Getting to London By Train

How to get to London By Train

Train Travel to London is relatively easy due to the high frequency of trains serving London as a destination.

Compared to travelling to London by car or bus, the train is a fast and easy way to get to the centre of town. Plus you do not have to worry about commuter traffic, suicidal cyclists or finding somewhere to park that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

History of British Train Travel

Train travel in the UK and the train network developed during the time of the industrial revolution as a means to transport goods and later became a popular way for people to travel across the UK. Before then many places had been inaccessible, but now people had the opportunity to both work and travel in other parts of the country.

In the good old days there only used to be one British Rail company, however following some poor managerial decisions and likely some political cock-ups, it was decided to privatise the rail network back in the mid 90′s. What this means is that different train companies/ franchises  operate different parts of the train network. Therefore when looking for train deals it is often necessary to check both the Operators website as well as a train aggregator such as The Trainline or Raileasy.co.uk

Cheap Train Tickets

The operator companies often have better deals especially if you are willing to try the new mobile/text ticket services or print off your own ticket at home. Booking well in advance is usually the easiest way to find the cheapest train fares.

As mentioned above, use an aggregator to find out who operates the route to London from your departure destination then check the Train Operator themselves for any offers they might currently be offering:

Midland Mainline / East Midlands Trains – Serves cities like Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield and Leicester.

Virgin Trains – High speed services between Manchester, Birmingham and London Euston and other predominantly West Coast Services.

ScotRail – Yep you guessed it, trains originating in/ going to Scotland

First Great Western – a variety of departure points West of London including Oxford, Brighton and the west Country

First Capital Connect – predominantly destinations North East of London including Cambridge.

Southwest Trains – London Waterloo to South West destinations such as Reading and Windsor.

South Eastern Trains – serving Kent, Southern England and parts of East Sussex.

Southern – serving Central London to Surrey, South Coast, East and West Sussex and parts of Kent.

It might also be worth signing up for the Train Operators newsletter / mailshots to receive details of upcoming promotional fares.

What is National Rail?

This is the company whose responsibility it is to maintain the track infrastructure and should not be confused with the Companies that operate the Trains themselves. Hence when there is the wrong type of snow on the line or big leaves delaying your journey it is usually National Rail’s fault!