Euston to Glasgow -- tickets with open-ended times?

[jamboree7123]

I'll be arriving by plane at Heathrow, and after Elizabeth Line-->Tottenham Court Road-->Northern Line-->Euston, I would want to board an Avanti West Coast for the express journey to Glasgow Central.

Problem is, I can't guarantee my plane will arrive on time, and I can never predict exactly how long it will take to deboard, go through passport control, pick up luggage, wait for trains, etc. There are just to many variables to predict confidently when I will arrive at Euston.

But even so, I will want to get on the next available train departing Euston for Glasgow, whenever that might be. My goal is to get to Glasgow as promptly as possible.

Option 1 would be to just show up at Euston without a ticket, and once there buy a ticket for the next train. But I fear that buying lickets at the last minute like this cost much more than buying them in advance.

Option 2 would be to buy a ticket in advance at a cheaper price. But from what I can tell, the advance tickets seem to be for a specific train at a specific time. If I guess my arrival at Euston to be too early, but then get held up at the airport and arrive later, then I'll miss my train. But if I purposely am pessimistic and estimate a much later arrival time at Euston, I might be too pessimistic and be stuck there at Euston holding a ticket for a train that doesn't depart for several hours, meanwhile train after train is departing without me.

The ideal solution would be to buy an advance ticket with an open-ended time, such that I could get on any train that happens to be departing once I arrive at Euston.

Questions: Do such tickets exist? What are they called? Are they substantially more expensive than tickets for specific departures? How/where would I buy them?

 

[AlterEgo]

The ideal solution would be to buy an advance ticket with an open-ended time, such that I could get on any train that happens to be departing once I arrive at Euston.

Questions: Do such tickets exist?

No.

If I were you and my itinerary allowed it I’d simply fly to Glasgow; on a through ticket this can be very cheap if flying on a BA ticket or one of their partners. Else, you need a walk-up train ticket for the journey you’d like to make.

Advance tickets are where you trade flexibility for a cheaper price and the railway gets to know exactly when and where you’ll be travelling to manage demand.

 

[jamboree7123]

If I were you and my itinerary allowed it I’d simply fly to Glasgow; on a through ticket this can be very cheap if flying on a BA ticket or one of their partners. Else, you need a walk-up train ticket for the journey you’d like to make.

For various reasons, I would much prefer to go by train than take another flight to Glasgow.

Approximately how much (or how much more) do walk-up tickets bought at the last minute cost, as compared to advance tickets? And does it ever happen that trains are entirely sold out ahead of time?

 

[bcarmicle]

£130.80 off-peak, or £205.50, for a London Terminals to Glasgow Central single, with no railcard discount.

The relevant off-peak restriction code is 5F, which restricts departures from Euston before 09:05 Mondays through Thursdays.

 

[jamboree7123]

£130.80 off-peak, or £205.50, for a London Terminals to Glasgow Central single, with no railcard discount.

The relevant off-peak restriction code is 5F, which restricts departures from Euston before 09:05 Mondays through Thursdays.

I'd definitely be traveling off-peak (mid-afternoon). Is the £130.80 price (off-peak, no railcard) stable and consistent, every weekday -- or does it vary according to demand and how crowded the train is?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Apr 2025 ==

While I'm asking: Is there any better/faster way to get from Heathrow BY RAIL to Glasgow than the route I proposed (E Line-->Tottenham Court Road-->Northern Line-->Euston-->Avanti West Coast-->Glasgow Central)? I read somewhere that the LNER from Kings Cross no longer runs daily, and even so, wasn't as fast/frequent as the Avanti from Euston -- true?

 

[mrmartin]

Yes it's stable and doesn't change. You can buy it right before departure and it will be the same price as if you bought it many months before.

In terms of route you could buy two tickets - one from Euston to Penrith and then another from Penrith to Glasgow. This comes out about £15 cheaper but does restrict you to trains that call at Penrith (you don't have to get off the train and these are still "stable" walk-up prices). Going via kings cross is not likely to be any cheaper especially with walk up tickets and will take longer.

In terms of getting to Euston, that's probably what I would do. Other option is Heathrow express then tube from Paddington to Euston Square station, but it's more expensive and not that much quicker by the time you take into account the extra walker.

 

[Mainline421]

I'd definitely be traveling off-peak (mid-afternoon). Is the £130.80 price (off-peak, no railcard) stable and consistent, every weekday -- or does it vary according to demand and how crowded the train is?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Apr 2025 ==

While I'm asking: Is there any better/faster way to get from Heathrow BY RAIL to Glasgow than the route I proposed (E Line-->Tottenham Court Road-->Northern Line-->Euston-->Avanti West Coast-->Glasgow Central)? I read somewhere that the LNER from Kings Cross no longer runs daily, and even so, wasn't as fast/frequent as the Avanti from Euston -- true?

The £130.80 ticket isn't for a specific train and can't sell out, so just buy it at Euston and hop on the next train. The only restriction is that you must leave Euston after 09:05.

You can also purchase a ticket to Glasgow directly from the machine at Heathrow for £158.80 which would allow use of Heathrow Express and then the Underground to Euston, but this would be slightly more expensive than using contactless as far as Euston on the slightly slower Elizabeth Line and Tube.

 

[DeverseSam]

Option 2 would be to buy a ticket in advance at a cheaper price. But from what I can tell, the advance tickets seem to be for a specific train at a specific time. If I guess my arrival at Euston to be too early, but then get held up at the airport and arrive later, then I'll miss my train.

You can buy one of those and then upgrade to the flexible one if you need to, providing you do it before the departure time

 

[jamboree7123]

You can buy one of those and then upgrade to the flexible one if you need to, providing you do it before the departure time

Ah, so there is a "flex-ticket" option. How much is the upgrade from the original advance-purchase price, and what degree of flexibility does it offer? If the advance price + flex upgrade combined adds up to under £130, and if the flexibility allows for, say, a 2 or 3 hour window, then it might be a better deal.

 

[Mainline421]

Ah, so there is a "flex-ticket" option. How much is the upgrade from the original advance-purchase price, and what degree of flexibility does it offer? If the advance price + flex upgrade combined adds up to under £130, and if the flexibility allows for, say, a 2 or 3 hour window, then it might be a better deal.

They just mean you can swap it for the flexible £130 ticket, but a £10 admin free applies and advances are non-refundable if you miss the train. So the walk up fare is likely better value if you don't know the exact time.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I'll be arriving by plane at Heathrow, and after Elizabeth Line-->Tottenham Court Road-->Northern Line-->Euston, I would want to board an Avanti West Coast for the express journey to Glasgow Central.

Problem is, I can't guarantee my plane will arrive on time, and I can never predict exactly how long it will take to deboard, go through passport control, pick up luggage, wait for trains, etc. There are just to many variables to predict confidently when I will arrive at Euston.

But even so, I will want to get on the next available train departing Euston for Glasgow, whenever that might be. My goal is to get to Glasgow as promptly as possible.

Option 1 would be to just show up at Euston without a ticket, and once there buy a ticket for the next train. But I fear that buying lickets at the last minute like this cost much more than buying them in advance.

Option 2 would be to buy a ticket in advance at a cheaper price. But from what I can tell, the advance tickets seem to be for a specific train at a specific time. If I guess my arrival at Euston to be too early, but then get held up at the airport and arrive later, then I'll miss my train. But if I purposely am pessimistic and estimate a much later arrival time at Euston, I might be too pessimistic and be stuck there at Euston holding a ticket for a train that doesn't depart for several hours, meanwhile train after train is departing without me.

The ideal solution would be to buy an advance ticket with an open-ended time, such that I could get on any train that happens to be departing once I arrive at Euston.

Questions: Do such tickets exist? What are they called? Are they substantially more expensive than tickets for specific departures? How/where would I buy them?

Is this the second half of a return journey within a month of going out?
If so (assuming your times allow it), an off-peak return (£186.90) would likely be much better value than an advance south and off-peak single north

 

[DeverseSam]

They just mean you can swap it for the flexible £130 ticket, but a £10 admin free applies and advances are non-refundable if you miss the train. So the walk up fare is likely better value if you don't know the exact time.

Yes, although the forum booking site will do it for £5

 

[AlterEgo]

Ah, so there is a "flex-ticket" option. How much is the upgrade from the original advance-purchase price, and what degree of flexibility does it offer?

It’s not a flex ticket option. The advance ticket is fixed, but you can change the type of ticket for a fee, and on top of that must pay the difference up to the walk up flexible ticket already described, which is the Off Peak Single/Return.

This has to be done before the departure of your original train. If you don’t do this - for example if you’re late arriving at Heathrow - you lose the entire value of the ticket.

As @pokemonsuper9 says, if you’re returning, the Off Peak Return will be a better option in most cases.

 

[TheManOnThe172]

An idea for the forum ticketing site - the ability to pre-book an automatic upgrade from Advance to a pre-chosen flexible ticket, which becomes operative if not cancelled 3 minutes before the booked departure time.

If your plane arrives in time for you to catch the train for which you booked the Advance, you log in and cancel the upgrade. If you are still in the air (or delayed anywhere else without mobile data access), then the upgrade goes through without needing your intervention.

 

[lnerazuma]

Use cross-country app to get the advance ticket in e ticket form, and excess it to off peak single without any fee if needed, could be done while on the plane, queueing for passport control or waiting luggage as long as you have internet connection

 

[Jim the Jim]

LNER are doing a trial of tickets that are flexible within a 140-minute window. This has been heavily derided on this forum but seems pretty well suited to this sort of situation, at least in principle (I don't know what the actual prices look like). This would mean getting a ticket from King's Cross to Edinburgh and a separate Edinburgh-Glasgow ticket, though.

 

[Bletchleyite]

LNER are doing a trial of tickets that are flexible within a 140-minute window. This has been heavily derided on this forum but seems pretty well suited to this sort of situation, at least in principle (I don't know what the actual prices look like). This would mean getting a ticket from King's Cross to Edinburgh and a separate Edinburgh-Glasgow ticket, though.

Given that the basis of this trial appears to be to increase fares (which is the main criticism levelled at it - I don't think anyone is against adding that option to the offering, the objection is to removing the walk up fares), I'd be surprised if this came in cheaper than an Avanti Off Peak. But worth a check.

The price is presently £20 on top of the regular Advance price.

 

[Kite159]

LNER are doing a trial of tickets that are flexible within a 140-minute window. This has been heavily derided on this forum but seems pretty well suited to this sort of situation, at least in principle (I don't know what the actual prices look like). This would mean getting a ticket from King's Cross to Edinburgh and a separate Edinburgh-Glasgow ticket, though.

Which will probably end up being more expensive than a super offpeak single from London to Falkirk at £97,50.

 

[DeverseSam]

Which will probably end up being more expensive than a super offpeak single from London to Falkirk at £97,50.

which can stop short at Glasgow?

 

[Watershed]

If you are only making the journey (by rail) in one direction, then a Super Off-Peak Single from London Terminals to somewhere in the Central Belt like Falkirk or Stirling would be cheaper (£97.50). This is because they are priced by LNER on a 'single leg' basis (they have abolished most of their return fares, so singles cost approx. 55% of what the return used to be), whereas Avanti control the fare to Glasgow and charge approx. 70% of a return for a single.

The Falkirk/Stirling fares are valid via Glasgow (you can finish your journey there) and have the same time restrictions out of Euston - not before 09:05, and no evening restrictions.

It would be a good idea to get a reservation for your intended Glasgow service given the length of time you'll be on the service, but this can be done independently of buying your ticket. You can get the reservation for free through the GWR website, as described here.

 

[jamboree7123]

Thanks for all the help and insights, everyone.

Another criterion important to me, aside from price and speed, is simplicity. And after reading all your expert suggestions, I think that the option for me that is a combination of cheapest/fastest/simplest is to buy a walk-up ticket at Euston once I arrive there.

This will be a return journey, London-Glasgow-London, for two people, and we will have a Two Together Card, giving us both 1/3 off the total price. So, checking just now on the National Rail site, the price for a return ticket would be

£186.90 x 2 = £373.80 - 1/3 = £248.90 total ÷ 2 = £124.45 per person, which would be £124.45 ÷ 2 = £62.23 per person each way.

That's cheap enough for me, and doesn't involve any complications, or worrying about arrival times or delays.

The only potential downside is that I would have to spend the time buying the tickets at Euston, instead of already having them in hand, so that if the timing was very unlucky I might miss a train while buying the tickets. But I guess that's the one chance I'll have to take.

Thanks!

 

[Watershed]

Thanks for all the help and insights, everyone.

Another criterion important to me, aside from price and speed, is simplicity. And after reading all your expert suggestions, I think that the option for me that is a combination of cheapest/fastest/simplest is to buy a walk-up ticket at Euston once I arrive there.

This will be a return journey, London-Glasgow-London, for two people, and we will have a Two Together Card, giving us both 1/3 off the total price. So, checking just now on the National Rail site, the price for a return ticket would be

£186.90 x 2 = £373.80 - 1/3 = £248.90 total ÷ 2 = £124.45 per person, which would be £124.45 ÷ 2 = £62.23 per person each way.

That's cheap enough for me, and doesn't involve any complications, or worrying about arrival times or delays.

The only potential downside is that I would have to spend the time buying the tickets at Euston, instead of already having them in hand, so that if the timing was very unlucky I might miss a train while buying the tickets. But I guess that's the one chance I'll have to take.

Thanks!

You can buy the tickets online and receive them as an eTicket, meaning you don't need to queue up and potentially miss a train. You will receive this as a PDF you can show on your phone (or print if you want). Depending on where you buy your ticket, you may also be able to view your eTicket within the app you use, or receive your tickets in the form of a Google/Apple Wallet pass.

Some websites/apps, such as Railsmartr, also allow you to get a full refund on walk-up tickets if your plans change, rather than paying an admin fee. Others offer cashback, e.g. LNER has 5-10% back offers with many banks/credit card lenders.

 

[Haywain]

The only potential downside is that I would have to spend the time buying the tickets at Euston, instead of already having them in hand, so that if the timing was very unlucky I might miss a train while buying the tickets.

Or you could buy them online on the way to Euston.

 

[jamboree7123]

Or you could buy them online on the way to Euston.

you may also be able to view your eTicket within the app you use

Here's where the "simplicity" factor comes into play: When I first land at Heathrow, I won't yet have a data plan/cell coverage/UK SIM card on my mobile phone, so I won't be able to access the internet on the train ride to Euston or in the station -- unless I go to the hassle of buying an overpriced SIM card at the airport, or try to fiddle around with possible available wifi networks, etc. And even if I did have a data plan, I'll be wrangling some heavy luggage, so trying to deal with two people's luggage on a crowded train while going in and out of tunnels interrupting the connection while frantically trying to buy a ticket on my phone -- overall, just seems to cause a lot of stress. For simplicity's sake, weighing the pros and cons, I think I'd rather take the 10% chance that I'd have to wait an extra 45 or 55 minutes at Euston than have the stress of trying to deal with SIM cards/Internet/web sites/ticket-buying/credit cards with one hand while guarding several pieces of luggage with the other hand on a crowded train.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Buying one from a TVM will take seconds.

Recommendation: if in a hurry use the London Northwestern Railway branded TVMs. They don't have a journey planner and are very quick to use, I can get a ticket out of one in about 15 seconds. The Avanti ones are beyond cack-handed to use (though admittedly will reserve you a seat). There are both in the booking office area, plus two LNR ones at the bottom of the 8-11 ramp, and I think one at the top though I don't recall if it's still there.

 

[Watershed]

Here's where the "simplicity" factor comes into play: When I first land at Heathrow, I won't yet have a data plan/cell coverage/UK SIM card on my mobile phone, so I won't be able to access the internet on the train ride to Euston or in the station -- unless I go to the hassle of buying an overpriced SIM card at the airport, or try to fiddle around with possible available wifi networks, etc. And even if I did have a data plan, I'll be wrangling some heavy luggage, so trying to deal with two people's luggage on a crowded train while going in and out of tunnels interrupting the connection while frantically trying to buy a ticket on my phone -- overall, just seems to cause a lot of stress. For simplicity's sake, weighing the pros and cons, I think I'd rather take the 10% chance that I'd have to wait an extra 45 or 55 minutes at Euston than have the stress of trying to deal with SIM cards/Internet/web sites/ticket-buying/credit cards with one hand while guarding several pieces of luggage with the other hand on a crowded train.

There's free WiFi at Heathrow. You can connect whilst you're waiting for your luggage to arrive. Similarly there is free WiFi on the Heathrow Express and Elizabeth line, if you use either of those to get to Euston. The former is never crowded in my experience, and the latter isn't too busy until you get closer to London. All very straightforward.

But surely the easiest option here is to buy your ticket before you set off from where you're flying from? As mentioned, some retailers waive the admin fee for refunds so there is no real downside to doing this.

 

[MicroLithium]

There's free WiFi at Heathrow. You can connect whilst you're waiting for your luggage to arrive. Similarly there is free WiFi on the Heathrow Express and Elizabeth line, if you use either of those to get to Euston. The former is never crowded in my experience, and the latter isn't too busy until you get closer to London. All very straightforward.

But surely the easiest option here is to buy your ticket before you set off from where you're flying from? As mentioned, some retailers waive the admin fee for refunds so there is no real downside to doing this.

Depending on queue length at immigration and baggage return, there may well be enough time to buy tickets, sort out a UK eSIM, file an up to date tax return, update last will and testament, write a chapter of that novel you’ve always wanted to write…

 

[sqwizz]

The ideal solution would be to buy an advance ticket with an open-ended time, such that I could get on any train that happens to be departing once I arrive at Euston.

Sorry if I'm reading you wrong but you do understand that buying in advance isn't the same thing as an 'Advance' ticket type, yeah? You don't need to buy at Euston when you walk up, you can buy flexible ones well in advance (that aren't actually called advance).

 

[Starmill]

The Elizabeth line had been waiting for a long time for data equipment to be installed which will feed the on-train free WiFi. I think that this equipment is all in use now, and the free train WiFi is available in all of the tunnels including to Heathrow Airport and through Central London? My experience is that this connection is stable even on full trains, albeit that you may not find it the fastest service you are used to. It does not just randomly drop out on you in tunnels any more.

The hardware is also capable of providing connection to the four mobile data providers' myriad of users. I am not sure if this functionality is yet in use.

My understanding is that the WiFi at Heathrow Airport covers nearly everywhere, and is of a good speed for public WiFi despite being free.

WiFi is also provided free at London Euston and onboard Avanti West Coast. I would be far more circumspect about the quality of that connection however.

 

[Haywain]

The hardware is also capable of providing connection to the four mobile data providers' myriad of users. I am not sure if this functionality is yet in use.

It is, I've used it and had no idea that there was wifi as well!