Train v Plane?

I’ve got to head from Aberdeen to London for a meeting next month.

The meeting time will mean travel the day before.

I quite fancy trying the train for a change…sense being that whilst it will take longer, the journey will be more scenic and likely a tad more relaxing.

Any recent experiences of such rail journeys?

Thanks.

Check prices – trains can be outrageously expensive.

you can sometimes get decent train deals if you book well in advance, but check you are not limited to getting on a particular train at a particualr time…flexible tickets can bump the price up quite a bit.

Bonkers really.

Depending how close you live to the airport / train stations you might find the times are not that much apart

for me to get to my pals in london its quicker by train once you add in the time to get from airports and stations each end and the check in time for the plane

Quickest train london / aberdeen is 7 hours. direct flights are available so even with the check in time its likely to be quicker by plane unless you live and are going to close to the station

I suspect a much better carbon footprint with the train compared to flying. Didn’t France ban any internal flights which can be made on a train? Seems like a very sensible policy.

I recently spotted a Manchester to London flight, completely unnecessary. Personally I’d even look at a sleeper train if they’re still running. Trains can be unbelievably expensive though.

Yes, I reasonably regularly do Stirling to Winchester.

It’s a long way, and I’m finding the new Azuma’s less comfortable than Pendalino’s were. I find I can do some work. Take food with you, the ontrain food is poor.

West coast (Avanti) is chaos. East coast is much more reliable.

I do on occasion fly – train is 8.5-11hours, or flying is 4hrs.

Price, the train is regularly £250-600 even booking a few weeks in advance. Flight is usually £150-350.

I’m really keen not to fly internally again.

I find the train way less stressful and it lands you in the centre of the city you want to get to, not another wait for another bus.
Did Teesside to Brussels and back for work in June. A bit longer than the plane but less waiting about and stress for me. You can go to the bog when you want, you can go to the buffet for a drink when you want not just when the trolley passes etc. and if going to central London you won’t need to sit on the tube for an hour.
Train to Aberdeen is great. Approach to Dundee over the bridge has been compared to the view on entering Naples, the view of Durham from the railway viaduct is possibly the best view of the town, same with Newcastle, and I think you might get to see Ely cathedral if you don’t blink at over 100 mph plus all the other randomness of window staring. And internet works all the way on the train so you can browse Singletrackworld whilst pretending to work ;-)
Previously done Teesside to Antwerp for work. My boss did Teesside to Stockholm on the train last month for work but flew home (he was making a point that you can).

Add in an automobile and you’ve got a great movie 😁

have you thought about the sleeper?
not sure what time it leaves Aberdeen but it gets into London (maybe kings cross?)about 7am
don’t get a seat , you wont sleep. the beds are Ok
but as already said

Check prices – trains can be outrageously expensive.

We are having similar discussions on how to get a family of 4 Inc new born to Essex for a close family wedding.

Aberdeen to London there really isn’t much in it between the train and the plane.

If you book as soon as tickets come out – train is massively cheaper ….ie by a factor of 4 cheaper we found.

But being deposited right in the transport hub for the next train out to essex with a tiny walk and no security/baggage hassle…..that won us over.

@tuboflard I thought they’d banned all flights where the train journey is <2.5h, which when they’ve got a decent city to city high speed rail network…

The sleeper is a good shout if only as an experience – remember being taken on the Glasgow Central to London sleeper when I was a child.

Fly. You’ll have more time to spend relaxing and taking in the sights of the city, or to finalize preparations for your meeting and therefore be more relaxed.

Unless you are on Oriental Express just take the plane.

I mean the price itself does not make sense travelling by train.

There are quite long sections on the train that are very scenic, basically the stretches north of Newcastle. The downside is that the return journey will feel a blinking long way.

Also… where’s the meeting? I used to go to a few by Gatwick, so then the plane was a lot more convenient

If you have the time, train is by far a nicer way to travel than flying IMO, and that’s before you get to the environmental side of it. Even better if your destination is actually in the city. The big caveat is that unless you are booking a long way in advance you’re likely to have to be prepared to pay a (possibly pretty significant) premium to avoid flying.

It’s winter so if you travel by train there is nothing to see really other than darkness. You will feel miserable just by being on the train.

Both are being trapped in a metal tube for ages, so for me it would come down to juggling…

Cost
Carbon
Convenience

All things being equal I’d go train if I could.

Sleeper train the night before? Otherwise fly. It’s a long way from Aberdeen to London. My best friend lives there and commutes down occasionally. He’s done the train and plane, now he’s exclusively plane.

Train more comfortable and relaxing for sure, but possibly a lot more time too, depending on the details, and the price could go either way. Look up the actual numbers for your specific trip, door to door.

One other plus with the train is that there is usually one(ish) train an hour even on long routes so you can choose the optimal departure/ arrival time given the constraints of the long journey. With planes there is usually a less good choice of times*.
Aberdeen to London may be an exception due to route popularity.

I did the sleeper to Edinburgh and back with my bike. Quite enjoyed it and got a half decent sleep in a cabin, apparently the seated bit is crap and I tried it out when collecting my bike and they hardly recline at all. Do recommended using the supplied ear plugs due to the creaky suspension though!

Without a bike, I think I’d do one way on the day train for the view and also I think it’s a couple of hours quicker.

Aberdeen to London may be an exception due to route popularity.

There is alot of trains how ever there’s only about 4 a day you actually want to get…..

It’s a long enough journey without stopping at every stop on the way…….

Last time we went down to brands hatch for a wedding we took the train it felt like a long way even once we had got to Peterborough

have you thought about the sleeper?

If you do this make sure you get a cabin and ear plugs as sleep is minimal on the seats.

Also make sure work are prepared to pay they may be expecting air fair + transfers type cost and the train will considerably extra. Even more so for the the sleeper at it is expensive.

I booked a train with Omio.co.uk using Quidco, and as I was a first time customer on Omio there was big cash back.

Posted four days ago…

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/sleeper-train-london-to-scotland-or-vice-versa-dates-between-3rd-jan-8th-feb-seats-at-ps3750pp-one-way-with-code-at-caledonian-sleeper-4027655

£37.50 each way

Dates might not suit OP’s upcoming trip, maybe future ones.

and remember to check that it’s not a rail strike day

I dread to think how stressful a train journey from Aberdeen to London would be.

I’m down in Manchester every couple of weeks for work. The train from Glasgow to Manchester is routinely an absolute disaster. Regardless if I book Avanti or Transpennine, it’s guaranteed at least one of the trains will be cancelled. When it is, you’re given zero information about what to do. It’s only through a series of stressful journeys that I’ve worked out by myself what to do. The customer support is zero. It’s an absolute joy having to stand for 3.5 hours because they’ve crammed 3 trains into one. Not to mention the trams in Manchester being a shambles as well.

It’s got so bad I’ve started driving down. At least then I know I’ll get there and get home with no issues and in a much shorter time. The train down is 3-4 trains depending on the carrier, any of which will definitely be cancelled, and even if they’re not, it would be a 6 hour journey, versus 3.5 hours in the car.

Hopefully anyone flying from Manchester to Heathrow is on a connecting flight. Whilst travel nationally to Heathrow on public transport has got a lot easier a connecting flight can be a lot less hassle with check through baggage etc.

The current parlous state of Avanti West Coast won’t be helping though. Thank god I use East Coast for N/S travel. Aberdeen is East Coast.

Used to do London – Edinburgh for work periodically.

Train was looooong. Not too bad if you could get first class, but with the current quality of rail service, cattle class would be unbearable over that distance (I use EMR and East Coast a fair bit still. Neither are great)

Flying was less tedious as it got everything broken up into chunks, but it’s still a lot of faffing by the time you’ve actually got to destinations each end. Let alone the horrific green credentials these days.

For me the best answer was driving. I could stay at my parents in the midlands overnight, sometimes I’d take a bike and arrange to leave it at Glentress while I worked then fit a day or 2 riding in on the way back. Oh, and 800+ miles at 45p/mile was quite nice too…

There are quite long sections on the train that are very scenic, basically the stretches north of Newcastle.

Torness is lovely at any time of year.

Posted four days ago…

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/sleeper-train-london-to-scotland-or-vice-versa-dates-between-3rd-jan-8th-feb-seats-at-ps3750pp-one-way-with-code-at-caledonian-sleeper-4027655

£37.50 each way

Dates might not suit OP’s upcoming trip, maybe future ones.

Seated? I’d rather walk. Either do it properly or don’t do it at all.

If planned right. Aberdeen to London is one train.

Your actually on the train longer than the crew. They change at Edinburgh iirc.

I cycled to a work meeting in Manchester from Cambridge a while back.

Think of it this way: sat in a car you are just existing, time passes; you get older; you get more stressed; that’s it.

Cycling, even though it takes longer, is an unforgettable epic experience.

I think you could cycle from Aberdeen to London in four days, no problem.

I do Perth to London return a couple of times a month. My preferred route is east coast to Kings Cross. I book 1st class advance and pay just over £100 each way because I need to get a decent work shift in whilst travelling.
Over the years I’ve also flown and used the sleeper. These days I can’t be arsed with the hassle or carbon footprint guilt of flying and the sleeper is a lottery. Get a bunk over a bogie and you’ll get a rough nights dozing and even if you do get a decent cabin in the middle of a carriage you’ll be woken by the shunting at carstairs where the trains are joined together/split apart.

I think you could cycle from Aberdeen to London in four days, no problem.

227km a day for 4 days according to Google cycling map from here to kings cross.

Have a look for industrial action too- I always usually take the train, it’s just nicer and less stress generally but at the moment it doesn’t take an awful lot for things to go tits up

(took me 11 hours from London to Edinburgh yesterday- they were quite open about why, they just didn’t have enough staff because of not being able to run the whole network on overtime, and the knock-on effects of every cancellation can be really big, trains and crew all end up in the wrong places. It goes from “running fine” to “total chaos really quickly when they’re stretching everything so thin and that wasn’t even a strike day)

Was flooding and closures on ECML too on Friday. As for the scenic vs Torness comment it is bloody nice. I went from Brum to Wakefield today and it’s mostly in a ditch covered in overgrown foliage and dumped and wind blown plastic waste. I’ll take ageing nuclear power stations by the sea on a grey November day any day!

As for the scenic vs Torness comment it is bloody nice. I went from Brum to Wakefield today and it’s mostly in a ditch covered in overgrown foliage and dumped and wind blown plastic waste. I’ll take ageing nuclear power stations by the sea on a grey November day any day!

😆🎣

I like the ECML but my god I find the stretch from Edinburgh to Berwick dull. Still better than a lot of routes though I’ll give you that.

Book early and you can get first class for very cheap prices. 7hrs of work/movies, free drinks and a lunch dinner helps.

I can’t recommended the sleeper. Narrow beds rather like sleeping on an ironing board, extra costs to have an exclusive cabins clackers clack all night… was my experience.

I think you could cycle from Aberdeen to London in four days, no problem

Not in four days I could not. Maybe 7-8.

Then same again for the return journey.

I can see how the meeting with my boss will go… “You know that two day meeting/conference I’m going to? Well it’s going to take three weeks total time…”

I can’t recommended the sleeper. Narrow beds rather like sleeping on an ironing board, extra costs to have an exclusive cabins clackers clack all night… was my experience.

I found it quite good but I’m used to sleeping on ships so can understand why folk wouldn’t. Was better than the Megabus but even that was better than sitting up.