British rail system
The U.K.'s main train lines
Anywhere in Europe, the shortest (and cheapest) distance between two points is lined with railroad tracks.
The train is the preferred mode of travel by everyone, from farmers and grannies to businesswomen and visitors.
British trains run on time, are clean and comfortable, and have a vast network that covers almost every major and minor city.
Although the old BritRail was privatized in the 1990s and British trains are now run by a patchwork of nearly 30 private companies (many of them since consolidated under just a few corporate umbrellas), in practice this won't mean much to you, the traveler. Every company is required to provide the schedules and sell fares for every train in the system—and it is all collected on the joint Nationalrail.co.uk.
(None of this covers the U.K.'s Heritage rails, some 200 private narrow-gauge rail lines—think "scenic tourist steam trains;" for more on those, see the links section.)
Travel time and cost
Most journeys in the south of England are going to route you through London—often changing train stations within London (if so, the ticket will include the requisite transfer on the London Underground, DLR, of Thameslink).
To give you a rough sense of train travel in Britain between some of the most popular destinations, here are the rough travel times and starting cost (for the cheapest Advance/Off-Peak fare).
| Bath | Cambridge | Cardiff | Edinburgh | Glasgow | London | Salisbury | Lakes | |
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| Edinburgh |
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| Glasgow |
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| London |
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• The times are for direct trains where possible. If a change is required, it will be noted as (x1) or (x2) for one train change or two train changes.
- Nationalrail.co.uk - Covers all of the lines once operated by the (since-privitized) old British Rail, as well as info on all British rail stations, including maps and services. This includes most major British railways, but notably does not cover many urban area light rail systems (such as London, Glasgow, Manchester, Blackpool, Sheffield, and Midland Metro), nor does it cover the Eurostar, Heathrow Express, nor a handful of heritage or privately owned railways. Still, it's the closest thing to one-stop shopping for finding train connections across the mainland U.K. (though not Northern Ireland).
- BritRail passes - Book railpasses good for travel all over Great Britain—or just in parts of all of England or Scotland.Partner
- Eurostar.com - The super-fast train through the Channel Tunnel connecting London with Paris (2.5 hrs.), Brussels (2 hrs.) and—though those hubs—the rest of Europe. » more
- Europetrainsguide.com - General train info from a private site devoted to European rail travel.
- Seat61.com - General train info from a private site devoted to rail travel, including detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to get from London to just about any other country in Europe via rail.
- Traintaxi.co.uk - Search stations to find out whether they have taxi ranks/stands, and the phone numbers for pre-booking a cab. (Not being updated after April 2016, but still handy.)
- Sleeper.scot - overnight train
- Heritagerailways.com - An association of historic, heritage, and narrow guage railways—many operating steam trains on historic scenic routes. The site is pretty bare-bones, but if you click on a railway and then look for the link in the box below the map (not teh name on the map itself), you can get to the website for that heritage rail line, train museum, or tourist train
- Train map - A rail network map courtesy of Nationalrail.co.uk.
- Neck pillow - For the plane or long train rides. I prefer one that cinches at the front to provide all-around-the neck support (wear it backwards to keep your chin up); some rave about the the funky J-Pillow; other go for the Travel Halo with its built-in eye mask.
- Eye mask - Some love 'em; some don't. I find every bit of help sleeping helps.
- Tablet/E-reader - For long plane and train trips. If a tablet or e-Reader, load up on titles before you leave, or get one with WiFi (so you can download outside the U.S) or a Kindle with 3G (which connects for free in 100 countries).
- Noise-canceling headphones - The one silly travel gadget I actually use (it makes flying less stressful, even if you don't sleep; also: way easier to hear the movie). There are tons of models. I currently rock a JVC HANC250—les than half the price of Bose; nearly as good. Or go super low-tech with earplugs (sadly, I'm one of those people who cannot tolerate wearing them).
- Book - Just bring one or two. Some hotels have book trading shelves. Also, Britain has excellent book stores!
More on Train
This London rail station was catapulted to fame as the location of Platform 9 3/4 in the Harry Potter books and movies
This redbrick Victorian castle is London's prettiest rail station—and home to the Eurostar to the Continent
Is the Britrail pass—good for unlimited travel on the national rail network—worth it in the U.K.?
Sleeping on an overnight train is a relatively safe endeavor, but take a few sensible precautions to avoid pickpockets and thieves and sleep more soundly
Like the trains themselves, European train stations tend to be clean and user-friendly—with tourist info, hotel booking service, left luggage lockers or offices, and decent snack bars (in case you forget to pick up train picnic supplies in town)
Trains to Oxford take 60–70 min (£5–£32) from London's Paddington Station
