City to city
London to Plymouth by train
London Paddington → Plymouth
- Fastest
- ≈ 2h 52m
- Typical
- ≈ 3h 10m
- Direct trains
- Yes
- Fewest changes
- 0
- Operators
- GWR, CrossCountry
Trains link London (London Paddington) and Plymouth (Plymouth) in about 2h 52m at best, with no changes needed.
How long does the train from London to Plymouth take?
The fastest trains cover London to Plymouth in about 2h 52m; a typical journey takes around 3h 10m.
Is there a direct train from London to Plymouth?
Yes: direct trains run between London Paddington and Plymouth.
Is the train or a flight faster from London to Plymouth?
Door to door, the train typically wins: about 3h 30m city centre to city centre, against roughly 3h 55m for a typical flight once airport time is counted. The train also emits about 3× less CO₂e, even on conservative official emission factors.
- Train, door to door
- ≈ 3h 30m
- Flight, door to door
- ≈ 3h 55m (est.)
- CO₂e per passenger
- ~13 kg train · ~42 kg plane
Flight time and emissions are transparent estimates, not airline schedules — method, factors and all 109 compared pairs on Train vs plane in Europe.
Legendary routes through London or Plymouth
- Eurostar London → Paris
- LNER Azuma London → Edinburgh
- Caledonian Sleeper London → Fort William
- Avanti West Coast London → Glasgow
Sleepers too: night trains from London.
More trains from London
- London → Reading ≈ 23 min · direct
- London → Cambridge ≈ 49 min · direct
- London → Oxford ≈ 50 min · direct
- London → Brighton ≈ 58 min · direct
- London → Bath ≈ 1h 13m · direct
- London → Southampton ≈ 1h 14m · direct
More train routes in United Kingdom · France.
Journey figures are typical values sampled from public European schedule data; exact times vary by day. Always check the operator when booking.