How to travel by train from Edinburgh to St Andrews by train and connecting into a bus from Leuchars station

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Edinburgh to St Andrews by train and bus via Leuchars

Routes you can take to go from Edinburgh to Leuchars (for St Andrews)

When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.

Choose one of the following options:

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Journey guides for travel to Edinburgh

Route Information

Station Guides

Edinburgh Waverley Rail Station Guide

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Leuchars Guide Coming soon...

Travel Time (approx)

from 56 mins

Frequency

Daily

Travel Info

Mon-Sat = 2 x trains per hour
Sunday = 12 x trains

Travel Information

Frequent buses meet the trains at Leuchars station and the transfer into the centre of lovely St Andrews takes around 10 minutes.

In most hours* on Mondays to Saturdays there are two departures per hour from Edinburgh to Leuchars.
(1) a slightly faster train, by around 10 minutes, which will be heading to Aberdeen - the Inter7City services are used on most of those departures.
(2) a slower train which will be heading to Arbroath or Dundee; the Turbostar trains are used for those departures and on this route, first class is not available when travelling by these trains.

On Sundays the service is less frequent, particularly before noon.

However, in some hours, the trains which depart Edinburgh for Leuchars have travelled from destinations further south.
These include Azuma trains operated by LNER which originate in Leeds and London and a daily train operated by CrossCountry.

These non ScotRail trains are usually scheduled to depart Edinburgh at:
10:28 on Mon-Sat (LNER)
14:28 on Mon-Sat (LNER)
14:33 on Sunday (LNER)
18:13 daily (Cross Country)
18:33 on Mon-Sat (LNER)
18:36 on Sunday (LNER)
20:32 on Mon-Fri (LNER)
What can be worth be keeping in mind is that because these trains don't commence their journeys in Edinburgh, they are more likely to have a delayed departure.

This is a direct journey

You will be travelling on one of these trains...

A ScotRail Turbostar train has arrived in Dundee

ScotRail Turbostar (UK) Train Guide

The iconic 125 trains are used for the Inter7City services

ScotRail Inter7City (UK) Train Guide

Journey Features

Scenic - YesCoastal views

Good to Know

All trains also depart from: Edinburgh Haymarket station.

If the starting point of your journey is at the western end of the city centre, you can save time by heading to Haymarket station rather than Edinburgh Waverley, in order to board these trains.

The view looking to the right when approaching the Forth Bridge

Looking down on the Firth of Forth from the other side of the bridge

The train will spend around 15 mins travelling by the East Fife shore

The dramatic sea views are on the right when heading north

Passing through Kinghorn south of Kirkcaldy

For much of the journey between Edinburgh and Leuchars the railway line is beside the coastline of East Fife.
Though the sea views on this journey can only be seen on the right-hand side of the train when facing north.

Though the views from the train as it travels by the shore are superseded by one of the most stunning train journey experiences which can be found anywhere in Europe!
Namely the views from the Forth Bridge, which occur around 12 -15 mins after the train has departed from Edinburgh,

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