Edinburgh to London - train fares!
 

Looking at transportation from Edinburgh to London Saturday, May 2018. Train appears to be approximately $200 to $300 per person - coach vs. first class. That seems high to me. We are from USA and have used trains in Europe previously. Will be our only use of train so would be one way, one trip. Probably leaving early afternoon - after returning rental car to Waverly Station.

Plane appears to be significantly cheaper but you have to contend with all things air travel INCLUDING cost and inconvenience of getting from an airport to downtown London.

If that is what cost is, well, so be it. Is 90 days the earliest we can make train reservations? Which website is most easiest/most convenient (not necessarily the cheapest) to purchase from US? Thanks and appreciate your help and information. Any senior fares for North Americans?

May dates wouldn't be posted yet -- so where are you getting your fares???

If you are looking at fares NOW - of course they are high -- it is the Holidays and last minute fares are very expensive.

Do you have any flexibility on your travel day? If you can go on a week day you can book 24 weeks in advance and (usually) get a decent price. (We go regularly from York to Edinburgh and book way, way in advance to bag a bargain).
From the Virgin East Coast website -
"Even if you can only travel off-peak on one leg of your journey, you can still save money. Just buy the lowest price single ticket for every stage of your trip. We put Standard and First Advance tickets on sale 24 weeks before departure for Edinburgh-London and Newcastle-London routes on weekdays".

Yes look at sample fares for 23 weeks out and see what they are and expect similar fares when yours comes on - weekdays much easier to get. Sit on right side of train if possible after Newcastle when views become nice over coast at points.
Book direct with train company: https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/

Discounted fares also come in first class so if not much more go first as there is a sginficant difference in seat size and you get comp food and drinks en route. For difference in first and second class, etc check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

and don't use RailEurope in U.S. for fares as they usually only show full fares - again easy to book yourself directly with train line and do so as soon as comes on site.

week days means Mon-Sat or Mon-Fri?

The only website you need is this one

https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/

Certain dates in May are not yet available for booking see here:

https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.co...ticket-alerts/

Once your travel date becomes available, Advance tickets London to Edinburgh from £25.

This is a useful site https://www.thetrainline.com/ticketalert
It alerts you when the low fares become available

And there is the Caledonian Sleeper night train - get a private compartment and bring any drink or food aboard - may cost a lot more than 25 pounds but you do save on a night in a hotel. https://www.sleeper.scot/

Night trains ain't for everyone though - always some noise from inside and outside the train and you miss the somewhere scenic scenery Newcastle to Edinburgh. (Keep eyes peeled for a look at imposing Durham Cathedral when train enters Durham.

Weekday tickets are available into May with prices starting at £25 per person one way.

Weekend & public holiday cheap tickets become available a maximum of 12 weeks before date of travel

<i>I always choose raileurope to book a ticket.</i>

If you like throwing money away then do so, RE doesn't do the UK very well and generally won't offer the cheapest tickets and may charge extra for free seat reservations - or even for reservations on trains that don't have reservations

Agree with dotheboyshall, do not use Rail Europe for the U.K.

Best sites are as MissPrism suggested www.thetrainline.com or www.nationalrail.co.uk. as are the ones sofarsogood suggested. Any of these will work for you. I use trainline for most ticket purchase but the national rail site has information regarding departing/ arriving platforms and general station information. The National Rail site automatically directs you to the correct train operator for ticket purchase.

Purchase your tickets online and collect at train station.

Hi,
while browsing the web, you will find a lot of website for reservation.
I always choose raileurope to book a ticket.>

he/she say they live in Bristol (not sure CT or England though) and may be talking about RailEuropeUK not USA - but yes no reason to do that with booking your own so so easy (everyone says).

Consider stopping off en route at York for a few hours - put bags in station left luggage and walk the short distance to town center and famous Minster - may cost a bit more on tickets though as not sure how stop-offs affect discounted fares. But well worth it if have the time.

>>Train appears to be approximately $200 to $300 per person<<

Also -- if you are seeing fares in US$ you are DEFINITELY using the wrong site!

You need to ring back in and say how many of you are traveling. There are various train deals that can make your trip much less expensive.

<i>Consider stopping off en route at York for a few hours - put bags in station left luggage </i>

There isn't left luggage in York Station, it's 100m down the road

https://www.visityork.org/York-Left-...&venue=1691650

You can then go through Micklegate Bar to reach the centre of York.

You can't take advantage of advance fares then just get off the train in York for a few hours. You'll need two seperate tickets. Since it's about a 4 1/2 to 5 hour train ride from Edinburgh to London, adding a few hours in York makes a pretty full day.

I'm sure PQ knows there is no left luggage in York station and also knows one can't break the journey on a discounted ticket (he has posted the correct info in the past -- must be some sort of brain freeze)

If one buys a London to Edinburgh ticket there is no getting off anywhere. And the car rental place where one can leave bags is a about 100 meters plus stairs, or twice that if you need to avoid the stairs.

also knows one can't break the journey on a discounted ticket>

was not sure if it had changed. But yes stopping in York makes a very full day - as historytraveler points out.

But stopping off in wonderful York for a full day and night stay may be as nice if you have time.

When we had to book an Edinburgh to London train ticket last May, the price was about £100 per person on Virgin trains.

((H))

PS - That was a first class ticket.

((H))

about 75 pounds more than cheapest Standard Class - I am a big proponent of first class at 75 pounds more I'd go in steerage. But janis can correct me but discounted first class could be much cheaper I think.

Oh, one more thing. We had to book those the night before because our BA flight was canceled, so you must be able to get them cheaper than that.

((H))

First class tickets from Edinburgh to London for the 3rd week in March are presently £62. All in the timing. I’ve found you need to keep checking, but 12 weeks out is a good starting point. The best deals don’t last long as there seem to be a limited number of tickets.

Thanks for great responses -- and quickly!

No flexibility on dates and there are 4 of us.

I will sit on the right hand side (especially after Newcastle).

I do look at pound pricing and add about 35% more for USD.

Have gone to trainline and asked to be notified about special pricing.

Will stay away from RE.

Will probably select first class unless way way higher.

Once again, great help -- which I appreciate muchly (is that a word?).

Back to Christmas shopping -- Philip in Texas

Have gone to trainline and asked to be notified about special pricing.>

trainline is a re-seller so better to deal with Virgin East Coast site - but yes have trainline updates on specials then go to official site to book.

How many of you and what ages?

there are schemes like 'two traveling together' and senior rail cards that get you BIG discounts.

You pay for the discounted ticket as if you already had the senior card or the 2 together pass, download the application and when you are in London turn in the paperwork and pay for the pass -- can even be done when you collect your ticket at the station.

After paying for the pass, you are still ££ ahead. Makes First class more economical for sure.

A fallacy that going directly to the train operator ( Virgin Eastcoast Line) is cheaper. It’s not. Just checked and it was about £10 more per ticket, first class. Never understood this misconception. At least, I’ve never found it to be true.

historytraveler -thanks - illogical yes.

<<A fallacy that going directly to the train operator ( Virgin Eastcoast Line) is cheaper. It’s not>>

Can you back this up with anexample?

A pity the OP has decided to go with the trainline (who will add a booking fee) and not with the train operator.

I usually buy my tickets through the nationalrail.co.uk site but check trainline for schedules and prices. As in most things, one needs to do the research. Yes, trainline charges a £ 1.50 booking fee which in most cases is a pittance. The fares on trainline are often cheaper so the £1.50 becomes insignificant. For example, in checking fares for March, a first class ticket on trainline costs £ 63 plus £1.50 booking fee. While going to Virgin Eastcoast Line or National Rail U.K. site, the same ticket is £74.50.

VTEC state they always offer the cheapest fares for their trains, so I’d be interested to see if the trainline is indeed cheaper. What’s the date in March and time of train where there is a £10 difference?

Philip says:

Have asked for ALERTS from BOTH Virgin and trainline. Have not decided which, for me, is the better choice for tickets. Seems to me from the GREAT responses to my posting that the jury does not have a consensus. Loving the debate and sharing between the posters.

I enjoy "due diligence" so plan on rereading the responses received. I don't mind paying a de minimus amount more for ease.

AGAIN, thanks for all the very good (and interesting) viewpoints and responses.

I used March 20th. Call me cynical and to some degree I am but I never assume that because someone or some business claims they are the cheapest that it truly is ( the cheapest).

Why would thetrainline sell cheaper - would Virgin East Coast give them a discount price not on their site? Weird. But doesn't Virgin own thetrainline.com so maybe so? But, historytraveler is usually right IME.

Just check all three sites I guess - thetrainline, nationalrail.co.uk and East Coast line site and take the cheapest.

Well Virgin sold thetrainline.com long ago - Wiki says:

It was created in 1997 and online ticket sales began in 1999. Trainline Ltd was formerly part of the Virgin Group and is now owned by private equity investors and management. The business expanded significantly in the 2000s, acquiring its main online competitor Qjump from National Express in February 2004.[3]

In addition to the online service provided direct to customers operated under its own brands Trainline and Qjump, it provides the website services for 8 of the 20 UK train operating companies who sell tickets online under their own brands.

In July 2006, Exponent Private Equity acquired Trainline for £168 million. Trainline was bought from a consortium of shareholders that included the Virgin, Stagecoach and National Express transport groups.

Qjump - never heard of that? Seems to be similar to trainline selling rail tickets:

https://www.qjump.co.uk/

Another site to check out for comparison fares?

I think if you book directly through Virgin, you get free WiFi in standard class, if that matters.

I compared trainline and Virgin when I was shopping. There wasn’t enough of a difference. It’s showing up the same in March for the random date I picked. First class is one pound cheaper on trainline (99) and standard shows up as 4ish pines cheaper on Virgin.

so...trains in the UK are quite expensive. You can find better prices if you check 2 months in advance or so but prices go up pretty fast.
First class is really not worth the money, unless you "want" first clas, as coach seats are quite comfy and clean usually...

Sorry, but 1st class does make a difference on long distance trips like London to Edinburgh. Food, drinks, snacks, newspapers, more comfortable seats, etc. on short trips, not so much

I also like a quiet carriage when I travel on UK trains - worth it . I always use train line - having compared fares with Virgin and are fine

Returning to the VTEC v Trainline issue. By coincidence, March 20 was the date I was looking at, and none of the like-for-like tickets on sale by the Trainline are cheaper than VTEC. Indeed, once you’ve added their booking fee the Trainline will ALWAYS be more expensive than VTEC.

I’ve no problem if people wish to use re-sellers if that’s they want to do. But to claim the Trainline is cheaper than buying directly from VTEC (or any other train operator) is simply incorrect (unless of course you can give a specific example).