Edinburgh to Perth train with ScotRail

Trains from Edinburgh to Perth

Trains from Edinburgh to Perth, Scotland usually take around 24min to make the trip, on average. There are just over 30 trains a day, with around 17 on Saturdays and Sundays. The shortest train journeys take about 1h 15min, and the longest around 1h 48min, so it’s a relatively quick trip no matter which train you opt for. Trains are most densely concentrated in the early morning and the late afternoons, to accommodate rush hour commuters.

Edinburgh to Perth Train Time: Daily Departures

With almost three dozen trains leaving for Perth every weekday, and half that number on weekends, you have around 180 trains a week to choose from, allowing you to virtually get to the station and hop aboard within about 15min. The first trains from Edinburgh to Perth leave at about 6:30 a.m., with trains running throughout the day until around 11:20 p.m. There’s not much difference in train fares either, so you pretty much have completely free choice.

How long is the journey by train from Edinburgh to Perth?

Trains from Edinburgh to Perth all take roughly the same amount of time to travel the route. It’s one of the popular commuter lines that link smaller Scottish cities to the north of Edinburgh with the capital. The specific length of the trip depends on the train you take, but most of them don’t vary by more than around 5min. There are some trips that take around double the average time, although these are the trains that leave in the late evenings. On average you can expect to spend about 1h 24min on the train, but you can also board plenty that take between about 1h 15min and 1h 20min. The longer journeys take from around 1h 36min to about 1h 48min. Roughly a third of them are direct trips, with the others requiring one change in Stirling.

Perth Biker Elizabeth Bridge. Source: Shutterstock

What are the departure and arrival stations for trains from Edinburgh to Perth?

Departure train station: You’ll depart for Perth from Edinburgh Waverley Station. This is about a 5min trip from the city centre – it will take about 2min from Princes Street bus stop and a further 3m to walk from the bus stop to the station at the other end. These Lothian Buses leave every 10min from early morning till late at night. Alternatively you can drive or take a taxi there in about 2min. Waverley Station offers baby changing facilities, showers, cash machines and free Wi-Fi. There are a few food and drink outlets, and a number of retail shops. All areas are step-free for limited mobility access, along with tactile warning strips for visually impaired passengers, and an induction loop.

Arrival train station: You’ll arrive at Perth Station, which is nearby the centre of the town. It will take you about 8min to get there by bus, using the Stagecoach East Scotland No. 17 or 56A buses. If you’ve organised a hire car or take a taxi, it’s a drive of around 2min. If you’re commuting and travelling light, or only have something like a backpack with you, you can walk into town in about 12min. This station is also fully accessible for those with limited mobility or hidden disabilities, with ramp access on the platforms, an induction loop and step-free access everywhere. There’s a coffee shop, a WH Smith and a small station buffet in the waiting room.

Which train companies travel from Edinburgh to Perth?

Scotrail operates all the trains to Perth from Edinburgh, so you won’t have a choice of carrier on this particular route. On the other hand you’ll enjoy an efficient, regular and reliable service that is very cost-effective. Taking a Scotrail train is also the fastest way of travelling between the two cities, compared to catching a bus, for instance. The trips that are clustered around the early mornings and late afternoons are the fastest ones, with roughly one in 3 travelling direct, and the rest making a stopover in Stirling on the way, taking a south-westerly route first, and then swinging to the south-east to circumvent the River Forth estuary that separates Perth from Edinburgh.

Scotrail trains from Edinburgh to Perth

Scotrail trains to Perth from Edinburgh travel at roughly 100 mph (160 km/h), so they’re not as fast as true high-speed trains, but they still wizz along at a fair lick. They take an average of about 1h 24min to travel this route, with the quickest trips making the trip in about 1h 15min and the slowest getting to Perth in just under 1h 50min. Many of these are direct journeys, with a fair number also making a single stop in-between at Stirling Railway Station.

Train Edinburgh to Perth: Services on board

Scotrail commuter trains are quite rudimentary, although perfectly comfortable, with modern facilities. Meals, snacks and drinks are only available on long-haul trips, not on shorter journeys like the one from Edinburgh to Perth, so be aware of that before you leave. Wi-Fi is free on all the trains, and you can also take a bicycle along with you for free – you’ll just have to book a place for it on the train in advance.

You can take up to three luggage items with you, two of which can be suitcases and the other a small carry-on bag. Domestic pets are welcomed, as long as they are in a carrier or on a leash. There’s a Standard class and a First class, with the latter offering more spacious and comfortable seats with plug sockets, and blinds for your window. You can book limited mobility travel assistance in advance, or use the Turn Up and Go service provided by trained staff at stations and on board the trains.

How to find cheap train tickets from Edinburgh to Perth?

There are several tips you can use to find cheaper train tickets when you want to get from Edinburgh from Perth. One of the best ways is to be very flexible with travel days and times. This will allow you to keep an eye on the live Omio train schedules and snap up any last-minute discounts on tickets, caused by cancellations.

You can also adopt the opposite strategy by booking as far in advance as possible, when ticket prices can often be lower to encourage people to book earlier. In general, you can also choose trips that make more intervening stops or involve more train changes, as these are often cheaper due to the longer travel time involved. If you have the option, you can also choose trains that travel at regular speed, rather than high-speed trains.

Perth River Beach Swan. Source: Shutterstock

To Perth by train—travel tips

Perth isn’t the best-known tourist town in Scotland by any means, which does this interesting little place an injustice. For a start, there’s Scone Palace, made famous in Shakespeare’s Macbeth as the place where Scottish monarchs were crowned. There’s also the Black Watch Museum in Balhousie Castle, which honours one of the British Army’s most famous regiments. The Perth Museum & Art Gallery is a neo-Classical building housing a range of artefacts from the town’s cultural history.

For fine Scottish dining head to Deans@Let’s Eat, renowned for its menu of Scottish produce, from Orkney beef to freshly-caught local scallops. For a intriguing slice of Scottish history, go to the basement of the King James pub. Here you’ll find the remains of Medieval stonework from the Blackfriars monastery that originally stood there, made infamous as the site of the murder of King James I of Scotland.

If you visit during May you can attend the Perth Festival of the Arts, where you can enjoy music, theatre, street art, dance and many other forms of performing arts at venues all across town. You’ll also find some great tourist tips in The Window Seat, our online travel magazine.