Edinburgh Train Travel

General rail travel information

Edinburgh is an excellent base for exploring Scotland. If you are considering taking long distance rail journeys from Edinburgh, it's best to book your tickets at least two weeks in advance to get the best possible fare.

Getting to Edinburgh by bus may be cheaper with single tickets starting at £12. There are also some excellent flight deals to Edinburgh.

Find train times and cheap tickets for trains to Edinburgh.

Get instant fares for cheap flights to Edinburgh.

Book coach tickets to and from Edinburgh Guaranteed seats, overnight or daytime journeys:

Buying train tickets in advance also means your seat is reserved which is very handy on early morning or evening peak time trains. Avoid booking your train tickets through a foreign agent in order to get the cheapest fares possible.

Using local booking systems is very easy and convenient although choosing the right type of train ticket can be tricky. Tickets are not mailed out to you. You must collect them from the Waverley railway station in Edinburgh.

For short distance train journeys from Edinburgh you can buy your tickets on the day you travel from the Travel Centre at Waverley Station. If you're in a hurry, you can buy your ticket on the train as it leaves Edinburgh but remember that you don't benefit from any ticket discounts and you pay the full single fare. Paying two full fares is more expensive than a cheap return ticket.

If you're in Edinburgh for more than a couple of days then you might consider one or two short train trips to some local places. The villages and towns around Edinburgh are quite extraordinary and you'll get a chance to see the quiet side of modern Scottish life.

>> Back to Edinburgh Train Travel guide index

All Edinburgh train travel articles:

See the articles below for more information on travelling by train to and from Edinburgh.

London train to Edinburgh All the information you need on cheap train tickets and train travel between London to Edinburgh.

London train to Glasgow All the information you need on cheap train tickets and train travel between London to Glasgow.

Edinburgh Waverley train station Waverley Station is located at the very centre of Edinburgh. Here's how to find it and how to find your way around it.

Trains from Edinburgh to other places in Scotland The best places in Scotland to travel by train from Edinburgh, from North Berwick nearby to cosmopolitan Glasgow and the Highlands.

Edinburgh train times Where to find Edinburgh train times online.

Train tickets and reservations How to find the best possible fare in the complicated UK train fare system.

Train travel web links Links to other online train travel resources.

Online Tickets at TheTrainLine Guide to using TheTrainLine to get cheap rail tickets.

General rail travel information Information for train travel from or to Edinburgh -- buying tickets, taking your bike on the train and being in the train station on time.

Also see:

Cheap London flights to Edinburgh All the information you need on finding cheap flights between London to Edinburgh.

Edinburgh travel guide How to travel to and from Edinburgh by different means of transport.

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Edinburgh Travel Essentials

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Beautiful Photos from Edinburgh

Allan Ramsay statue and Edinburgh CastlePhotograph of the Castle and the statue of Allan Ramsay just outside West Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, with the Floral Clock in the foreground. Photo #G3687

Palace of Holyroodhouse from Salisbury Crags, EdinburghView of the Palace of Holyroodhouse seen from Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park. Photo #G3464

Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park, EdinburghView of Edinburgh Castle and Salisbury Crags taken from Holyrood Park. Photo #G3987

Origin of 'Edinburgh'

Tourists have problems with the name of Edinburgh. There are hundreds of ways people write it and the most common writings include 'edinburg', 'edinborough', 'edimburgh', 'edinbourgh', 'ediburgh', 'edinbugh', 'edinboro', 'edingburgh', 'edinbrugh', 'edimburg', 'edinburugh', 'edingurgh', 'edinbrough', etc.

According to the Scottish Place Names dictionary, the name Edinburgh means 'Fort of the Rock Face'. The 'edin' part comes from Scottish Gaelic and means 'rock face', while 'burgh' comes from Old English meaning stronghold.

Some more obscure (and quite funny) ways of writing Edinburgh include: edinburough, edingburg, edinbourg, edinburh, edinurgh, edenburg, edinbough, edinbourough, edinbrgh, edingborough, edenburgh, edinberg, edinborgh, edinborugh, edinburge, edinburhg, edingbourgh, etc.

Edinburgh is spelt Edimburgo in Spanish and Italian and Édimbourg in French.

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