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London to Salisbury by train
How to travel from London to Salisbury by train
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Routes
From London Waterloo to Salisbury
Journey Summary
1hr 23min - 1hr 30min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Exeter or Salisbury or Yeovil
All trains also call at: Clapham Junction and Andover
1 or 2 x trains per hour
The usual Sunday service is one 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 £10 cheaper than booking last minute tickets at the station.
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 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
The journey by train from London to Salisbury is pleasant, but it isn't exceptional.
For more than 30 minutes the train will travel through the suburbs of London and some of the towns which surround the capital.
The landscape becomes more pastoral after Basingstoke and between Andover and Salisbury, the railway crosses the southern edge of the sparse landscape of the Salisbury Plain.
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