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Birmingham to Edinburgh by train
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Note that trains take take two different routes when making a journey from Birmingham to Edinburgh.
(1) Avanti West Coast operates trains which take the shorter and spectacular 'West Coast route' up through Carlisle.
Though its trains typically only depart every hour.
(2) Cross Country operated trains which take a slower route, as they have to travel over to take the East Coast route, which has some glorious sea views north of Newcastle.
Though its trains depart hourly, so its departure and arrival times may be more convenient.
The two routes seemingly have little impact on the ticket price, particularly when booking in advance
Routes you can take to go from Birmingham to Edinburgh
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:
Looking for connections?
Route Information
Option 1: taking the fastest route
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
4hr 10min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
Monday to Saturday
6 x trains per day
Departures are typically every other hour from after 06:00am to after 18:00 (6pm)
Purchase Tickets
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
Trainline Guide
Other Ticket Providers
Avanti West Coast Guide
Avanti West Coast only operates long-distance trains so it offers discounted Advance tickets on all of its routes.
It's booking engine doubles up as a 'Best Fare Finder' service, with the aim being to ensure that the cheapest tickets are offered for journeys by its trains, particularly when making return trips.
National Rail Guide
In Great Britain each Train Operating Company provides its own booking service for journeys by its trains, but many of their websites also sell tickets for nationwide journeys, regardless of which company operates the trains on the routes you wish to travel by.
The National Rail website is plugged into all of the train operator's booking services, so when more than one of these companies offers tickets for a route, it in effect offers a price comparison service.
It isn't a ticket agent, so you will be connected to the website of your choice in order to make a booking.
Travel Information
Final Destination: Edinburgh
All trains call at Haymarket station in Edinburgh around 5 mins before travelling on to the city's main station, Edinburgh Waverely.
So check whether leaving the train at Haymarket will be more convenient, the station is located on the western side of the city centre.
All trains also call at: Lancaster and Carlisle
Some trains also call at Oxenholme Lake District and / or Penrith North Lakes
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
All of the videos were taken from a train travelling in the opposite direction, when travelling towards Edinburgh, all of these views can be seen from the right.
Around 15 mins after departing from Darlington comes the first highlight of the journey - the stunning views over the town of Durham,
Over on the right before and after the station, the town's stunning castle and cathedral can be clearly seen in all their glory.
After Durham the next highlight of the journey is the passage over the River Tyne, as the train approaches Newcastle Central station and heads over the King Edward VII Bridge.
Looking to the right, five other bridges that span the river can be seen and there are also some great views of the Tyne Bridge as the train arrives in Newcastle station.
Around 30 mins after departing from Newcastle, the village of Alnmouth comes into view on the right, and just to the south of it is the first glimpse of the North Sea, which can be seen on this journey.
For most of the remainder of the journey northwards the route lives up to its name of the 'The East Coast Mainline'.
The next highlight is the view from the majestic Royal Border Bridge as the train sweeps into Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Around five minutes after the train has either passed through or departed from Berwick, it begins to travel across the clifftops as it crosses the border into Scotland - these are the most dramatic coastal views on the journey.
The coast then comes back into view to the south of Dunbar...
...and there are distant glimpses of the sea available until the train reaches the suburbs of Edinburgh.
This video produced by the train operator LNER also showcases the Newcastle to Edinburgh section of the route
Tickets
Book Early And Save: Yes
**Tickets Available from: 12 weeks ahead typically, construction works can delay the release of tickets.
The types of ticket
Up to three types of tickets will be available from 12 weeks ahead
They each have different terms around exchanges and refunds, so this enables a choice of flexibility.
(1) Advance tickets
- Can only be used on the train selected when booking.
- Will be cheaper the further ahead it is booked.
- Seat reservation included at no additional cost.
- Cannot be refunded.
- Can be exchanged pre-departure to an alternative Avanti West Coast train on the same route.
- Exchange requires a payment of an admin fee of £10, plus any difference in price with the replacement ticket (it will be more expensive because prices rise as the travel date approaches).
(2) Anytime tickets
- Can be used on any departure on a selected travel date.
- Sold at a flat rate price, so these tickets are not cheaper if booked ahead.
- Seat reservation included at no additional cost, but it can be transferred to an alternative departure, or you can opt to board a different train on the travel date without a reservation.
- Can be refunded before the booked travel date, or up to 28 days after.
- Exchange does not apply - if you subsequently want to travel on a different day or departure, you can refund and re-book.
(3) Off Peak tickets
- Sold at a flat rate price, so these tickets are not cheaper if booked ahead.
- Seat reservation included at no additional cost, but it can be transferred to an alternative departure, or you can opt to board a different train on the travel date without a reservation; if it is departing at the valid times.
- Can be refunded before the booked travel date, or up to 28 days after.
- Exchange requires payment of any difference in price with the replacement ticket
More info about how to change your journey / make an exchange is available on this guide
Saving Money
The further ahead you book Advance tickets the cheaper the ticket should be.
Avanti West Coast is claiming that if you book 12 weeks ahead, travellers typically save up to 70% and booking 8 weeks ahead typically saves up to 42% - compared to the on the day price of Off-Peak tickets.
Though there are likely to be significant differences in prices between departures on your travel date.
In particular you can save typically save more than £50 on Monday to Thursday if you opt for departures which leave London between 09:10 and 15:00 and after 19:00
Though generally the trains which which depart London in the middle of the day and late evenings tend to be cheaper.
Also look out for the trains with a journey time of around 5hr 45mins, they can be cheaper, but they take a longer route which involves travelling through Birmingham.
If you know that you will be taking this journey on a specific date more than 12 weeks ahead of your travel, you can use this guide to check when the tickets will become available.
You can also set up personalized ticket alerts for the journey you want to take.
If you will be traveling on Friday to Sunday and don't want want to book Advance tickets - because you want the peace of mind of being able to refund at ticket and /or the freedom to make a last minute choice of departure, you may as well ignore the Anytime ticket and book an Off-Peak ticket - it will be cheaper.
Booking on the day of travel
Advance tickets are now not taken off sale until 10 mins prior to departure, but if you will be booking on the day of travel, the Off-Peak tickets typically become the cheaper option - and you will be charged the Off-Peak rate if you book at the station.
Though if you will be departing London Euston between 04:29 to 09:26 and between 15:00 and 18:45 on Mondays to Thursdays you will have to book Anytime tickets at the (much) higher price.
Travelling on Saturday-Sunday
Maintenance work on the railway is periodically undertaken at weekends and if it is scheduled on your travel date, it can affect when tickets will be released for sale.
If you're looking up a journey less than around 10 - 12 weeks ahead and the cheaper 'Advance' tickets aren't available, it can be a good indication that works will be impacting on your travel date.
It can be worth checking this on the Avanti West Coast website.
Making an end-to-end journey will still be possible, though you MAY ultimately have to take a substitution bus service for part of the trip.
It's the confirmation of these alternative travel arrangements which can hold up the release of the tickets for sale.
Though the Advance type of ticket won't be made available, if a part of a journey then requires a bus substitution, or a train provided by a different company.
Reservations
When you book an Advance ticket for a Birmingham to Edinburgh journey with Avanti online, you will be automatically assigned a seat(s) - because you will have to travel by that specific departure.
Because Off-Peak and Anytime tickets (usually) allow the freedom to choose between departures, you can request complimentary reservations when booking these tickets - find out more about this.
However, if you buy Off Peak or Anytime tickets just prior to boarding at the station, seat reservations won't be available
That's because reservations at stations need to be booked at least an hour before departure; so also keep that in mind if you will be using a rail pass, including a Britrail or Eurail pass.
Receiving Your Ticket(s)
If you book with Avanti West Coast, you will have up to four options for receiving and using your ticket(s) are:
(1) Using e-tickets:
Book a ticket online and you will receive an e-ticket attached to your confirmation email.
Avanti West Coast allows multiple options for using these e-tickets, you can download them to your mobile device, or store them in the Avanti West Coast app.
When boarding you can access your ticket(s) on your phone and use it to open the ticket gates.
(2) Collecting from the 'Fast-Track' ticket machines at the station.
You will receive a booking reference number on your order confirmation email and you can use this reference number to collect ticket(s) from a 'Fast-Track' ticket machine.
You will need to enter your reference number into the machine, so make sure you'll have easy access to it when you are using the machine.
You will also need to insert the specific credit or debit card you used when making the booking, so have that with you too.
Showing the email you have received to staff at the ticket gates won't get you on to the train, nor will this be valid if you can only show the email to the conductor when you are on the train.
If you forget to bring your ticket(s) with you to the station, but do have the card with you that you used when booking, you can use the machines to collect your ticket(s).
Take your time and take care that you have picked up all your ticket(s) and seat reservations.
You will then need to out the ticket(s) through the ticket gates when boarding.
(3) Opt to pay an additional charge to have your tickets posted to you.
The potential to save by splitting tickets on Trainline
It can be worth looking up this journey on Trainline.
It can be possible to save money by using split ticketing, with the booking process being no more complicated than booking conventional tickets - find out more
Route Information
Option 2: Slower, but more frequent
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
5 hr 5min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
1 x train per hour
Purchase Tickets
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. On longer-distance journeys within the UK it automatically offers a split ticket option if it will be cheaper. Plus it sells tickets for all train operators on each route.
Other Ticket Providers
CrossCountry Guide
If you will be buying tickets last minute for CrossCountry trains so won't have received a reservation, you can arrange reservations up to 10 mins before departure by using the 10 minute reservation service.
Another aspect of how CrossCountry offers tickets for sale outside of the norm is that if you book any type of ticket ahead, you will automatically receive a seat reservation.
If you book Off-Peak or Anytime tickets you can transfer them to a different departure.
National Rail Guide
In Great Britain each Train Operating Company provides its own booking service for journeys by its trains, but many of their websites also sell tickets for nationwide journeys, regardless of which company operates the trains on the routes you wish to travel by.
The National Rail website is plugged into all of the train operator's booking services, so when more than one of these companies offers tickets for a route, it in effect offers a price comparison service.
It isn't a ticket agent, so you will be connected to the website of your choice in order to make a booking.
Travel Information
Final Destination: Edinburgh, Dundee or Glasgow
All trains also call at: Berwick Upon Tweed
Some trains also call at:* Dunbar
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
The initial two hours of the Birmingham to Edinburgh rail journey along the Westy Coast route is pleasant, but unremarkable, but north of Lancaster the railway passes through a glorious landscape, pretty much until it reaches the outskirts of Glasgow.
Around five minutes north of Lancaster, the West Coast Main Line, briefly lives up to its name with a fleeting glimpse of Morecambe Bay, the only sea view on the journey.
Between Lancaster and Carlisle the railway takes a route between The Lake District to the west and the Pennines to the east;so there are great views to be enjoyed from both sides of the train towards distant mountains.
Approximately 10 minutes north of Oxenholme comes one of the highlights of the journey when the railway travels through the Lune Gorge - though here the best views are from the right (when facing the direction of travel).
A beautiful landmark to look out for on the right, just before the train enters the gorge, is the spectacular sight of Low Gill Viaduct, on a now abandoned railway.
Then as the train travels on towards Penrith, the best of the views are over to the left when heading north, on a clear day the hills of The Lake District can be seen in the distance.
The final highlight of the English section of the journey are the views to the south of Penrith.
North of Carlisle once the train has crossed the border into Scotland, it will travel through the beautiful Southern Uplands.
After the train has passed through Lockerbie station, the views as the railway climbs and then descends over Beattock summit, are particularly special.
The highlight of the Scottish section of the journey comes a little later when the railway winds a path through the hills south of Carstairs station.
Tickets
Book Early and Save: Yes
Online Bookings Usually Open: From 12 weeks ahead of travel of the travel date
Booking Advance Tickets
If you want to travel at the cheapest possible price, look for the 'Advance tickets', though the three key things worth knowing about booking and using 'Advance' tickets in usual circumstances are:
(1) Your ticket(s) will only be valid on the departure you selected when making a booking.
(2) But when travelling by CrossCountry trains, you can amend your ticket free of charge, regardless of when it was booked and when you will be travelling from 2 hours after purchase and up to 15 minutes before your train is due to depart, as long as the stations are the same.
(3) If the train you are booked on is delayed, you cannot then just hop on an alternative train operated by a different company.
CrossCountry atypically offers the ability to book Advance tickets until up to 15 minutes before departure.
The potential to save by splitting tickets on Trainline
It can be worth looking up this journey on Trainline.
It can be possible to save money by using split ticketing, with the booking process being no more complicated than booking conventional tickets - find out more.
Reservations
When you book an Advance ticket for this train journey, you will be automatically assigned a seat(s), but if you book the other types of ticket ahead, you can request a complimentary reservation
However, if you buy Off Peak or Anytime tickets just prior to boarding at the station, a seat reservation won't be automatically included with your booking.
Though CrossCountry now offers a service buy which holders of Anytime and Off-Peak tickets can book reservations up to 10 minutes prior to departure time.
Potential changes to ticket booking
If you're looking up a journey less than 12 weeks ahead and Advance tickets aren't available, it can be a good indication that works will be impacting on your travel date.
It can be worth checking traffic updates on the CrossCountry website.
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