Related Content
Content
London to Exeter by train
How to take a rail journey from London to Exeter
There are two distinct options for taking a journey by train from London to Exeter:
-
The fastest route is to take trains operated by GWR from London Paddington station to Exeter St Davids station.
-
Trains operated by SWR take a slower route from London Waterloo to Exeter Central station.
Though the journey time advantage of the GWR trains is negated if either of the stations are particularly convenient for the start and end points of your journey.
The journey by the SWR trains is also more scenic.
Share
Routes
Option 1: departing from Paddington station
Journey Summary
2hr 8min - 2hr 23min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Penzance or Plymouth or Paington or Exeter
All trains also call at: Taunton
Some trains also call at: Tiverton Parkway
A fast train which will take around 2hr 8mins to complete the journey is usually scheduled to depart hourly, but in every other hour a slower train, that makes more station calls, also departs.
Those slower trains can be cheaper, because the faster trains are inevitably more popular, but the journey time by those slower trains is only around 15 mins longer.
1 or 2 x trains per hour
Tickets
Book Early And Save: Yes
Online Bookings Open: Usually 12 weeks ahead, but this period can be longer if Great Western Railway is running a promotion
If you want to travel at the cheapest possible price, book an 'Advance' ticket - though be aware that this type of ticket can't be refunded if you subsequently change your travel plans.
If the booking period has been extended beyond 12 weeks, it seems as though 'Advance' tickets will be the only type of ticket available if you book more than 12 weeks ahead.
Also worth knowing is that on this route, Advance tickets will only be available until 18:00 (6pm) on the day before travel.
Though partially due to the frequency of the train service, you shouldn't have to book months in advance to obtain the cheapest possible price for a London to Exeter train journey, particularly if you won't be travelling at business hours.
If you would like the flexibility to be able to obtain a refund if you subsequently change your travel plans, it's best to book 'Off-Peak' tickets, though this type of ticket lives up to its name, and may not be available on the most popular departures.
'Advance Tickets;' and 'Off-Peak' tickets are specific to the departure you select when making a booking, but they can be transferred to an alternative departure, though you will incur an 'admin fee' if you have booked an 'Advance' ticket.
Travelling on Saturday-Sunday
Maintenance work on the railway 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 around 10 - 12 weeks ahead and the cheaper 'Advance' 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 - select 'Great Western Railway' as the operator.
Making an end-to-end journey will still be possible, 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 £20 by taking an earlier or later train - the trains which depart London in the middle of the day tend to be cheaper.
Also the slower trains tend to be cheaper.
Reservations (pre pandemic):
When you book an Advance ticket for a London Paddington to Exeter train journey online, you will automatically be assigned a seat(s).
If you book an Anytime or Off-Peak ticket ahead of your travel date, you can request a reservation - more info about this.
However, if you buy an Anytime or Off-Peak ticket at the station just prior to boarding, 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 3 - 4 hours ahead for afternoon/evening departures - so keep that in mind if you will be using a rail pass, including a Britrail or Eurail pass.
On this route ShowMeTheJourney particularly recommends making reservations when travelling at these time
(1) Between 16:00 and 19:30 on Mon-Friday as this route is particularly popular with commuters.
(2) Any journey after 14:00 on Fridays and 14:-00 on Sundays.
(3) On Saturdays in summer on any departure before 16:00.
Receiving Your Ticket(s)
The four options for receiving and using your ticket(s) if you book on the Great Western Railway (GWR) website are:
(1) Using e-tickets:
You can opt to have an e-ticket attached to your confirmation email, which you can then download to your mobile device.
Then when boarding you can access your ticket(s) on your phone and use it to open the ticket gates.
Though if you opt to use this service, GWR will prompt you to make a test download prior to completing your booking, so that you can be sure that your mobile device is compatible with using this service.
(2) Opt to 'self-print', you will need then need to print off the ticket attached to your confirmation email.
(3) Collecting from the 'Fast-Track' ticket machines at the station.
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 'Fast-Track' ticket machine.
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 will 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.
(4) Opt to pay an additional charge to have your tickets posted to you (not an option if you book tickets from outside the UK).
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Great Western Railway | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Good to Know
Back in the middle of the 19th century two competing companies constructed separate railway lines between London and Devon and today’s travellers can still choose between those two routes when taking a train from the capital to delightful Exeter.
Compared to the alternative route which leaves from Waterloo station, this route from Paddington:
- isn’t quite as scenic, though it’s still a charming journey through typically English countryside;
- can be cheaper, if you can book before the very cheapest Advance ticket prices have sold out;
- will typically be more expensive if you’ll be booking tickets just before boarding at the station;
- arrives at a station more distant from the city centre;
- has more modern trains, on which conventional seat reservations are available;
- is usually around 15 minutes quicker, but only if you take the faster (more frequent) trains.
Though if travelling to Exeter as quickly as possible is a key criteria for choosing which route to take, keep in mind the location in London of the starting point of your journey.
Paddington station is further from central London than Waterloo station – and if your journey is commencing on the South Bank area adjacent to Waterloo, taking the Bakerloo line over to Paddington in order to take these trains, would add 20-25 minutes to an end-to-end journey.
And if the final destination of your journey is in Exeter city centre, those trains from Waterloo also call at a station aptly named Exeter Central, so leaving a train there can also save 10-15 mins off a total end-to-end journey time.
The journey become more scenic once the trains have travelled through Newbury.
Between there and Exeter the railway follows a route through a pastoral landscape of rolling green fields and woodlands.
Soon after departing Newbury the train will travel parallel to the charming Kennet & Avon canal, which can be mainly seen from the left-hand side of the train when heading west.
Option 2: departing from Waterloo station
Journey Summary
2hr 23min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Exeter
All trains also call at: Sherborne, Yeovil Junction, Axminster and Honiton
Something to watch out for is that multiple trains are often joined together on these departures and often only the first part of the train will be travelling to Exeter, while the rear of the train can be terminating at Salisbury or Yeovil.
There will be electronic information within the coaches confirming whether they will be travelling to Exeter, along with on-board announcements which will mention which part of the train will be making the full journey.
The train manager will also confirm whether you are seated in the right part of the train when the ticket checks are carried out.
1 x train per hour
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
The cheaper 'Advance' tickets tend to be available from around 10-11 weeks ahead of the travel date, but tickets can be booked up to 12 weeks ahead.
So if you look up a journey more than 10-12 weeks ahead and can't see any 'Advance' tickets, it will mean that they haven't been released for sale yet - it won't be because they have sold out.
The two disadvantages of booking an 'Advance' ticket is that they can only be used on the specific departure you select when making a booking - and then if you don't take that train, because you change your travel plans or don't get to the station on time, they can't be refunded.
The big plus of booking an 'Advance' ticket is the price, they can be more £20 cheaper than booking last minute tickets at the station.
Seat reservations (pre-pandemic):)
The process for assigning seats on the trains on this route is unconventional, because the train operator, South Western Railway, doesn’t typically offer seat reservations.
However if you book an Advance ticket for a journey on this route, coach and seat number(s) can be included on the ticket.
But what’s not the norm is that there is no indication on the trains, which inform you and your fellow passengers, which seat(s) have been assigned.
So another traveller may have unwittingly occupied your seat, because the other types of ticket sold for journeys by these trains don’t have reservations available.
They won’t be aware that you, or anybody else, has a ‘reservation’ for the seat they have occupied.
So it’s best to be at Waterloo station ready to board at least 20 minutes ahead of departure, you can then be among the first passengers to join the train, so can then claim the seat(s) on your ticket.
Or if you’d prefer not to sit in the seat you have been assigned, because it is facing backwards etc, you can choose to sit elsewhere.
You don’t have to occupy the seat(s) you have been assigned for your ticket(s) to be valid.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| South Western Railway | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Compared to the alternative route which leaves from Paddington station, this route from Waterloo:
- is more scenic, the views west of Salisbury from both sides of the train are utterly lovely, this journey offers more than 90 minutes of experiencing rolling English countryside at its best!;
- can be tad more expensive, if the very cheapest Advance ticket prices on that route from Paddington are still available when booking ahead;
- though will typically be cheaper if you’ll be booking tickets just before boarding at the station;
- arrives at a station closer to the city centre these trains call at Exeter Central before calling at Exeter St Davids;
- has slightly odd arrangements for seat reservations (as per the Ticketing Information);
- is usually around 15 minutes slower, though only when compared to the faster trains on that route from Paddington.
Though if travelling to Exeter as quickly as possible is a key criteria for choosing which route to take, keep in mind the location in London of the starting point of your journey.
Paddington station is further from central London than Waterloo station – but if the starting point of your journey has easy access to Underground lines which serve Paddington and not Waterloo, then taking that alternative route becomes the logical option.
And if the final destination of your journey is in Exeter city centre, these trains from Waterloo also call at a station aptly named Exeter Central, so leaving a train there can also save 10-15 mins off a total end-to-end journey time.
The final 80 minutes of this journey, after the train has departed from Salisbury, are delightful.
The English countryside is often depicted as a rolling landscape of lush green fields and Woodlands, but large swathes of England are rather flat and uninspiring.
However, this journey is exceptional because it showcases that rolling landscape at its finest.
Newsletter
Sign up to receive the latest travel news stories and to hear about what we've been working on for you.
See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.
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.
