EXCLUSIVE New direct rail service to link Edinburgh and Cardiff for the first time - but 455-mile trip costs £229 return and takes seven hours (compared to £165 return for an hour-long flight) By MARK DUELL Published: 09:29 GMT, 14 November 2024 | Updated: 09:52 GMT, 14 November 2024 e-mail 3 View comments Britain's rail passengers will be able to travel direct from Cardiff to Edinburgh for the first time from next month after CrossCountry unveiled a new train service. The 455-mile journey will connect 22 stations between the capitals of Wales and Scotland directly by rail, with one train in each direction on weekdays. The service will begin on December 16 with the journey from Cardiff leaving at 9.
45am and arriving at Edinburgh at 5.08pm, taking seven hours and 23 minutes. The return journey will leave Edinburgh at 1.
07pm and arrive in Cardiff at 8.07pm, taking exactly seven hours - and a standard off-peak return will cost £229. But research by MailOnline looking at a return journey in mid-January found this would be 39 per cent more than a return flight with Loganair which costs £165.
While a flight takes just over an hour, the train would be quicker than the car, which takes around seven hours before stops are factored in. However, the car would be far cheaper, with petrol in a standard Ford Fiesta costing about £110 for a return trip. The cheapest option on the dates compared - out on Monday, January 13 and back on Friday, January 17 - is the National Express coach a.
