New direct rail service to hyperlink Edinburgh and Cardiff for the primary time – however 455-mile journey prices £229 return and takes seven hours (in comparison with £165 return for an hour-long flight)

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 at £47 return, although this takes more than 15 hours each way and is not direct – requiring a change in London.

While rail passengers can normally save money by booking a fixed advance single weeks ahead, these tickets for the new journey appear to be more expensive than a walk-up off-peak return if coming back – and so the latter remains the cheapest fare.

Those seeking a premium experience can buy a first class off-peak return for £599 which includes larger, more spacious seating and complimentary refreshments.

The service will be formed by long-distance Voyager trains departing from Cardiff and Penzance in the morning, joining together at Birmingham New Street before going north to Edinburgh.

On the southbound journey, the train will leave Edinburgh and head to Gloucester where it will split into two. Half of the train will travel on to Cardiff while the other half will terminate at Plymouth.

There will be one service in each direction between Cardiff and Edinburgh on weekdays only, with travellers at weekends required to change.

Rail expert Mark Smith, founder of travel website Seat61.com, described the train as a ‘useful new service’, but with Voyager trains normally operating with four or five carriages, CrossCountry ‘won’t need to discount seats much’.

He told MailOnline: ‘They can probably sell all the seats between Cardiff and Birmingham, then sell those same seats again from Birmingham to Newcastle and again from Newcastle to Edinburgh, leaving little incentive to offer lower fares which lock up a seat for the whole journey.

‘It’s all about capacity, precisely the thing HS2 was designed to ease – higher capacity means lower fares.’

He also pointed out that with much more capacity on the routes via London, you can get from Cardiff to London on the dates compared by MailOnline for £77 return, then London to Edinburgh for £65 return, with split ticketing required.

Meanwhile Google Flights data shows that return four-day trips from Cardiff to Edinburgh in January, after the first weekend, cost between £151 and £206.

Michael Solomon Williams from the Campaign for Better Transport told MailOnline: ‘It’s fantastic news that Cardiff and Edinburgh will be connected by direct rail for the first time.

‘Not only will this new route connect the two capitals by environmentally friendly rail, but it will open up a range of new direct rail journeys.

‘However, while taking the train is far greener and can take the stress out of driving or flying, high fares often put people off, and it doesn’t help that the Government is planning to increase rail fares above inflation next year. Much more needs to be done to make rail the affordable choice.’

The train from Cardiff Central will first stop at Newport and Chepstow before crossing the border into England, calling at Gloucester, Cheltenham Spa and Worcestershire Parkway before heading to Birmingham.

Further stops in the Midlands will include Tamworth, Burton-on-Trent, Derby and Chesterfield – and then it will travel into Yorkshire, calling at Sheffield, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds and York.

Heading further north, the train will stop at Darlington, Durham, Newcastle, Alnmouth and Berwick-upon-Tweed before terminating at Edinburgh Waverley.

CrossCountry said the new route is ‘thought to be the first service of its kind’ and will be rolled out as part of the rail industry’s twice-yearly timetable change, which comes in on December 15 – with services starting the following day.

The operator added that it while long-distance travellers will benefit from the new service, many new direct journey options will also be available for passengers to book across the entire route.

Cardiff has not previously had a direct train to stations past Derby on the route – with Durham being an example of another city now having a new non-stop train to Wales. 

Scott Maynard, CrossCountry’s interim managing director, said: ‘We’re delighted to introduce this new service joining Cardiff and Edinburgh directly by rail for the very first time – meaning even more connections for customers across the length and breadth of the country.

‘Thanks to colleagues across CrossCountry and the wider rail industry for their support in delivering these new services linking two of Great Britain’s capital cities, as well as many other key towns and cities in between.’

Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Transport, SNP politician Fiona Hyslop, notably did not mention England or any English stations in her statement, instead labelling them as ‘intermediary locations’.

She said: ‘The launch of a new direct weekday train service between Edinburgh and Cardiff for the first time is welcome news for rail users wishing to travel between these two capital cities.

‘The new service should have a positive impact for jobs and local economic growth, while providing direct connectivity between Scotland, Wales, and intermediary locations when it commences later this year.’

And Ken Skates, the Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, said: ‘We are always happy to support new services that offer more choice for passengers. Connecting two capital cities of the UK in a sustainable way is a positive development.’

It comes after CrossCountry announced at the end of July that it would temporarily reduce services on several major routes between August 10 and November 9, following poor performance and mass cancellations.

Journeys impacted included those between Scotland and South West England via Birmingham, Newcastle and Reading, Manchester and Bristol, and Cardiff and Nottingham.

Then in August, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh expressed ‘serious concern’ about CrossCountry, warning she could take further action.

She said at the time that she ‘had little choice but to approve’ the three-month reduced timetable proposed by the train operator, despite describing it as a ‘dire service’.

Then on Monday, Ms Haigh said how the Government ‘took immediate steps to implement a remedial plan to reduce their cancellations and get services back on track’.

She added: ‘Its reduced timetable has brought greater stability and I expect even greater reliability as the full timetable returns today.’

Ms Haigh also revealed that rail performance data will be displayed at stations to show passengers how services are working.

CrossCountry’s contract was agreed by the previous Conservative government and commenced in October last year. It is due to expire on October 12, 2031.

Labour has promised to bring all passenger railway services back into public ownership when existing private contracts come to an end.

The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, which is likely to clear Parliament in the coming weeks, is designed to help nationalise train operation.

The Bill would ensure that appointing a public sector train operator as existing contracts expire becomes the default position rather than a last resort.