How to take the rail journey from London to Plymouth in beautiful Devon

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London to Plymouth by train

There are two options available for taking the train from London to Plymouth:
1: Taking the scenic journey by day,
2. Travelling overnight on one of Europe's smartest night trains.

Routes you can take to go from London to Plymouth

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?

Journey guides for travel to London

Route Information

Option 1: travelling by day

Station Guides

A magnificent spectacle for the beginning and end of a journey

London Paddington Rail Station Guide

Looking along platforms 7 and 8 at Plymouth station

Plymouth Rail Station Guide

Travel Time (approx)

3hr 3min - 3hr 16min

Frequency

Daily

Travel Info

1 or 2 x trains per hour

After 08:00 there is usually one train per hour, but up to two trains per hour are available between 16:00 and 19:00 on Mondays to Fridays
There is also an earlier departure available on Mondays to Fridays.

A few departures on Monday to Friday and Sundays are typically slower, because they take a longer route via Bristol; look out for the journey times of more than four hours.

Journey Summary:

Is the journey direct? = Yes

Is the journey scenic? = Yes, see the Journey Information

What other tourist destinations are located along this route? They include Exeter and Totness

Are tickets cheaper if booked in advance? = Yes

How soon ahead of travel are tickets typically placed on sale? = 12 weeks; see the Ticket Information

What are the child ticket terms? = aged 5 to 15 = 50%; aged 4 and under = free

Does the ticket include assigned seats? = Depends on the type of ticket booked, but reservations are included with Advance tickets; See the Ticket Information

Do rail pass users need to book reservations? = No, but they are available.

Is catering available on the train? = On most departures a catering trolley will be taken through the train. On some departures a restaurant service is also available - see the Train Guide in the journey information,

What else is good to know?

See the general guide to travelling in Britain by train.

Travel Information

Final Destination: Penzance or Plymouth

All trains also call at: Newton Abbot

Most trains also call at: Totnes

The first trains of the day are scheduled to arrive in Plymouth after 09:30 on Monday to Fridays and after 10:30 on weekends.

But the overnight train arrives at 05:40 on Wednesday to Sunday mornings and at 06:40 on Tuesday mornings.
The night train does not depart on Sunday evenings.

The 'Pullman' dining service:

The trains which are usually scheduled to depart from London on Mondays to Fridays at
12:04 and 18:04 (year round) and at 13:04 (summer only) are the only regularly timetabled British trains to convey conventional restaurant cars.

First Class passengers can reserve prior to boarding and ShowMeTheJourney recommends booking your travel tickets and dining reservations together by calling 0345 7000 125.
Standard Class passengers can ask the train conductor if any spare places are available after boarding and reserve a place with the conductor.

This is a direct journey

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

How to travel on IET trains operated by GWR

GWR IET (UK) Train Guide

Journey Features

Scenic - YesCoastal views

Good to Know

As is evident from the description of the journey by train from London to Devon, most of the highlights of this train ride can be seen from the left-hand side of the train when travelling westwards.

So to increase your chances of making the most of the stunning journey aim to be at Paddington station, ready for boarding, 30 minutes before departure.
Then if you discover when entering the coach in which your assigned seat(s) is located, that it is on the right, you can check to see if any unreserved window seats are available on the left-hand side

If there are any free, you can occupy them for the journey, as you can occupy them for the journey, as you don’t have to sit in the seat(s) you have been assigned, for your ticket to be valid.

Journey description:

The charms of this route to the West Country begin to kick in around 50 mins after departure from London and they don’t let up until journey’s end.

This train journey from Paddington station to Plymouth is a journey of four distinct phases.

(1) For 50 minutes from London until Newbury, the train reaches its highest speeds of the journey as it uses electric power to travel at up to 250 km/h.

(2) Between Newbury and Exeter the railway follows a route through a pastoral landscape of rolling green fields and woodlands.
Soon after departing Newbury the train will travel parallel to the charming Kennet & Avon canal, which can be mainly seen from the left-hand side of the train when heading west.

...this video was filmed from a train travelling in the opposite direction.

(3) A highlight of this journey is the 20ish minutes that the train spends travelling between Exeter and Newton Abbot; it’s probably the most fantastic 20 mins that can be enjoyed when looking out of the window on a British express train.

For on this part of the journey the railway is on shore line of the South Devon coast, so when heading west, the sea views are on the left-hand side of the train.

Whenever a train travelling by the sea is shown on British television the footage will show a train travelling through Dawlish and Teignmouth, two stations that are right beside the beach.

Though when looking out of the train windows, the views over the river estuaries which can be seen between Exeter and Dawlish, and then between Teignmouth and Newton Abbot are possibly even more magical.

(4) The railway turns inland between Newton Abbot and Plymouth, but this area of South Devon is very hilly, so the necessary twists and turns slow the train down, but the views of the countryside are rather lovely.

Between Newbury and Westbury the Kennet and Avon canal is on the left

Travelling through the Somerset Hills near Taunton

Looking over the estuary of the River Exe

Travelling by the shore between Dawlish and Teignmouth

It looks even more spectacular on a brighter day

Between Teignmouth and Newton Abbot

Over the hills between Newton Abbot and Totnes

Save with Split Ticketing on Trainline When it's possible to save money on rail journeys in Britain, by splitting tickets in one booking, Trainline now automatically offers this option - look out for for the blue symbol!

Save with Split Ticketing on Trainline When it's possible to save money on rail journeys in Britain, by splitting tickets in one booking, T...

The general guide to rail travel in Britain Discover what's good to know about riding the trains, taking popular journeys, using the major stations, booking tickets and travelling with rail passes.

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Tickets

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online Bookings Open: Usually 12 weeks ahead, but this period can be longer if Great Western Railway is running a promotion

If you want to travel at the cheapest possible price, book an 'Advance' ticket - though be aware that this type of ticket can't be refunded if you subsequently change your travel plans.

If the booking period has been extended beyond 12 weeks, it seems as though 'Advance' tickets will be the only type of ticket available if you book more than 12 weeks ahead.

Also worth knowing is that on this route, Advance tickets will only be available until 18:00 (6pm) on the day before travel.

Though partially due to the frequency of the train service, you shouldn't have to book months in advance to obtain the cheapest possible price for a London to Bath train journey, particularly if you won't be travelling at business hours.

If you would like the flexibility to be able to obtain a refund if you subsequently change your travel plans, it's best to book 'Off-Peak' tickets, though this type of ticket lives up to its name, and may not be available on departures at peak business hours.

'Advance Tickets' are specific to the departure selected when making a booking, but they can be transferred to an alternative departure, though you will incur an 'admin fee' if you have booked an 'Advance' ticket.

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 National Rail website - select 'Great Western Railway' as the operator.

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 can 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; the trains which depart London in the middle of the day tend to be cheaper.

Reservations:

When you book an Advance ticket for a London to Bath train journey online, you will automatically be assigned a seat(s) - because a guaranteed seat reservation is a benefit of using a website to purchase the ticket(s).
If you book an Anytime or Off-Peak ticket ahead of your travel date, you can request a reservation.

However, if you buy an Anytime or Off-Peak ticket at the station just prior to boarding, a seat reservation WON'T be automatically included with your booking.
That's because reservations at stations need to be booked by the end of the previous day for morning departures and 3 - 4 hours ahead for afternoon/evening departures; so keep that in mind if you will be using a rail pass, including a Britrail or Eurail pass.

On this route ShowMeTheJourney particularly recommends making reservations when travelling at these times
(1) Any journey on Fridays
(2) On trains departing London before 14:00 on Saturdays
(3) On trains departing London after 14:00 on Sundays

Receiving Your Ticket(s) booked with GWR

The four options for receiving and using your ticket(s) you book on the Great Western Railway (GWR) website are:

(1) Using e-tickets:
You can opt to have an e-ticket attached to your confirmation email, which you can then download to your mobile device.
Then when boarding you can access your ticket(s) on your phone and use it to open the ticket gates.
Though if you opt to use this service, GWR will prompt you to make a test download prior to completing your booking, so that you can be sure that your mobile device is compatible with using this service.

(2) Opt to 'self-print', you will need then need to print off the ticket attached to your confirmation email.

(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.
Showing the email you will 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.

Take your time and take care that you have picked up all your ticket(s) and seat reservations.

(4) Opt to pay an additional charge to have your tickets posted to you (not an option if you book tickets from outside the UK).

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.

Take the stress out of your journey Everything planned to your specification, so sit back and relax… Try Concierge

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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.

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Related Content

How to take the rail journey from London to Plymouth in beautiful Devon

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London to Plymouth by train