Flying home for Christmas? Taking the train could be quicker and cheaper
Taking the train over a domestic flight reduces your carbon footprint – and could save you time and money.
Last December 53,000 people flew between London and Manchester, which was 50% more than the previous year. If they’d taken the train instead, they’d have got there an hour and a half earlier.
We compared the whole journey time if travelling by train or plane from London to Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen – the UK’s most popular mainland flight routes. It might look quicker to fly until you factor in check-in, boarding and disembarking from your flight.
Once you factor in time at the airport, you arrive in Newcastle an hour earlier if you go by train.
London to Edinburgh and Glasgow takes 30 minutes longer by rail. That doesn’t include the time spent getting to and from the airport though, so the train will be speedier if you’re travelling between city centres.
Only flights to Aberdeen save a decent chunk of time.
Popular domestic flight routes: plane vs train journey times
| By train | By plane* | |
| London to Manchester | 2 hr 8 min | 3 hr 35 min |
| London to Newcastle | 2 hr 37 min | 3 hr 40 min |
| London to Edinburgh | 4 hr 25 min | 3 hr 55 min |
| London to Glasgow | 4 hr 30 min | 4 hr |
| London to Aberdeen | 7 hr 7 min | 4 hr 5 min |
*Journey times by plane include time spent at the airport: an estimated two and a half hours for checking in, security, boarding and disembarking
Is it cheaper to fly?
We also checked the price of the cheapest advance train ticket from central London and air fares from Heathrow – the most popular London airport for these routes.
Train fares were slightly cheaper for all routes, except London to Aberdeen, on average. That’s despite train fares increasing by up to 5.9% this year, while airlines received a tax cut: the government halved passenger duty for domestic flights from £13 to £6.50 per passenger.
The biggest price difference was for London to Manchester, where flying cost £16 more as well as taking longer.
Another bonus of train travel: you won’t have to fork out more to take a large suitcase or sit next to your companion.
Average cost compared
| By train* | By plane** | |
| London to Manchester | £31 | £47 |
| London to Newcastle | £30 | £34 |
| London to Glasgow | £41 | £47 |
| London to Edinburgh | £37 | £42 |
| London to Aberdeen | £75 | £70 |
*Average train fares from Euston or King's Cross to Manchester Piccadilly, Newcastle, Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central and Aberdeen stations. **Average airfares from Heathrow
What’s the carbon cost of flying?
Flying from London to Manchester emits nearly three times as much CO2 as taking the train. The amount of CO2 saved is the equivalent of leaving a 100-watt light bulb on non-stop for a month.
Flights between London and Newcastle, Edinburgh or Glasgow emit more than three and a half times as much CO2 per passenger. For example, a return flight from London to Edinburgh emits 176kg more CO2 than the return train journey. The carbon saving is the equivalent of driving more than 650 miles in the average petrol car.
The carbon footprint of return flights from London to Aberdeen is 330kg CO2 per passenger, which is the same as driving 1,250 miles.
Our research
We checked the price of the cheapest train ticket from central London, and the cheapest airfare from Heathrow to Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen on the same day for travel dates four, eight and 12 weeks in advance. Flight and train CO2 estimates are from Atmosfair and EcoPassenger.
