Coming up: cheap tickets, quick journeys, Avanti West Coast. tasty on-board food, a big statue of an angel, more than one direct train, and our London to Edinburgh train guide.
For traveling between London and Edinburgh, your best option is to take a train:
The views are nice, you can switch your brain off, UK trains are comfortable, and it’s good for the environment*.
*Obviously, if you want a bit more freedom, you might want to hire a car. But unless you’re going to remote and rural places, hiring a car in the UK is pretty unnecessary.
… but where do you book tickets? Which train company should you travel with? How long does the journey take? And just how many rhetorical questions can one person ask about trains?
Coming up, all that and more: today, Travelness is bringing you everything you need to know about traveling from London to Edinburgh by train. Bring your ticket and come join the fun!
Best Trains From London to Edinburgh: Your Four Options
Four different train operators run the direct train route from London to Edinburgh:
(three of them offer ‘normal’ daytime journeys, and one of them only provides overnight routes)
1- LNER Trains From London to Edinburgh
The most well-known and the fastest of the four is LNER, also known as LNER Azuma.
With LNER, the London to Edinburgh journey takes 4 hours and 20 minutes, and you ride from London Kings Cross station to Edinburgh Waverley station.
The trains run more than once per hour.
The cheapest adult ticket you can possibly get for these trains is £31.20 for a single one-way journey (if you book far in advance).
(*In case you’re wondering, LNER stands for ‘London North Eastern Railway’).
2- LUMO Trains From London to Edinburgh
The second of the four is Lumo, which is your most affordable option.
These trains have been running since October 2021 (so they’re fairly new), and up to 5 trains run per day.
If you book in advance, you can ride the route (one-way, adult ticket) for as little as £19.90.
Again, you go from London Kings Cross station to Edinburgh Waverley station, and the ride takes 4 hours and 32 minutes.
3- Avanti West Coast Trains From London to Edinburgh
Your third option is Avanti West Coast. But I wouldn’t bother traveling with Avanti West Coast:
The journeys are slower than the Lumo and LNER journeys (clocking in at 4 hours 42 minutes), the tickets are a bit more expensive, and all Avanti West Coast trains use the London Euston station (which is no great problem, but Euston isn’t as well-connected as Kings Cross).
*well, unless you take a sleeper train (cos, you know, you won’t see much in the dark. And that brings us to your fourth option…)
4- London to Edinburgh by Caledonian Sleeper Train
Your fourth and final option (and your most unusual option!) is the Caledonian Sleeper Train (which as you probably worked out, is an overnight train).
These trains take a little over 7.5 hours to get from London to Edinburgh—and you arrive in Edinburgh at 7:30am.
Obviously, if you’re gonna ride a sleeper train, you probably want a cabin with a bed*. If you book a bed, you always get a private cabin (with a lock).
*That said, it’s still possible to get a basic seat on a Caledonian Sleeper Train, with no private cabin and no bed. But I really can’t see any reason to take one of these (you won’t sleep, the journey is longer than a daytime journey, and the tickets are more expensive than the normal daytime journey tickets).
To book tickets for the Caledonian Sleeper, head to www.sleeper.scot. Prices for cabins start from £140—some cabins have bunk beds, some have a double bed, some have toilets, some have showers. Obviously, the more facilities your cabin has, the more expensive it gets.
The most expensive option (double bed with sink, shower, toilet and breakfast) starts at £330 per cabin (ouch).
Pros of taking the Caledonian Sleeper Train:
Cons of taking the Caledonian Sleeper Train:
Is Every Train From London to Edinburgh a Direct Train?
All the routes we’ve brought you in this guide; they’re all direct trains.
You can get various combos of non-direct trains between the two cities—but unless you want to make a specific stop between London and Edinburgh, there’s no advantage to doing that. Yeah, you might save a tiny bit of money, but you’ll just be wasting time.
How to Buy Train Tickets From London to Edinburgh
To book train tickets from London to Edinburgh, head to the Trainline.
Trainline is sort of like Skyscanner, but for trains and train tickets. It searches all the providers, it gives you the best prices, and it’s very user-friendly. Yep, it takes a tiny booking fee (so you might want to instead search for tickets on specific train operator websites, which we linked above). But time is money, and looking at one website is quicker than looking at many websites.
… and as a sweet little perk, Trainline accepts foreign cards.
As you’ll see on the Trainline website, the best way to get cheap train tickets is to book off-peak train tickets*.
*In the UK, ‘off-peak’ typically means after 09:30 (but outside the peak travel hours of 15:30 and 18:15).
To get the best prices, you should book tickets in advance, but not too far in advance: in my experience, the sweet spot for finding the best prices is to book around 6-8 weeks before your travel date.
When you buy your train ticket, you can choose to get an actual paper ticket (you have to pick it up from the station by using one of the automated train ticket machines, by inserting the credit card you used to book your ticket). Or you can just have your train ticket emailed to you, to use on your phone in the form of a QR code. Obviously, the second option is easiest.
UK Railcards (for London to Edinburgh and Beyond)
No matter how few train journeys you’re taking in the UK, you might want to get a railcard.
… and because there are 9(!) different types of UK railcards, there’s a good chance you’ll find one that’ll apply to you. You can see all the different options here*.
(*I won’t go into the details, cos they’re explained at the link. BUT you can get railcards for 16-25s, 25-30s, seniors, UK armed forces veterans, family and friends, couples, and more)
With most railcards (though not all), each train ticket you buy is reduced by 33%(!).
So, let’s do some quick math:
Let’s say you buy a 26-30s railcard, which costs £30. Then you spend £120 on train tickets. You’ll save 33% of this (£40), and your railcard has already paid for itself.
… so, to be clear: most railcards are worth buying if you’ll be spending £100 or more on train tickets per person during your UK stay. And get this: if you buy a last-minute ticket from London to Edinburgh, it might even be worth buying a railcard for one(!) journey.
To get a railcard, follow the instructions at the link I just gave you two minutes ago (above). It’s quick and easy—and your railcard is sent to your phone. Simple!
How Long Is the Train Journey From London to Edinburgh?
As we’ve covered, the train journey from London to Edinburgh takes:
- 4 hours and 20 minutes if you travel with LNER
- 4 hours and 32 minutes if you travel with Lumo
- 4 hours and 42 minutes if you travel with Avanti West Coast
- And around 7.5 hours if you take a Caledonian Sleeper Train
(obviously, if there are any delays or problems or whatever, your journey will take a little longer… which is pretty common on UK trains).
Train Facilities On-Board the London to Edinburgh Trains
Of all the London to Edinburgh daytime trains, the LNER Azumas are the nicest. They’re clean, modern, and relatively spacious—and they all have a static food counter in one of the carriages. And if you book first-class, you get a nice free meal (if you’re traveling Monday-Friday). All seats have a power socket.
The Lumo trains are a little less fancy, but still very nice. All seats have power sockets, and each train has an on-board food trolley. There is no first-class option.
With Avanti West Coast Trains, you get plug sockets in every seat—and first class comes with a good meal. If you’re not in first-class, you can get both hot and cold food, with a decent selection. Avanti West Coast food is better than Lumo food, but not as good as LNER Azuma food.
I won’t cover the Caledonian Sleeper trains again, cos I already covered them above.
… but, in summary, UK trains are better equipped than most of the world’s trains. Though they’re often late, they’re clean and tidy, the WiFi is okay, you always get plug sockets, the toilets are good, and the seats are pretty comfortable and spacious.
How’s the Accessibility on London to Edinburgh Trains?
As you can see here and here*, both Edinburgh Waverley station and London Kings Cross station have excellent (though not perfect) accessibility standards.
*To see the details I’m talking about, head to the bottom of each page, to the ‘accessibility and support’ sections.
… and, as a nice bonus, the vast majority of UK trains have accessibility ramps, handrails, and space for wheelchairs (along with other accessibility measures). I don’t think I’ve ever seen a London to Edinburgh train (or an Edinburgh to London train) that doesn’t have excellent accessibility measures.
In the UK, you can book accessibility support for ANY JOURNEY by calling 0800 0223720 (note: you need to call more than 2 hours before your train is set to depart).
Accessibility on Caledonian Sleeper Trains is also excellent, and each train has one fully accessible carriage. When you book your tickets, book an ‘Accessible Classic’ room or an ‘Accessible Double’ room, and all your needs will be taken care of.
Here’s much more information on train travel accessibility in the UK.
Insider Tips for Taking the Train From London to Edinburgh
- When you book your train tickets, choose a window seat: although it’s not the most scenic train ride on the planet, the London to Edinburgh route is still relatively pretty. Sights you’ll see along the way include Emirates Stadium (where Arsenal FC play their home games), Peterborough Cathedral, lovely views of the little city of Durham, the close-to-Newcastle Angel of the North, and an excellent coastal stretch just before Edinburgh.
- If you’re not from the UK, you’ll probably think UK trains are cold: so make sure you have a warm layer.
- For the past couple of years, train strikes have been VERY common in the UK (blame the terrible government, not the strikers). And these strikes aren’t showing any signs of slowing down. Use the National Rail website’s official industrial action page to check if any strikes are planned. Spoiler alert: there probably will be.
- Some must-visit sights in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle, Arthur’s Seat, and the waterside neighborhood of hip and happening Leith. For way more detail, here’s our ultimate itinerary for 2 days in Edinburgh.
- It’s possible to take bikes on UK trains (ideal if you’re planning a one-way long-distance bike ride): but space is pretty limited, so make sure you book in advance. To do so, contact whichever train company you’re traveling with.
- Virgin Trains no longer operate in the UK. Virgin Trains have largely been replaced by Avanti West Coast. I’m only telling you this because, for some reason, I can’t work out, people still specifically search for Virgin Trains. Maybe those people really love Richard Branson, I don’t know.
- If you want a cheaper way to travel from London to Edinburgh, you might want to instead take a long-distance bus. Though the journeys are WAY longer, tickets can be a lot cheaper (especially if you’re booking a last-minute journey). The two most popular providers are Megabus and National Express—and the London to Edinburgh route is a popular and common one.
- As we’ve covered, most UK trains have some sort of food service. But unless you’re on a Caledonian Sleeper coach (or traveling first-class), the selection can be pretty limited and pretty terrible (and never healthy). I always take my own food on trains—and I recommend you do the same.
- All UK trains have toilets. And they’re usually pretty clean and well-maintained. All UK train stations also have toilets—they’re usually free of charge.
- In case you’re wondering, yes: the same rules apply in both directions. All the advice we’ve given you for getting from London to Edinburgh by train, you can use that exact same advice for getting from Edinburgh to London by train.
Before You Go
That’s us finished—and we’ve made it all the way from London to Edinburgh!
To sum up, I reckon the best way to travel is via one of the Lumo trains. Yeah, they’re a few minutes slower than the popular LNER option, but they’re usually a decent chunk cheaper. That said, both LNER and Lumo are good options (and unless you really love train travel, I don’t recommend the Caledonian Sleeper Train).
And my biggest tips are: 1) consider getting a railcard. 2) the sweet spot for getting cheap train tickets is booking your journey around 6-8 weeks before your travel date.
For more on exploring Scotland’s capital, here are the 13 best cycling routes in Edinburgh, and the 15 best day trips from Edinburgh. And for more on London, here are the 10 best cycling routes in London.
IMPORTANT: Feel free to explore our other travel guides while you’re here – you might discover some delightful surprises! Plus, every visit helps support our small business. We truly appreciate it.
