LNER Azuma train from London to Edinburgh
 

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Ticket machines

   
 

Route of the Flying Scotsman

An LNER train links London & Edinburgh at up to 125mph almost every 30 minutes through the day, 393 miles in 4 hours 20 minutes, city centre to city centre with zero check-in.  Flying takes 4 hours, by local train to the airport, airport security, flight, then a tram - the train is less hassle, cuts CO2 emissions by 84%, and is a genuine travel experience.  This page helps you buy the cheapest tickets and get the most from the journey.

Lo-cost Lumo trains:  In addition to the frequent LNER service, lo-cost Lumo trains started in October 2021, Lumo run up to 5 trains per day each way from £19.90.

small bullet point  Train times

small bullet point  How much does it cost?

small bullet point  How to buy tickets

small bullet point  What are the trains like?

small bullet point  London Kings Cross station

small bullet point  What to see on the journey

small bullet point  Edinburgh Waverley station

 

small bullet point  Travel tips, WiFi, luggage...

small bullet point  A bit of history

small bullet point  A tale of two Edinburgh hotels

small bullet point  Short breaks to Edinburgh by train

small bullet point  The scenic West Highland line

small bullet point  The scenic Settle & Carlisle line

small bullet point  Video guide: London to Edinburgh

Train times

How much does it cost?

How to buy tickets

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What are the trains like?

LNER's Azuma trains

Train operator LNER introduced new 125 mph Azuma trains in 2019-2020, replacing older Mk4 carriages from the 1990s.  The Azumas are electric, although some are hybrids with diesel engines so they can run on unelectrified lines such as Edinburgh to Aberdeen & Inverness  See Azuma video.  LNER is the main government-contracted operator between London & Edinburgh.

Azuma train to Edinburgh at London Kings Cross

LNER Azuma train at London Kings Cross.

Standard class & luggage rack on an LNER Azuma train   2nd class seats on an Azuma train

Standard class, showing luggage rack.  Larger photo.

 

Standard class seats on an Azuma.  Larger photo.

1st class seats on an Azuma train   Buffet counter on Azuma train

First class seats on an Azuma.  Larger photo.

 

Buffet counter on Azuma.  Larger photo.

Complimentary food & wine in 1st class   Azuma train seat reservation display   Luggage racks on an Azuma train to Edinburgh

Complimentary food & wine is served at your seat in 1st class on Mondays-Fridays.

 

An electronic display shows which seats are reserved and which are free.

 

You simply put your luggage on the racks.

Lo-cost Lumo trains

Lumo is a new open-access operator (an operator running trains on a fully-commercial basis with no government contract).  They started lo-cost train service between London & Edinburgh on 25 October 2021 with 2 trains per day each way, ramping up to 5 per day in early 2022.  The trains are all standard class (no first class) with power sockets & USB ports at all seats, free WiFi and good legroom.  There's plenty of space for luggage, a refreshment trolley and LumoEats, the ability to pre-order food & drink online from known brands like M&S for delivery to your seat.  It's a really smart train - the only thing lo-cost is the price.  I travelled from London to Edinburgh on Lumo's press & media preview train on 21 October 2021, see the video here.

London to Edinburgh Lumo train

Lumo class 803 train, similar to LNER's Azumas but with a different all-one class interior.

One-class seating on a London-Edinburgh Lumo train   London-Edinburgh Lumo train

One-class seating on Lumo.  Larger photo.

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London Kings Cross station

London Kings Cross station

Kings Cross station, showing Cubitt's elegant facade of 1852 which faces the Euston Road.  The ugly 1970s extension which sat in front of it for 40 years has been removed, opening up the area as a pleasant square occasionally now used for a farmers' market.  More information on the station's history.  You can find a plan of the station at www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations, enter KGX.

The new station concourse at Kings Cross

A 'flying saucer' housing a spacious new concourse has been built alongside the original station, on the left hand side as you look at Cubitt's original facade.  This photo was taken from the balcony where you'll find various food outlets.  The ticket office is on the right.  The Harry Potter trolley is almost dead centre in the photo, and the excellent Parcel Yard pub is at the back. 

Access to/from the platforms is though automatic ticket gates, so have your ticket handy.  In this photo the gates are just out of shot to the right, go through them and walk behind the buffer stops to the platform for your train.

Kings Cross station clock   Platform 9 3/4 - the Harry Potter exhibit at Kings Cross

Above left, one of the station clocks, on the platforms inside the trainshed.

Above right, Harry Potter fans can have their photo taken on the concourse. Though JK Rowling was thinking of Euston when she came up with platform 9¾, as explained here.

Kings Cross trainshed

An LNER Azuma train at Kings Cross platform 2, under one of the station's two magnificent arched roofs.

First class lounge

Anyone with a 1st class ticket over £10 for travel via the East Coast route can use the LNER first class lounge with complimentary tea, coffee, snacks & soft drinks.  The door to the lounge is to the left of the blue neon glow (actually a row of ATMs) in the centre of the concourse photo above.  The lounge is upstairs, accessed via a lift.  The lounge was refurbished again in July 2019, this photo is courtesy of Douglass Scott.

Virgin Trains first class lounge at Kings Cross

The Parcel Yard pub

If you can't get into the 1st class lounge, head for the excellent Parcel Yard pub at the back of the concourse, a great place to have a meal or beer while waiting for your train.  Or for a special meal, the excellent upmarket Rails Restaurant is located on the first floor of the Great Northern Hotel, with an entrance directly off the new Kings Cross station concourse.

Parcel Yard oub at Kings Cross   The Parcel Yard bar, Kings Cross

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What to see on the journey

The train leaves Kings Cross

1.  Kings Cross.  The train leaves Kings Cross and immediately plunges into the short Gasworks & Copenhagen tunnels, then out into the suburbs.

Arsenal Football Stadium   Alexandra Palace, seen from the train

2.  Emirates Stadium (above left).  A few minutes after leaving Kings Cross, look out for Emirates Stadium on the right, the home of Arsenal Football Club and one of the largest football stadium in the UK after Wembley & Old Trafford.  See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirates_Stadium.

3.  Alexandra Palace (above right) with its large radio & TV mast is on the left 10 minutes or so after leaving Kings Cross - it was from 'Ally Pally' that the BBC broadcast the world's first regular public television service in 1936.  See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Palace.

Countryside   And more countryside

4.  Suburbs, countryside & the Welwyn bottleneck.  Suburbia soon gives way to open country, woods & fields as the train powers on at 125 mph.  It's a 4-track main line, but all trains have to squeeze onto just two tracks to cross the Welwyn Viaduct, which is something of a bottleneck!  The woods and fields eventually give way to the flat Cambridgeshire fenlands.

Peterborough cathedral from the train   Sign marking where Mallard set the world speed record for steam trains

5.  Peterborough (above left).  As you approach Peterborough & cross the River Nene 76 miles from Kings Cross, look out for the squat towers of Peterborough cathedral which are just visible over the city roofs on the right hand side of the train.

6.  Mallard sign (above right).  On 3 July 1938 on a stretch of the London-bound track, LNER A4 locomotive Mallard set the world speed record for steam trains, 125.88 mph, a record which still stands today.  Look out for this sign on the right half way between Peterborough & Grantham.

Approaching York station

7.  York station, 188.5 miles from London - if you want to break up the journey, this is the place for a stopover - see travel tips.  The two towers of York Minster are just visible over the top of the station's beautiful 19th century roof.  York is also home to the National Railway Museum, www.nrm.org.uk.

The Half Way from London to Edinburgh sign

8.  Half way!  The famous London to Edinburgh Half Way sign, on the right around 7 miles north of York.

Durham cathedral & castle

9.  Durham.  At Durham the train crosses a viaduct giving superb views of Durham city, castle & cathedral on the right hand side.

Angel of the North

10.  Angel of the North.  As the train approaches Newcastle, the Angel of the North is just visible high up on a hill on the right hand side  It's a 66 feet high contemporary steel sculpture by Sir Antony Gormley. erected in 1998.  See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_of_the_North.

Crossing the Tyne   Newcastle station

11.  Newcastle upon Tyne. The train slows & rumbles across the River Tyne into Newcastle Central, 268 miles from London.

Alnmouth, seen from the train   Lindisfarne castle, seen from the train

12.  Alnmouth (above left), on the Northumberland coast.

13.  Lindisfarne castle just visible through the haze, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindisfarne.

The train crosses the Royal Border Bridge at Berwick

14.  Royal Border Bridge.  The train races across the Royal Border Bridge over the River Tweed approaching Berwick.  Designed by Robert Stephenson, this impressive 659m-long viaduct was opened by Queen Victoria in 1850.  As you can see above the best views as you curve onto the bridge are from the right hand side of the train when going north.  See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Border_Bridge.

The train crosses the River Tweed   Berwick-upon-Tweed

15.  The River Tweed (above left).  Just beyond these bridges, the Tweed flows into the North Sea.

16.  Berwick (above right), where part of the castle was demolished to make way for the station.

The train runs along the coast

17.  Hello Scotland!  2½ miles north of Berwick the train crosses the England-Scotland border, marked by a colourful wooden board with English & Scottish flags next to the track on the right hand side.  Blink and you miss it!  The train is now rolling along the lovely Scottish coast right by the cliffs with the sea breaking on the rocks below.

The train runs along the coast

Scottish coastline between Berwick & Edinburgh:  Although not taken from the train, this photo shows the short but lovely coastal section just north of the Scottish border.  That's a Lumo train, not just any Lumo train but Lumo's inaugural press preview train to Edinburgh on 21 October 2021.  The author is on board in the second car from the rear! Courtesy of Andrew McIntyre.

Coastline   Scottish stately home

18.  Ayton Castle (above right) in the Scottish borders.

The train arrives at Edinburgh Waverley   Edinburgh station sign

19.  Edinburgh.  The train rolls in to Edinburgh Waverley, 393 miles from London.

Edinburgh Castle seen from Princes Street

When you walk up the steps from Edinburgh Waverley station onto Princes Street, you're greeted by this view.  Edinburgh Castle seen from Princes Street on a late October afternoon.  And you got here on the route of the Flying Scotsman.

Edinburgh Waverley station

View of Edinburgh Waverley station   Edinburgh Waverley concourse

Edinburgh Waverley station sits below Princes Street in the narrow valley between Edinburgh's old and new towns.

The station ticket hall   The steps from Waverley station to Princes Street

Ticket hall.  The ticket office and travel centre open off this magnificent hall.

 

Steps & escalators link Waverley with Princes Street above the station.

LNER first class lounge at Edinburgh   Train at Edinburgh

LNER 1st class lounge.  1st class passengers can use the lounge at Edinburgh with any kind of first class ticket valid on LNER, including Advance tickets.  Lounge photo courtesy of @gawuffy.

VideoLondon to p by train

The video shows a journey with LNER.  If you plan on using Lumo, see the Lumo video here.

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Travel tips

LNER order food at seat   LNER order food at seat   LNER order food at seat

Have food & drink delivered to your seat:  1. Scan the QR code.  2. Enter car & seat.  3. Order!

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A bit of history

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Hotels in EdinburghA tale of two rivals

Edinburgh's Caledonian Hotel   Atrium at the Caldonian Hotel

Caledonian Hotel, at the opposite end of Princes Street from Waverley station.

 

The Peacock Alley lounge at the Caledonian Hotel was once part of Edinburgh Princes Street station concourse.

A room at the Caledonian Hotel   Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh

A double room at the Caley.

 

The rival Balmoral Hotel, originally the North British.

Hotels in London:  The Great Northern

Great Northern Hotel & Kings Cross station

The Great Northern Hotel (on the left) is a classic railway hotel, next to Kings Cross station.

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Short breaks to Scotland by train

Railbookers short breaks to Scotland by sleeper


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