Lumo 1E88 Train from Edinburgh Waverley to London Kings Cross

Heading to London again, it was no surprise that Lumo once again offered the cheapest option for my date of travel. As such, I headed on this overnight Lumo train to get into London in time for the Crossrail opening on the morning of 24 May 2022.

Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station

A departure from the usual Platform 5, my Lumo 1E88 train was departing from Platform 8W on the island platform outside the walls.

Lumo Class 803 AT300

My train was a British Rail Class 803 AT300, operated by 803005 once again. I seem to have an affinity with this set as I’ve gotten it 3 times in a row back to back on my Lumo trips.

Train in formation is provided on the LED signs near the train doors.

The interior of the Lumo Class 803 AT300. Lumo offers only Standard Class seating, so this interior 2+2 configuration is more or less the same for all 5 cars.

My seat at 45, reserved from Edinburgh Waverley to London Kings Cross. I was indicated to have a seat neighbour throughout the journey, but the person did not show up, and I had 2 seats myself throughout the journey from Edinburgh Waverley to London Kings Cross.

The legroom on board Lumo Standard Class.

A reading lamp and a fold-down tray table are available.

A 3-pin and 2 USB power sockets are located under the seat in front, which makes it a lot easier to plug in a charger.

The clean toilet on board Lumo.

In place of 2 luggage racks by the door, Lumo has removed 1 in order to add 2 more seats in its place. This row of seats has no window and juts out a little bit into the aisle due to the interior panel meant to fit a luggage rack instead. There is also no overhead luggage rack for this row of seats.

Due to this limited luggage space on Lumo trains, passengers travelling end to end from Edinburgh Waverley to London Kings Cross only are allowed to store luggage in the bicycle compartment when it is empty.

My Lumo 1E88 train departed from Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station on time at 7.58pm.

Passing by New Street Car Park.

It was quite a full train departing from Edinburgh Waverley with no greens in sight.

Tickets were checked immediately after departing from Edinburgh Waverley. My Lumo ticket from Edinburgh Waverley to London Kings Cross costed just £13.75 after the 26-30 Railcard discount.

Passing by Hitachi Craigentinny Train Maintenance Centre.

Heading out to the country.

Crossing the border from Scotland to England.

Crossing over the Royal Border Bridge over the River Tweed at Berwick-upon-Tweed, an old border between England and Scotland.

A trolley service went through the train selling drinks and snacks.

The sun started to set at about 9pm on approach to Morpeth.

Morpeth Railway Station

Making a brief stop at Morpeth.

Entering Newcastle.

Newcastle Railway Station

Making a brief stop at Newcastle.

Stevenage Railway Station

Making a brief stop at Stevenage. My Lumo 1E88 was allowed to depart from Stevenage 8 minutes early, as this is a set-down stop only with no boarding passengers.

London Kings Cross Railway Station

My Lumo 1E88 arrived at London Kings Cross Railway Station at 12.49am – 16 minutes early. No traffic along the line into London Kings Cross this late helped with speeding the train up.

Lumo 803005 at London Kings Cross.

The buffer stop at Platform 9.

There is no wall between Platforms 9 and 10, with a gap on the ballast remaining from the old Platform 10 (now empty), and Platform 10 is now the previous Platform 11 on an island platform with only 1 track instead of 2.

Heading out of the open ticket gates.

The concourse of London King’s Cross Railway Station, emptied out with no more trains for the night. Thameslink trains continue to operate from the underground platforms at St Pancras throughout the night.

The façade of London King’s Cross Railway Station at 1am. It was raining when I arrived, which made for a wet walk to the bus stop to continue my journey to London Paddington.

Conclusion

Once again, Lumo offered a cheap and speedy travel option for me from Edinburgh to London, costing me just £13.75 with a 26-30 Railcard and with a journey time of just 4 hours and 51 minutes owing to the early arrival. Lumo is a game-changer for travelling on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) with competition with the incumbent operators, providing more choices and cheaper fares for passengers now.