New high-speed rail services will soon connect the Scottish and English capitals

Stepping up a notch from the current services operated by LNER, Lumo and the Caledonian Sleeper, the new trains promise to cut down on travel time, only making a stop at Newcastle and York.

Currently, the average duration of a train journey between London and Edinburg is approximately 5.5 hours, with some trains being able to make it in even earlier. But the new, revamped hourly service will reduce the time by 30 or more minutes, putting the average just over four hours.

The most common mode of transportation among visitors between these destinations is flight, which takes 1 hour and 20 minutes, excluding check-in, security, airport arrival etc, which can account for 4-5 hours. This is where the train service will substantially improve travel flow and entice more people to ditch the flight, which is also an environmentally conscious decision.

This new project is currently awaiting approval from the UK Government.