rail repairs London to Edinburgh
 

Message: I have posted before on this (thank you for help) but now it looks like the day we want to take the train from London to Edinburgh, 19/03, a Saturday, we have to switch to a bus for a short time. Has anyone done this? How likely is it that the extra hour this is suppose to add onto the trip will turn into extra hours. Also, some of the trains complete the trip (from Newcastle) on GNER and some on Virgin Trains. Should we prefer one over the other or should we just rearrange our plans to avoid travel on this day?

Not sure if things have changed much since we got caught up in this type of situation in 98, but, if I had to go by that, I'd suggest you may want to plan on another day. Especially if you are going to be making the trip with all your luggage. It turned into a small nightmare for us!

The more elements in a journey, the more things to go wrong. If there are roadworks on the way into Newcastle, for example, your bus will miss the connecting train.

And it's never a good idea, if you can avoid it, to connect between different train companies: company B takes no responsibility if company A is late. Virgin's pretty poor at holding trains if an arriving Virgin train is late - but it wouldn't even contemplate holding a train if an arriving GNER train or bus connection is delayed.

Incidentally, although the statistics don't bear me out on this (which merely tells me they've found a way of reporting performance selectively), my experience is that Virgin Cross Country (who like GNER operate York-Edinburgh services)) are always a great deal less punctual than GNER on this route - and more liable to cancel, or (as happened to my 85 y-o MIL) arbitrarily suspend honouring seat bookings when trains are crowded. Virgin, however, do have funkier in-seat entertainment options. If you are happy, as Virgin think all their customers are, to tolerate disgraceful service in return for easily available moron music, Virgin's the one.

No-one can tell you how likely further delays will be. But they're a lot more likely with this bus thing, and likelier still if you use different companies.

By and large, while engineering's going on, they're least likely if you fly. At the very least, travel outside the weekend.

susan4: on your other threads you say you want to go London > Edinburgh and then Edinburgh > York > London by train.

Your trip up is on a weekend so I would definitely fly - it is fast, inexpensive and non-stop. It is easy to get in from Edinburgh airport on the frequent and cheap shuttle bus. Then, since your return trip with a stopover in York is on a weekday, I'd take the train.

Sure - taking the train directly from Kings Cross is a piece of cake, but the mess with changing trains/bus, etc will take away all that time you saved by catching the train in central London.

On non-works days - the train would be my first choice because you don't need to go out to the airport and check in ahead of time. But for this itinerary - I'd fly up and take the train back south . . . . . .

On this date, the line seems to be closed between Darlington and Newcastle, a distance of 36 miles. The buses are hired by the train companies to connect with trains and don't carry any other passengers, so the journey shouldn't be much longer than the hour it's supposed to take. Changing between trains and buses can be tiresome if you have a lot of luggage, but travelling anywhere is more difficult with luggage. From Newcastle to Edinburgh, there are two trains every hour; you should just get on the next train, whether it is run by GNER or Virgin. The last time I travelled from York to Edinburgh, I had a reserved seat on a GNER train, but it was late and a Virgin train arrived first; as there were empty seats, I got on it. Trains at certain times on Saturdays can be busy with people going shopping or going to football matches.

Hi
As a frequent rail traveller (work purposes) I have had endless problems with Virgin trains. Filthy toilets, disgusting food, and sometimes (on first class) carriages so full that no trolley could get past, and people have been literally trapped in their seats for miles as it is too crowded to move. I am not saying GNER are perfect, but believe me they are a whole lot more reliable, especially on the East coast route. The food on GNER is very good, better than many restaurants, and I have never been packed like a sardine. I'd go by train and switch to the bus. When you get back on the train past Newcastle sit on the right hand side and be prepared for some stunning scenery as the line hugs the coast. I never tire of looking at it.