It’s the race I really don’t want to win. At 10.45am, I will wave off the very first passenger train from the new Anglo-Scottish train operator, Lumo, from London King’s Cross. Just over four-and-a-half hours later the shiny train is scheduled to arrive at Edinburgh Waverley. And I may be there to meet it, after a journey by rail, bus, air, bus or taxi and rail.
My opponent is the UK’s leading rail expert: Mark Smith, the former British Rail manager who founded the Seat61.com website for international train travel. While he sits back and enjoys the scenery on the East Coast main line, I will be stressing about catching the train to Luton Airport Parkway, the bus up the hill to the Bedfordshire airport, going through security, finding the right gate and (hopefully) strapping in for my £25 flight to Glasgow.
Yes, I appreciate that is technically the wrong city, but given the currently sparse flight schedules from London to Edinburgh it is the only way I might feasibly reach the Scottish capital first.
A bus along the M8 into Glasgow city centre, and a train from the newly refurbished Queen Street station to Edinburgh should, all being well, see me reaching Waverley Station in time for a cup of tea while I wait for Mark. But plenty of jeopardy awaits …
Follow my live updates as we race to the finish line.
Mark Smith, The Man in Seat Sixty-One, points out the environmental benefits of train vs plane
“I’m looking forward to a journey on Britain’s classic London to Edinburgh east coast main line, on a new operator that promises airline-beating fares from £14.90 – less than the £18.40 train fare from London to Luton airport – on a train producing 85 per cent less CO2 than a flight.
But can a four-and-a-half-hour train journey beat Simon’s 75-minute flight? Simon seems confident, but I don’t think it’ll be the walk-over that those numbers suggest.”
Sitting comfortably: Mark Smith, The Man in Seat Sixty-One
(Mark Smith)
Simon Calder21 October 2021 08:28
Simon Calder21 October 2021 08:16
Time sensitive: the key milestones between London and Edinburgh
Mark Smith will depart from London King’s Cross at 10.45am – first stop, Newcastle, 269 miles north, at 1.47pm.
A pause at the Northumberland town of Morpeth, a further 16 miles on, is scheduled for 2.01pm.
Arrival at Edinburgh is set for 3.17pm, after a journey of four hours, 42 minutes.
After seeing off the train, I will sprint across to St Pancras station and catch the 10.51pm to Luton Airport Parkway, That train should arrive at 11.22am, with an eight-minute wait for the connecting bus to the airport – which is scheduled for six minutes, arriving at 11.36am.
That leaves 59 minutes to get through security and find some lunch before the 12.35pm departure to Glasgow.
The 322-mile flight is scheduled to take 75 minutes, arriving at the airport serving Scotland’s largest city at 1.50pm.
This is when things get tight and/or expensive: in order to reach Edinburgh ahead of the Lumo train, the only possible departure from Glasgow Queen Street station is at 2.15pm. Should the flight arrive five or 10 minutes early, Ishould make the 1.48pm bus, which reaches George Square (a few minutes from the station) at 2.09pm. Otherwise, it’s a taxi.
Even with five stops en route, that 2.15pm train is due to arrive at 3.03pm, comfortably ahead of Mark’s train.
In terms of cost: the rail/bus ticket from London to Luton airport costs £18.40. I booked my easyJet flight two weeks ahead for £24.99.
I hope to pay £8 for the bus into Glasgow but it could easily be twice as much for a taxi. The fare from Queen Street station to Edinburgh is £13.50.
At a minimum, the journey as planned has a total cost of £64.89.
All Lumo tickets between London and Edinburgh are selling for £19.90 or less until the end of November.
Simon Calder21 October 2021 08:04
