensive if you will be travelling individually, because if you travel solo you pay the cost for the Club Room or Classic Room, plus a cost for making the journey.
But two people travelling together pay the same charge for the Club Room and Classic rooms, and the additional cost comes from having to purchase two journey tickets.

Paying a higher price for single occupancy of a sleeping cabin is the norm on European night trains, but this particular pricing methodology makes the sleeping cabins on a Caledonian Sleeper service, a comparatively expensive option for solo travellers.

Travelling as a family group:

The costs of adults and children travelling together will be calculated during the booking process - here is the relevant information.

Using Rail Passes:

If you will be using a valid rail pass you can travel in a reclining seat at no additional charge, but you must reserve a place prior to boarding, by calling the Guest Service Centre on 0330 060 0500.

If you want to travel in a bed in a Club Room sleeping cabin, you need to pay a 'Room only supplement' of £170 if you will be travelling solo, or £200 if two people will be travelling together.
If you want to travel in a Classic Room sleeping cabin, the supplement is £120 for solo travellers and £140 if two people are travelling together.

These 'Room only supplements' can be booked online.