I have been getting mixed reviews about the reliability of the British rail system (excluding the Tube, which gets very high marks!) We are planning to travel from London to York, then Edinburgh via train. What do people mean by "unreliable" - long delays, or cancellations? Just want to be prepared! Thanks!

Whoever's giving you the reviews has got it the wrong way round.

The Tube, given that most journeys are 30 mins max, strikes those of us who live here as highly unreliable, in the sense that you can expect about one journey in ten (others will quote different numbers, because underperformance varies by line) to be significantly longer than forecast.

That's about the same level of unreliability as most of London's commuter trains.

Inter-city train reliability varies more widely. Trains operated by Virgin (mostly London to NW England and the West of Scotland)are simply disgraceful, with frequent delays and on the Virgin route I use most often frequent cancellations at 15 minutes'notice : most others are OK.

The operator to York and Edinburgh (GNER)is fine: speed, punctuality and reliability to York is outstanding, and while the line on to Edinburgh isn't quite up to French TGV standards, it beats practically any other rail system you'll encounter.

HOWEVER: All trains are operated and managed by human beings - in Britain at an intensity matched in few other parts of the world. Stuff happens (far more often delays than cancellations, though overcrowding can be a problem too), and trains can be late or sometimes cancelled. Just like planes.

For what it's worth, I always get the inter-city train before the one that would get me to an appointment on time. In practice, it's always the Tube bit of the journey that uses up the leeway I've created.

I have limited experience with the British rail system, but I have never had a problem at all. Also, it's all in English so figuring out a "backup plan" is much less stressful, even though train timetables all appear the same to me no matter what language they are in.

I find it is always helpful to build time in to your vacation schedule for transportation delatys, whether traveling by car, plane, train, or boat. that way you will never be disappointed!

I too have very limited train experience in the UK. When I was in England for a week in June 2002, I took 5 train trips:

One way from London to Norwich on East Anglia.
Roundtrip from Norwich to Cromer on the Bittern Line.
One way from Norwich to Ely on Central Trains.
One way from Ely to Cambridge on Central Trains.
One way from Cambridge to Stansted Airport again on Central Trains.

The London to Norwich was late enough that a couple next to me was lamenting they would miss their connection in Norwich and have to wait a couple of hours for the next train. They said this happened more times than not.

The Ely to Cambridge had several upset people on the platform. The train earlier they were supposed to catch had caught fire, so they were standing around wondering aloud if they were going to make a connection and their flights out of Stansted Airport. In addition, all bets were off with seating as the train was oversold. One couple was very irate. They had a 5 hour train ride somewhere west of there and were very unhappy that there was no place for them to sit together. They did find seats, others didn't.

So for me a casual visitor for the week I hit problems with 2 out of 6 train rides. Problems with 1/3 of the train rides is not very reliable in my opinion.

Maybe I can reassure you a little. The trains from London to York and Edinburgh are USUALLY pretty much ok. My husband does the York - London trip for work purposes several times a week and it's GENERALLY a fast and reliable service. I often do the York to Edinburgh part and have had very few problems. You will very rarely get a cancellation but you may get a delay at worst.
Also I have been pleasantly surprised by the standard of food in the restaurant on the train. It's not cheap - but you could do a lot worse if you want to have a meal, and the service has been friendly and good. Some of the dishes have been a lot better than many expensive restaurants I have eaten in. Never thought I would say something like that but it's true. However - I am fortunate enough to be able to travel first class through my work - I would recommend you do this if possible! And reserve your seats in advance especially if you are travelling at peak times or on a Friday afternoon.

I just returned Sunday from a three week visit to the UK, during which I made 7 train journeys on 11 different trains. All were on time or within a few minutes of being on time.

I think the statistics are something like 98% to 99% of trains that are scheduled to run do run, so cancellation risk is small. The on- time statistic is much poorer, around 70% (and sometime earlier this year the much maligned Virgin Trains were down around 30%). This should be taken into account when making connexions; for example, be wary of a tight connexion to the last train of the day.

Since there are no connexions involved on London-York and York-Edinburgh, I see nothing to worry about here.

I meant to add in my earlier response - try www.railtrack.co.uk for train times and journey times. Out of all the various timetables I (and my work colleagues) find this the easiest and clearest to look things up.
M

flanneruk and others, I'm so glad to hear that the Kings Cross to Edinburgh GNER line is pretty good. I just booked my family on that train for Dec. 23. I wanted to do First Class, but it was going to be too expensive, so we're going standard. For an 8am train, what time should we get to the station? We have reserved seats, but will have luggage.

Took th GNER line from Kings Cross to Edinburgh the first week of October this year. No problem at all.
Bought tickets via Qjump on the internet, paid by credit card and picked up my tickets at Kings Cross from the ticket machine all done from my home here in the US.
Train was reliable and clean. We were on time on our outward trip and 15 minutes late coming back.
Do make a reservation though as this train seems quite popular as it stops in York,Newcastle etc.
Getting to the station 15/20 minutes before depature seems to me plenty of time as you will carry your own luggage on board if your travelling standard.
Have a great trip.

Barbara, 15 minutes before is normally fine. But, while it is not complicated , Kings Cross is a busy and bustling place, so if you have not been there before, you may want to give yourself some extra time. Complicating matters is the building of a new ticket hall for the Kings Cross St Pancras tube station and construction related the new Eurostar terminal; depending on how you are travelling to Kings Cross, you may need to build in even more extra time.

ron and John, thanks very much. I have been to Kings Cross many times, but many years ago and certainly long before the advent of platform nine and three quarters! We will have to get there in time to take pictures! We'll be coming from the Royal Horseguards hotel, so we may take a taxi.

Barbara - do build in some extra time for the taxi. Dec 23 will be a pretty busy time with folks leaving town for the Christmas holidays, and the construction mess around Kings Cross. It has been a few months since I was last there, but it was VERY torn up and congested in all the streets around the station.

Maybe Ben H or one of the other Londoners can tell you if the worst of the construction is complete.

still plenty of construction around Kings X area, so leave plenty of time to allow for bad traffic - you can always grab a cup of coffee if you get there early.

Thanks, Janis. I did think it would be busy anyway at that hour and I expect the train will be pretty full. What time would you suggest leaving the hotel?

I might add that when I was there in early October construction was still in progress and traffic moving VERY slow.
Plan accordingly