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.

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).