Related Content
Content
Edinburgh to Birmingham by train
How to travel by train from Edinburgh to Birmingham
There are two options for taking a rail journey from Edinburgh to Birmingham:
1: The faster, but less frequent trains, are operated by Avanti West Coast; and the scenic route lives up to the name of the rail operator as it takes a westerly course through Carlisle and Preston with more than an hour of stunning landscapes to be enjoyed from the train.
- The trains operated by CrossCountry spend the first half of their journeys traveling along the East Coast route, which lives up to its name with some wonderful sea views.
Neither route is automatically cheaper than the other, it is the demand per departure which impacts on the prices, so the best means of saving money is to travel at less busy times.
Share
Routes
Option 1: travelling with Avanti West Coast
Journey Summary
4hr 13min
Daily
Travel Information
The train service between Edinburgh and Birmingham is split between:
(1) These trains, operated by Avanti West Coast, which take a faster route, but they only depart every other hour (in even hours)
(2) Alternative trains operated by CrossCountry which take an entirely different slower route, but they depart at least hourly.
Final Destination: London Euston
All trains also call at: Crewe (connect for Chester and Shrewsbury) and Wolverhampton
Pendolino trains are used on most of these services operated by Avanti West Coast.
Monday to Saturday = 7 x trains per day
Sunday =5 x trains per day
Tickets
Book Early and Save: Yes
Tickets Available From: 24* weeks ahead for travel on Mon-Fri; up to 12 weeks ahead for weekend travel.
*This booking ahead period available on the Avanti West Coast trians is longer than that offered by the majority of British train operators.
If you book less than 12 weeks ahead you can compare the prices with the trains operated by CrossCountry.
If you want to travel at the cheapest possible price, look for the 'Advance' tickets; though be aware that this type of ticket can't be refunded if you subsequently change your travel plans.
(Though the T&Cs of using Advance tickets have been made more flexible for journeys taken before November 30th).
Though something to be aware of when booking tickets, particularly for journeys by Avanti West Coast with its extended booking periods, is that the more expensive Off Peak and Anytime type of tickets can be placed on sale before the Advance tickets will be available.
If that is the case, it won't mean that the 'Advance' tickets have sold out, instead you won't see them, because they haven't have been placed on sale yet.
Though you won't typically have to book months in advance to obtain the cheapest possible price for a Edinburgh to Birmingham rail
Travelling on Saturday-Sunday (also applies to the alternative route operated by CrossCountry
Maintenance work on the railway is periodically undertaken, particularly 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.
Choosing a Departure:
There are likely to be significant differences in prices between departures on your travel date, it's often possible to save more than £20 by taking an earlier or later train.
If you can be flexible with your travel times and dates, it's a good idea to use the Best Fare Finder service on the Avanti West Coast website.
Booking last-minute:
Avanti West Coast doesn't take discounted Advance tickets off sale until an hour before departure, so before heading to the station to purchase a walk-up ticket(s) it can be worth checking online to see if the Advance tickets are still available for the next departure.
Seat reservations:
When you book an Advance ticket for an Edinburgh to Birmingham journey by Avanti West Coast trains journey 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 a couple of hours ahead of 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, which you can print off or download to your mobile device..
(2) Using m-tickets:
If you book using the Avanti West Coast trains app, you can activate your ticket within the app
(3) 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.
(4) Opt to pay an additional charge to have your tickets posted to you.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Avanti West Coast | * | |
| National Rail | * | |
| Rail Europe | * |
On this journey
Journey Features
Good to Know
If the starting point of your journey is at the western end of the Edinburgh city centre, you can save time by heading to Haymarket station rather than Edinburgh Waverley, in order to board these trains.
The trains on the alternative route only depart from Edinburgh Waverley station.
For most of the first half of this journey the train will travel through a majestic landscape.
South of Carstairs the railway follows a route 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.
Between Carlisle and Lancaster the railway takes a route between The Lake District to the east and the Pennines to the west; 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 left (when facing the direction of travel).
(The video was filmed from a train travelling in the opposite direction).A beautiful landmark to look out for on the left, just after the train enters the gorge, is the spectacular sight of Low Gill Viaduct, on a now abandoned railway.
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.
Option 2: travelling with CrossCountry
Journey Summary
4hr 58min
Daily
Travel Information
The train service between Edinburgh and Birmingham is split between:
(1) Alternative trains, which take a faster route, but they only depart every other hour (in even hours).
(2) These trains operated by CrossCountry, which take an entirely different longer route, but they depart at least hourly.
A mix of 125 and Voyager trains are used on this route, but there is no means of working out which of these trains will be used on the departure you will be travelling by.
Final Destination: Penzance or Plymouth or Bristol or Birmingham
10 x trains per day
The usual timetable pre-pandemic was 1 or 2 x trains per hour, but between 09:30 and 15:30 the departures are currently every other hour.
Tickets
Book Early and Save: Yes
Online Bookings Usually Open: From 12 weeks ahead of travel on the trains on this route, which are operated by CrossCountry, but trains on the alternative route are operated by Avanti West Coast and it places its ticket on sale up to 24 weeks ahead.
So if you book more than 12 weeks ahead you may only see the tickets for those other services provided by Avanti West Coast
Choosing a departure
As there are multiple operators which provide the trains from Edinburgh, the recommendation is to use the National Rail booking service when looking up this journey.
By doing so you'll have an overview of the ticket times and prices of all departures, no matter which company is operating each departure, and you will also avoid any booking fees.
One company doesn't always offer the cheapest fares on this route, so it's worth making an easy comparison across all departures.
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.
Finding a late deal
CrossCountry atypically offers the ability to book Advance tickets until up to 15 minutes before departure.
However, if you will be looking for tickets when the cheapest Advance tickets have sold out on most departures, you may be able to save money by using split-ticketing - read more about this.
Seat Reservations
When you book an Advance ticket for an Edinburgh to Birmingham 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.
However, 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.
Travelling on Monday - Friday
Tickets are usually available 12 weeks ahead of the travel date.
However, when you look up a journey you may see dates further ahead on the calendar, but you'll be informed that tickets aren't yet available for those dates.
Travelling on Saturday-Sunday
Tickets are usually available 12 weeks ahead of the travel date, but maintenance work on the route 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 12 weeks ahead and 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 National Rail website
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| CrossCountry | * | |
| National Rail | * | |
| Rail Europe | * |
On this journey
Journey Features
Good to Know
If when you board, you discover that your assigned seat(s) are on the right-hand side of the train, when facing the direction of travel, see if you can find available seats on the left of the train.
If you move to a different seat(s) it won't affect the validity of your ticket.
The sea views on this journey are on the left.
If your ticket(s) don't include reserved seats, then try to choose seats on the left, when facing the direction of travel.
Journey description:
The scenic highlights of this journey all occur within the first two hours, but it's a route with four distinct phases.
(1) Most of the journey between Edinburgh and Alnmouth is beside the coast
The sea views kick in before the train has even left Edinburgh behind; and they initially continue until south of Dunbar.
To the north of Berwick-upon-Tweed the train will travel across the clifftops as it crosses the border into England, these are the most dramatic coastal views on the journey.
Minutes after the train has passed through Berwick-upon-Tweed, the next highlight is the view from the majestic Royal Border Bridge.
Between there and Alnmouth there are views on the left over the dramatic Northumberland coast.
(2) Between Alnmouth and Darlington the railway snakes its way through the towns and cities of north-east England, and just before Newcastle station on the left there are views of the city's iconic Tyne Bridge.
The next highlight of the journey is the passage over the River Tyne, as the train departs from Newcastle Central station and heads over the King Edward VII Bridge.
Looking to the left, 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 15 mins after leaving Newcastle comes the final highlight of the journey, the stunning views over the city of Durham.
Over on the left before and after the station, the town's stunning castle and cathedral can be clearly seen in all their glory.
(3) The train will attain the highest speeds of the journey as it races across the flat landscape between Darlington and York.
(4) From York to Birmingham the train will pass through a series of cities and large towns, which are separated by farm land; though north of Derby the railway travels through the foothills of the Peak District.
If when you board, you discover that your assigned seat(s) are on the right-hand side of the train, when facing the direction of travel, see if you can find available seats on the left of the train.
If you move to a different seat(s) it won't affect the validity of your ticket.
The sea views on this journey are on the left.
If your ticket(s) don't include reserved seats, then try to choose seats on the left, when facing the direction of travel
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
