Euston to Glasgow.

[SwindonPkwy]

I am traveling to Glasgow in June with my wife and daughter. With easyjet being so cheap, how do I convince my other half that we are better off going by train? Any advice on fares welcome. I would anticipate traveling off peak and staying for two or three nights.

 

[gavinjustice]

I think the journey takes about 5 hours by train

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I think the journey takes about 5 hours by train

Less than that! 4h31 is the standard timing.

 

[SS4]

I am traveling to Glasgow in June with my wife and daughter. With easyjet being so cheap, how do I convince my other half that we are better off going by train? Any advice on fares welcome. I would anticipate traveling off peak and staying for two or three nights.

It's easyjet . It's rare that what you see is what you get and have you checked the headline figures against what you'd actually pay?

A family and friends railcard (assuming your daughter is under 16) will pay for itself and keep an eye out for the cheapest advance fares released in March.

I've never flew so I can't be sure but surely the train would be more comfortable especially since you'd be able to move around

 

[SwindonPkwy]

I've never flew so I can't be sure but surely the train would be more comfortable especially since you'd be able to move around

Yes, I'd like to think so. My daughter is under 16 so a railcard is an option.

 

[ainsworth74]

As your daughter is under 16 you can get a Family & Friends railcard that offers some really good savings.

As for price. If you're willing to travel very early (05:39 departure) from Euston and arrive back very late (23:38 arrival) then you can do the journey on Virgin for as little as £55.80 for everyone. At slightly more reasonable times of the day you're looking at £111 for everyone with departures from Euston at 07:30, 08:30, 11:30 and 13:30 with departures from Glasgow at 13:40, 14:40 and 16:40.

If you're willing to travel from Kings Cross on the one train per day each way departing London at 15:30 and departing Glasgow at 06:50 then you can do it for £49.90 (that price only avalible on East Coast's website due them offering 10% off of their advance tickets when bought on their website).

Be advised all the prices shown above are for tickets that would tie you to a specific train. They are not flexible fares. Also the closer you get to the travel date the more expensive they become as they operate on a quota so book early (from around March when tickets for June will go on sale) to get the best price.

 

[Nym]

It depends on where you're actually traveling from too...

You can't fly from Euston, you'd fly from Luton or Gatwick up to the outskirts of glasgow, means you have longer transit times.

And yes, it's no different flying to using advance tickets, spesific train == spesific plane etc etc.

 

[dvboy]

If you take the train in theory you can take as much luggage as you like - Easyjet will charge you for anything more than hand luggage over a certain size.

You're more likely to be able to sit together on the train as you can book seats together - Easyjet seating is a free-for-all on the plane and this is once you've queued.

Air travel takes up a lot more of your time outside of actually being in the air, so you might find the time it takes is just as long.

Train travel is more environmentally friendly.

You can eat and drink at any point on the journey, you can't on a plane.

 

[SwindonPkwy]

ainsworth74/Nym/dvboy many thanks for the information. I think I have enough to swing it. Without opening the whole pendolino debate, I much prefer that to easyjet.

 

[34D]

If there's a plane crash you'll all die. If there's a train crash I would suggest that most people will survive.

If the lord wanted us to fly hed have fitted us with wings. Granted, he didn't fit us with a pantograph either....

 

[Nym]

34D...

I beleive that BA38, BA9, Gimli Glider, and many many many other crashes where all survived beg to differ...

Although the Air France incidents beg to differ...

 

[34D]

34D...

I beleive that BA38, BA9, Gimli Glider, and many many many other crashes where all survived beg to differ...

Although the Air France incidents beg to differ...

How many Paris concordes are they to each Hudson river though? Point taken and understood but I'll keep my feet on the ground or on two rails thanks

 

[amcluesent]

how do I convince my other half that we are better off going by train?

Spring for FC Advance tickets! TBH, standard class in a Pendolino is exactly like being squeezed into Easyjet, except your time in discomfort is trebled. IMHO.

 

[bb21]

If there's a plane crash you'll all die. If there's a train crash I would suggest that most people will survive.

I'm sorry to say but it is a ridiculous comparison.

How many crashes are there per km of flight compared to per km of railway journey? As I said before and I will emphasise this again, statistics is meaningless without a context and can be used by people to show whatever they want.

 

[34D]

I'm sorry to say but it is a ridiculous comparison.

How many crashes are there per km of flight compared to per km of railway journey? As I said before and I will emphasise this again, statistics is meaningless without a context and can be used by people to show whatever they want.

Indeed they can. And on this occasion, both myself and the OP want his good lady to plump for rail travel.

 

[marks87]

If there's a plane crash you'll all die. If there's a train crash I would suggest that most people will survive.

...but statistically he's more likely to die in a train crash, because it's less likely the plane will crash in the first place. Or, to put it another way, the OP is more like to be one of the fatalities in a (fatal) rail accident, than the plane crashing at all.

Not that this helps the "go by train argument", mind you...

 

[IslandDweller]

But isn't this an example of where the railway system (I know it is sometimes hard to think of it as a single system..) shoots itself in the foot.

For the average traveller, someone who is not likely to read these forums, trying to organise a trip next June, it appears that rail is painfully expensive and air is relatively cheap. The inability to buy a cheap advance fare until 10/12 weeks out (and then perhaps to find none available on the chosen travel date/time) means I for one would book a flight for this itinerary. Indeed, someone not familiar with the madness of advance fare system may do a test booking for next June and be offered only rail fares in excess of £100, with no indication that advance fares might (repeat - might) become available for the chosen date. But not offered for many weeks, whereas the air fare can be secured and "locked in" today.

It may also surprise some that you can fly from London (LGW) to Glasgow for only £40 (picking next June as the example booking). As baggage fees are included this can be cheaper than easyjet. Yes, I know you need to add £10 to get from central London to LGW but even then the "apparent" comparison between rail and air still favours the plane.

I also would not want to sit in a standard class pendalino seat for just short of five hours.... An hour stuck in a 737 (LGW) / airbus (LHR) is OK compared to that. Not forgetting that on the Embraer190 that BA use from LCY the seating is almost luxurious.

Not wishing to bash the case for the train - which is unarguably sensible for London-Manchester or London-Newcastle. Just pointing out that for the average punter the case for the train versus air on the London - Scotland journey is not as clear cut as some here would wish for.

 

[cuccir]

For the average traveller, someone who is not likely to read these forums, trying to organise a trip next June, it appears that rail is painfully expensive and air is relatively cheap. The inability to buy a cheap advance fare until 10/12 weeks out (and then perhaps to find none available on the chosen travel date/time) means I for one would book a flight for this itinerary.

There are operational reasons for this - but yes, it clearly does cause some business to leave the rail in favour of other methods of transport

Indeed, someone not familiar with the madness of advance fare system may do a test booking for next June and be offered only rail fares in excess of £100, with no indication that advance fares might (repeat - might) become available for the chosen date. But not offered for many weeks, whereas the air fare can be secured and "locked in" today.

To be honest these fares are obtainable on essentially every day if you book quickly when they become available. If you compare the number of trains and the number of flights, there will likely be a lot more cheap rail departure options than flight options. They aren't there on every train so if you're tied to a particular service this could apply, but for a general request (as in this thread) then the fares will be there

It may also surprise some that you can fly from London (LGW) to Glasgow for only £40 (picking next June as the example booking). As baggage fees are included this can be cheaper than easyjet. Yes, I know you need to add £10 to get from central London to LGW but even then the "apparent" comparison between rail and air still favours the plane.

Plus the transport from the airport in Glasgow to wherever you are going. The cheapest advance train fares will also be cheaper than this. Flights can definitely come out cheaper than rail transport at certain times though: it all depends on where you want to go and when!

Not wishing to bash the case for the train - which is unarguably sensible for London-Manchester or London-Newcastle. Just pointing out that for the average punter the case for the train versus air on the London - Scotland journey is not as clear cut as some here would wish for.

I agree - there are times when flying is cheaper and faster than train travel. Before I became more concerned about the atmospheric impact of flying, I have flown internally before (Plymouth-Newcastle), though I would never do that now. But I don't think the train experience is quite as bad as you characterise in your post

 

[bb21]

Indeed they can. And on this occasion, both myself and the OP want his good lady to plump for rail travel.

No need to go to that length. Just show her a few episodes of Airlines and she'll soon be persuaded. Just make sure that she has no access to The One Show.

 

[LexyBoy]

For the average traveller, someone who is not likely to read these forums, trying to organise a trip next June, it appears that rail is painfully expensive and air is relatively cheap.

I'd agree on this point. A colleague who is organising an event booked cheap Advance tickets from London to Newcastle last week, when they had just become available. Today, he looked for tickets for the return (12 weeks from today), and finding only "insanely expensive" tickets at £110, booked flights instead.

I later pointed out that bookings don't always open exactly 12 weeks in advance and he replied that it's not worth the risk of waiting around - if no cheap Advances appear then the flight may no longer be an option. (BTW, I'd never advise buying only one leg of a return journey on an Advance, except if it's FGW or VT or there's more than a month between journeys).

Surely it would be in the TOCs interest to add a line along the lines of "Fares from £<amount> will be available from <date>! Click here to be automatically notified when these become available" onto their booking engines? (Although the cynic in me says that there would be no reason for them to do it for other TOCs services).

 

[shinkansen1966]

The last time I went from Glasgow to Euston, I paid £49 one way and travelled first class in Virgin trains. I could not have wished for a more pleasant travel experience: comfortable, plenty of space, free wifi, sufficient free food and drink, plenty of distracting rolling countrywide, sunny skies. The train ran exactly to time in 4 hr 32 mins.

My rule of thumb: I'd rather spend 4 hours on a train than 2 in the sky.

 

[SwindonPkwy]

The last time I went from Glasgow to Euston, I paid £49 one way and travelled first class in Virgin trains. I could not have wished for a more pleasant travel experience: comfortable, plenty of space, free wifi, sufficient free food and drink, plenty of distracting rolling countrywide, sunny skies. The train ran exactly to time in 4 hr 32 mins.

My rule of thumb: I'd rather spend 4 hours on a train than 2 in the sky.

This is the experience I hope to have, although, for me it does not have to be rolling countryside. I am equally happy looking out at an urban or industrial landscape. The overall experience of rail is far superior.

So, to the issues that have been highlighted in this thread. I have never flown easyjet or Ryanair, and do not wish to. Without doubting anybody's statistics, I think there is a safety issue here. How long before a flight involving one of these airlines needs to be evacuated? I, for one, do not want to be on a 737 with close to 190 passengers trying to evacuate.
When I posted this thread, I was simply unaware that cheap fairs only appear 3 months out. This does baffle me, given how easy it is to book with the airlines. I do hope that Air Passenger Duty is increased for mainland domestic flights, but not those to Northern Ireland or the Scottish islands. In turn, I hope that we do not see TOC's increasing their fares in response. That would be wholly unproductive.

 

[neilmc]

The plane v train argument has largely been settled in England - if I can get from Manchester to London, city centre to city centre, in two hours the train wins. I used to get the plane to Bristol occasionally, until I got held up in a traffic jam and almost missed the plane home (caused by a broken-down First Bus - were they in collusion?), but the journey has since speeded up and Air South West have gone out of business.

The Anglo-Scottish journeys are marginal - a lot depends upon where you are travelling to and from in each city, how much luggage you have and how flexible you need to be.
Once the plane is in the air its disadvantages lessen and you wonder why you can go to Prague or Tallinn for less than Edinburgh or Aberdeen.

I do NOT hope that the Air Passenger Duty is increased as this is a blatant rip-off, much the same as Penalty Fares, ever-expanding peak periods (Virgin), and ludicrous Anytime fares. I do use the train wherever possible, but if a carrier could wreck Virgin's, or any other TOCs, pricing policy by running ten aircraft from Manchester to London City every morning for £50 a throw - or they were forced to cede peak slots to another TOC who could charge the same for a couple of trains - I'd be very glad. My company will no longer tolerate this fraud and neither should the genral public or the rail regulators.